Lady Gaga's drama club ambition to marry rock & roll rebellion with her disco beats turns Born This Way into Like a Prayer by way of Bat Out of Hell. She knowingly recontextualizes Madonna for a postmodern collage, the sly similarities offering tangible reminders that Gaga is the heir to the diva throne. Her true gift is her considerable dexteri...

Lady Gaga's drama club ambition to marry rock & roll rebellion with her disco beats turns Born This Way into Like a Prayer by way of Bat Out of Hell. She knowingly recontextualizes Madonna for a postmodern collage, the sly similarities offering tangible reminders that Gaga is the heir to the diva throne. Her true gift is her considerable dexterity at delivering the basics. “Marry the Night” glistens with a neon pulse, “Born This Way” has a giddiness to its self-importance, “Judas” turns “Alejandro” into towering gothic disco, she achieves her metal-disco fusion on “Bad Kids,” and she even shows vulnerability on “Yoü and I.” ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi