Fueled by heavy dance tracks and popping electronic beats, The Fame,the first album by the glamorous Lady Gaga, is a well-crafted samplingof feisty anti-pop in high quality. Already a famous female DJ in herown right, Lady Gaga (nee Stefani Germanotta) pulls out all the stopson The Fame, injecting hard-hitting synthesizers and crashing slicksand grooves. From its opening track until it closes, The Fame fails tocome up short on funky sounds to amuse fans of this dance genre.

However, what carries this album to new heights is the combination ofvoice and the razor sharp lyrics which accompany it. Gaga's sound is nodifferent than that of Gwen Stefani, however her coy delivery of eachcooing note gives the album a laid-back slick feeling of ease, whichmeshes with the dramatic beats that back the album up. In addition, thelyrics which feed the album, especially on the desirous "Paparazzi" orthe boastful, vain "Beautiful Dirty Rich," salt and pepper the albumwith a nasty, club-friendly feeling of fun and feistiness that anexcellent, well-produced dance album should have. The lyrics are notany more deliciously entertaining than they are on the title track,which feeds the listener savory lines like "Give me something I wannabe, retro glamour, Hollywood yes we live for the fame."