Review Revue: Critics React To Lady Gaga’s “The Edge Of Glory” Video

Robbie Daw | June 17, 2011 11:01 am

Lady Gaga’s “The Edge Of Glory” music video — the third visual from her million-selling Born This Way LP — arrived last night with not the usual epic Gaga-esque bang, but rather a subtle, quiet thump. Who knew the decidedly retro-’80s clip, which features now-ailing E Street Band sax whiz Clarence Clemons, would wind up being so divisive — and not for any overtly sexual or religious imagery? Head below to see what the Internet at large made of Mother Monster’s surprisingly scaled-back video. :: Entertainment Weekly‘s Music Mix found the video to be refreshing: “This is a return to the stripped-down mean streets fantasy of her ‘LoveGame’ video—no elaborate CGI or Godardian color palette, just Gaga working the camera with old-fashion moxie. Especially after her more literal-minded take on ‘Judas,’ ‘The Edge of Glory’ is also a refreshing retreat to her trademark style of making a video that has absolutely nothing to do with the song.”

:: PopCrush also enjoyed the clip’s simplistic approach: “Gaga dances her way up and down the steps of the fire escape; it feels like an homage to her days as a struggling artist on the Lower East Side when she literally was on the edge of glory and on the precipice of The Fame.”

:: The Atlantic asked why the video is “so boring,” but ultimately concluded: “‘Edge of Glory’ is arguably the most bombastic, heart-swelling song on her new album Born This Way; with its video, for once, Gaga may have opted to let the music stand on its own.”

:: Vulture praised Gaga for scaling things back for the visual accompanying her third single off Born This Way: “With the gloriously uncomplicated ‘Edge of Glory’ as the soundtrack, we finally get to catch our breath for a moment.”

:: Pop Dust wondered, “Perhaps after spending way too much money on videos that will never possibly make her anywhere near as much in return, Gaga was advised to scale back and rest on the popularity of the song and her persona alone. But after a series of mind-blowing videos, haven’t we been conditioned to expect much, much more?”

:: Meanwhile, PopJustice got right to the point: “Lady Gaga’s video for ‘The Edge Of Glory’ is no good… We just need to accept that Gaga has released an awful video.”

:: We Are Pop Slags noted the rumored on-set drama between Gaga and the videos onetime director Joseph Kahn: “We don’t really know what happened but it sounds like both of them threw their toys out of the pram and now look rather silly. But was the video worth all the fuss?”

:: Meanwhile, Us Weekly turned the power over to the people with a poll asking readers if they love or hate the video. So far, the “hates” have it, with 63%.

Have your say on Lady Gaga’s latest vid by voting in our Pop Or Flop poll to the right and commenting below!