Joanne

Lady Gaga has always been a little bit country and a little bit rock 'n' roll.

The pop star is responsible for some of the biggest pop/dance hits of the last decade ("Bad Romance," "Just Dance," "Poker Face"), but with each release she's always included a song or two that finds her picking up an electric guitar or strapping on cowboy boots.

Among the club-ready bangers on her 2008 debut "The Fame," Mother Monster included the glam rock inspired "Brown Eyes." Her epic mini LP "The Fame Monster" had the twangy "Speechless," and "Born This Way" featured the excellent Bruce Springsteen-winking "Edge of Glory" and the country-stomping "You And I."

That Gaga doubles down on her rock/country side for her fifth album "Joanne" should come to no surprise to fans who've been closely following her career. The singer's stage name comes from a Queen song, after all.

"Joanne" is Gaga's latest iteration, stripping away her Artpop persona and avant-garde schmaltz. It's more in the line of the "normal" Gaga we've seen over the last few years; from her duet jazz album with Tony Bennett to her classic performances at the Oscars and the Super Bowl.

But "Joanne" is just as confused as any of Gaga's recent works ("Artpop," "Born This Way"). Its lyrics are cringe-y at times, with their Americanness, "Diamond Heart" and "John Wayne" sound like Lana Del Rey ripoffs. "Dancin' in Circles," a song about "self-satisfaction," has a bizarre co-writing credit from alt-rocker god Beck and features an even stranger reggaeton production from Mark Ronson and BloodPop.

Gaga does get some things right: The lovely ballad "Million Reasons," co-written by Nashville legend Hillary Lindsey, is one of the best tracks on "Joanne." It is restrained, has heart and features Gaga's best vocal performance. The gliding "Hey Girl," featuring Florence + The Machine's Florence Welch, is Gaga's (successful!) take on "Bennie and the Jets," and the moving "Angel Down," an ode to Trayvon Martin, is the best track on her new record.

The deluxe edition of "Joanne" features three songs, including "Grigio Girls," a Neil Young inspired jam about being a basic bitch that actually has some humor: "So we'll turn on 'The Bachelorette' / Dye Ashley's hair red / And then we'll have our sixth / Spice girl in this bitch."

Ronson and BloodPop receive production credits for every song on "Joanne." While the musicians are impressive in their own right -- Ronson, whose "Uptown Funk" just went diamond certified, made his name crafting music for Amy Winehouse and other huge pop stars while BloodPop is a rising musician, previously working for artists like Grimes and Madonna -- selecting these two for a back-to-basics country/rock/pop album is an odd move. Their production techniques either get lost or bump up against each other, like on spastic single "Perfect Illusion," which also features production from Kevin Parker, the front man of the acclaimed indie psychedelic rock band Tame Impala.

"Joanne" ends up being a toss-off album for Gaga, who sounds amazing on all 14 tracks. Her voice is the best part of "Joanne," proving that she's improved as a vocalist over the years but is still finding the right persona to showcase her full talent.