Dear melomaniac, we have a new release from Lady Gaga, and it supposed to be a companion for the new movie “Joker: Folie à Deux”, staring Joaquin Phoenix and herself in the role of Harleen “Lee” Quinzel a.k.a. Harley Quinn. The new album is called “Harlequin”, and it is Gaga’s take on Harley’s character. However, the album is an American jazz standards disc, so, where does the Joker and jazz meet? Let’s dive in and analyze.
You see, dear melomaniac, this is not Gaga’s first American jazz standard album, she was always deeply in love with this special genre, launching two discs alongside the one-of-a-kind Tony Bennett, releasing Cheek to Cheek in 2014 and Love for Sale in 2021.
As I said above, “Harlequin” is Gaga’s take on the character of Harley Quinn that she portrayed in Joker: Folie à Deux. So, she chose a set of 13 songs that could express the nature of HQ. Listening to Harlequin you will hear Gaga’s versions of “Good Morning”, “World on a String”, “Smile” or the everlasting “That’s Life”.
The disc is surprisingly nice, being just a hint quieter than usual Gaga albums. The biggest surprise for me was her rendition of “Close to You”, this song has been stuck to my heart from the very first moment when I heard it sung by the amazing voice of Karen from the Carpenters. Gaga does great justice to this song and carries on the greatness of it.
In my opinion the new Harlequin disc is indeed a great companion for the Joker: Folie à Deux, which I haven’t seen yet, but, if I remember the first movie in the series, I am sure we will have the same deep introspective vibes and great acting in this one also. So, by listening to the album first, it’s just like I’ve already seen the movie.
So, give it a chance, give it a go, have a listen!
