The Cherrytree Sessions (Lady Gaga EP)

Background and composition

The Cherrytree Sessions is a series of EPs first envisaged by Cherrytree Records label head and producer Martin Kierszenbaum in order to promote his artists. With the assistance of Tony Ugval, Kierszenbaum was able to secure footage and music recordings of several performances from artists on the label's roster. Following requests from fans of the label's music, Kierszenbaum decided to release them commercially, and stated that "before long, we found ourselves with an extraordinary collection of recordings: intimate at times, unexpected at others."

Gaga's performances for The Cherrytree Sessions was first released as a video posted to the label's website. It begins with Gaga and producer Space Cowboy surprising Kierszenbaum in his office, known as The Cherrytree House. After discussing her international travels, Gaga performed an acoustic version of "Brown Eyes" at the piano where she had sung for Kierszenbaum the first time they met. She and Space Cowboy then performed a stripped down version of "Just Dance" on their keyboards, before Gaga returned to the piano for an acoustic version of "Poker Face". The performance coincided with Gaga reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart with "Just Dance" in 2008, and was available for streaming as a webisode on the Cherrytree Records website.

The EP itself consists of three tracks recorded live from the event, all of which had previously been successful singles released from Gaga's first studio album, The Fame (2008). Allmusic compared the "solo piano rendition" of "Poker Face" to the style of cabaret, while "Just Dance" had only synths as its instrumentation. The final song, "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" makes use of keyboards and beatboxing, which is performed by Space Cowboy.

Critical reception

The Cherrytree Sessions was released on February 3, 2009, in the United States and was an import in European nations, including France. Mark Beech of Bloomberg L.P. gave The Cherrytree Sessions a positive review, awarding it three out of four stars. He praised Gaga's singing abilities and noting that the EP "shows Lady Gaga isn't all combustible miniskirts and flame-throwing bras." Simon Gage of the Daily Express gave the album three out of five stars, expressing surprise at Gaga's singing abilities. "Often hidden under those dastardly catchy Eurobeats," he noted, "on these earlier, simpler versions of tracks such as Poker Face and Just Dance, her voice gets a bit more of a chance to shine, as do the songs." This sentiment was echoed by Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic, awarding three stars out of five, who felt that the performances were "effective showcases for Gaga’s charisma and songwriting." Erlewine praised the music of "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" in particular, noting that its "bare-bones mix" was complementary to the release's aesthetic.

The Cherrytree Sessions debuted at 45 on the Mexican Albums Chart on August 20, 2010, and moved to 32 the next week. Although it failed to enter any of the Billboard album charts, according to Nielsen Soundscan, the EP had sold 9,000 copies in the United States by September 2010.

Personnel

Credits for The Cherrytree Sessions per Allmusic and liner notes.