Rating – 2 1/2 stars out of 5
Lady Gaga has always went against the norm and performed the unexpected. She’s had the benefit of a string of #1 albums including even on records such as Joanne or her collaboration with Tony Bennett. It’s even extended to her acting career. The remake of A Star is Born soundtrack has reached number one too. The superstar is a hit making machine regards of genre, regardless of tune. It is very little surprise that when the soundtrack album for the second Joker movie came out that the megastar wanted her own version. So, that’s what Lady Gaga did, she went out and released Harlequin, a collection of songs from Joker: Folie a Deux and then additional songs influenced by the movie. Let’s take a listen.
The movie, Joker: Folie a Deux opened on October 1st, 2024. It did not do well, opening to only a $37 million take in its first week here in the US. As a comparison, the first Joker movie had nearly a hundred million in its first week. To date, it’s only made $200 million worldwide gross and unfortunately will be seen by most as a box office bomb. However, that does not mean there can’t be something worthwhile to come out of this release and that is a plethora of musical tunes.
The original soundtrack album features both Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga on vocals performing many tunes throughout the course of the movie. It is after all a musical at its core (which unfortunately is probably one of the reasons the movie bombed, no one wants a Joker musical, no one). But Lady Gaga wanted to do a companion piece, something that showed her talents as a vocalist but also something for her fans that wanted her own take on the movie. The album has a heavy jazz and showtune (most of the songs are covers of a bygone era) influence that will hopefully show off the strong and beautiful voice of one of the top musical artists of all time.
As mentioned above, these are mostly covers of classic tunes so I’ll attempt to give you folks a history lesson while talking about the actual version done by Lady Gaga.
Track 1: Good Morning (2:47) – The original song (1939) was done for Babes in Arms and performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. It was later reprised for Singin’ in the Rain (1952) which is the version most people are familiar with. Gaga’s voice comes in powerful and strong to start. Then the showtune part rolls in after a little bit. It’s a very upbeat song and speaks to Harley’s frame of mind at this particular point in the movie.
Track 2: Get Happy (2024) (3:12) – The original song was written in 1930 by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, but the version most people are familiar with is again Judy Garland in the 1950 film, Summer Stock. Starts similar to Good Morning but takes longer to get going and benefits because of that gradual increase to a speedy chorus. Despite it being a cover, it’s a song that Gaga has actually made her own as it deviates from the Garland version.
Track 3: Oh, When The Saints (3:43) – Most people know this one as When the Saints Go Marching In which is a traditional Christian hymn popularized by various jazz bands. The most popular version was probably by Louis Armstrong but others such as Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, and Elvis Presley have had their own versions. I’m so sick of this song and the numerous versions under it. Unfortunately, this version does absolutely nothing to make me think otherwise. I’m aware that it is one of the simplistic songs ever written, trust me it was the first song I played on a piano. Despite Gaga adding some of her own touches to the song, it does not rise above other versions. Keep me out of that number, please.
Track 4: World on a String (2:37) – Another jazz song from 1932 written by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. It was first popularized by Cab Calloway but others such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee have all sang a version a time or two. I actually like the guitar work here, it makes it curious, it makes it stand out. It gives the song something of a Spanish flavor. It actually sounds like Gaga, not the artist trying to sound like Harley Quinn.
Track 5: If My Friends Could See Me Now (2:44) – This song first popped up in the 1966 Broadway musical Sweet Charity. It was sang by Gwen Verdon. In the 1969 film of the same name, that performance went to Shirley MacLaine. This song takes on a much darker tone to begin with but then dives right into that showtune land before too long. Honestly, I think it would have been ten times better if they stuck to that original drug hazed tone of the intro. Instead we get that let me grab that cane and twirl it around performance. Meh.
Track 6: That’s Entertainment (4:10) – Originally published in 1952, this Arthur Schwartz/Howard Dietz song was written for the 1953 film, The Band Wagon. It was performed by Jack Buchanan with help from Fred Astaire, Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant. However, the version most people are aware of is once again, the Judy Garland version from her LP, That’s Entertainment in 1960. Let me guess, slow start, and then showtune? *waits patiently for a few seconds* Oh you betcha. Sure it has a few touches of Gaga, but it’s clearly not enough. I wish I could be patient for the end of the song to come.
Track 7: Smile (3:42) – For those who are not Charlie Chaplin fans, this is from his film, Modern Times in 1936. But there was also a Nat King Cole version, and even Michael Jackson had recorded a version of the song. Even though I sound like a broken record by this point, Judy Garland did a version of this song too. Seriously, Lady Gaga could do a complete album of Judy Garland tunes, she has already half of them here. However, I will give this song a pass because it’s perfect for the movie and Lady Gaga’s voice is so beautifully top notch. It’s a gorgeous rendition and never dips into showtune territory.
Track 8: The Joker (2:52) – Even though this is a cover, it’s not a very well know one. The original song was written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley. It was from the 1964 musical, The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. But it has been re-recorded by acts such as Sammy Davis Jr. and Shirley Bassey. This is very well done, it has enough nods to the original but there are a few fun spins on the song since the one in the movie is actually sang by Joaquin Phoenix and of course we get Lady Gaga here. That’s one of the things I’m super glad about this album, no Phoenix. At least I don’t have to deal with that.
Track 9: Folie a Deux (3:00) – In one of only two original songs, we get a longer version of what’s presented in the actual movie. It pays homage to the showtune spirit of the previous tunes on this album. Lady Gaga’s voice is beautiful, of course it is. But the song falls flat, it has no energy and the chorus bit in the last third of the tune is dreadful. Also, that sing swaying beat gets on my nerves and is present for the whole song. Let’s move on.
Track 10: Gonna Build a Mountain (2:52) – This song was also originally written by Anthony Newley. He sang it on the Fool Britannia! album in 1963 (along with The Joker) and others. Apparently, she’s gonna build a mountain and gonna build it high. Of course, the showtune starts and I don’t want to listen to this song anymore. Anymore, and I’ll not be waiting there. It’s literally the same buildup every (almost) darn song.
Track 11: Close to You (2:44) – Moving to the 1970’s, this song was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It led to a #1 single by the Carpenters on the album of the same name. I always liked this song, it’s simplistic and moves well. It’s impossible to be upset when hearing this song. Lady Gaga’s voice comes through very well, and I might even like it more than the Carpenters’ version.
Track 12: Happy Mistake (4:08) – The second of the original songs, this one works much better for me than the previous original song. It’s on the level of Smile, with a voice that’s quite angelic and beautiful to listen to. Even when the tempo changes a hair, it never seems to waver. It is what I wanted out of If My Friends Could See Me Now but it never got there. One of the true highlights of the album.
Track 13: That’s Life (3:04) – Written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon, most people are aware of the Frank Sinatra version of the song. However, it’s popped up everywhere from being sang by artists such as Aretha Franklin and James Brown to being in a Tony Hawk videogame. I suppose this is an appropriate outro considering the movie it is placed in. Unfortunately, there is nothing different of this version than the one that appears on the regular soundtrack. But perhaps it is only fitting that the album ends like this as we bid this record adieu.
Look it’s not that there are not good songs on the album. Get Happy, World on a String, Smile, The Joker, and Happy Mistake even Close to You are fantastic. But the rest of the album? Lady Gaga is doing her best Judy Garland impression and all of the songs start and end the exact same. It’s infuriating. I wanted an album that spoke to the essence of Harley Quinn, one time love interest of the infamous Joker and all around bad ass. I didn’t want Lady Gaga furthers her jazz career by singing Judy Garland showtunes.
What’s worse is take a damn look at the album including the back cover (it’s horrible by the way, but that is not the point). Take the movie completely out of the picture, it looks like a cover for another Lady Gaga mega pop album. Shock the listener a bit and have her own dose of personality into an album cover. If you are going the jazz album route, why not have something benefitting that look like maybe Harley Quinn dressed to the nines but with her makeup messed up to show despair or something similar(it could still be in the shower if that’s what we are after)? No, we get a life preserver in a shower and I’m not even going to attempt to describe the back cover.
Look, it’s a decent album. But that is all it is and much like the movie the hype far outweighs the actual depth of the product. I certainly don’t recommend this to the fans of Lady Gaga or to pop music in general. I can’t even really recommend it to fans of jazz showtunes because chances are people already have their favorites of these classics of the genre. I say enjoy on the ending of all of my reviews. It’s my trademark if you will. In this case however, I don’t really mean it. Enjoy…
