Lady Gaga - 'Born This Way: The Remix' (Interscope) Released: 21/11/11

It's been a good year for all things Gaga as following the release of 'Born This Way' she notoriously cleaned up at the EMA's, stealing a respectable four awards for Best Video, Best Song, Best Female and Biggest Fans. Part of her recipe for success is a penchant for a remarkable amount of fan interaction with her "little monsters" on Twitter and a rigorous touring/work schedule that never fails to deliver what they want. Releasing a remix album of sorts is a great way appeal to those fans by benevolently handing them bonus content whilst simultaneously broadening the potential impact of the original material. This isn't her first remix project however with 'The Remix' preceding in 2010; the 'Born This Way' iteration is much broader in scope and all the better for it.

The business strategy is one that is very hard to fault in this day and age, especially when considering Radiohead's 'TKOL' remix album that has put them at the top of the indie music world alongside the electronic scene. Lady Gaga's offering is a tad more on the commercial side comprised of both bombastic floor fillers ripe for reach for the lasers, tops off session at Heaven. Adversely the album is infinitely more varied than the original 'Born This Way' featuring a range of guests that lend it a credibility rarely found within such a mainstream offering. The roster is certainly impressive with Metronomy, The Horrors, Goldfrapp, Foster The People and Wild Beasts pouncing onto production duties.

In places the final product is very impressive with Goldfrapp taking 'Judas' to a surprisingly dark and audibly interesting reinterpretation on none other than the second track in. Other highlights include the Wild Beasts' remix of 'You And I' and The Horrors' remix of 'Bloody Mary' that also stays on the more ambient side of the LP - playing with a sound much less bombastic than the usual offerings from Gaga's camp. It's more downbeat and experimental in places, a style that on first glance you would think is worlds apart from miss Gaga's working formula. Fortunately it suits her graciously as at the heart of her personality is indeed experimentation, she does what she likes with a clear air of flamboyance in her vocals that leave the songs rife for reinterpretation. Most notably it would have been easier to go down the road of jumping on the dubstep and drum and bass bandwagon in the same fashion as Rihanna, Snoop Dogg and Cher Lloyd. Yet what she has done with the album is so much more interesting, indicative of a view of the bigger picture in the world of music, rather than a transitory trend.

As a whole the album does have a stuttered pace as the fluctuations in sound from tracks like 'Marry The Night' to the stylings of Metronomy can be vaguely jarring here and there. But that in a way is the point of a remix album. The result is very impressive with it being hard to fault the commitment of releasing additional material for the fans alongside hosting guest features that never fail to impress.