Born This Way (album cover)

Can’t wait to listen to pop diva Lady Gaga’s hotly-anticipated new album Born This Way? Well, thanks to the wonders of digital piracy your wait has just gotten a little shorter.

According to an article in the online edition of Rolling Stone Magazine, one of the most highly-hyped record releases in years leaked online late Wednesday night (a mere six days before its official release date) and has caused a flurry of newfound discussion amongst fans and critics.

So is Born This Way the pop masterpiece that Gaga promised to all her little monsters, or is the disc, as Entertainment Weekly has said, “an inconsistent blend of icy techno-pop and greeting-card empowerment that’s more a triumph of production than songwriting”?

The answer, as always, exists somewhere in the middle. Yes, the album’s title track still plays like a rip-off of Madonna’s “Express Yourself”. And okay, when removed from its shameless religion-baiting release date and video, “Judas” appears as more of an ‘80s-inspired techno track than the true dancehall smash it’s been made out to be.

Yet, with the final number on the record (“Edge of Glory”) Gaga is able to successfully bridge the gap between the past and the future. Complete with a timely sax solo by none other than Clarence Clemons, the song is the definition of an anthem. And, when finally released as a single (though that would likely mean five plus singles from an album with only 14 tracks) the hook-laden tune could very well take over the radio this summer, much like the Boss did in 1975 with Born To Run.

Listen to audio of “Edge of Glory” from Lady Gaga’s Born This Way here:

Interesting. If Madonna and Bruce Springsteen ever hooked up during an all-night dance party in a club in 1980s Manhattan, their potential offspring might sound a whole lot like Lady Gaga in 2011. Who ever saw that one coming?

For more information on Lady Gaga or to see future tour dates please visit www.ladygaga.com.