speeddemon531's Full Review: Lenny by Lenny Kravitz
In a career that has now spanned thirteen years, Lenny Kravitz has managed to surprise just about everyone. He’s managed to release seven albums, all of which have been moderately to hugely successful, while carving out a sound that is not particularly pop-radio friendly, and draws from mainly 60’s and 70’s rock. “Lenny” sticks to his proven formula of killer riffs and singable, simple lyrics, without much in the way of invention, unlike his previous studio album, 5, which was based primarily in 70’s funk and soul.
Apparently, Lenny was juiced of the success of his “Greatest Hits” album’s song “Again”, which wound up being the biggest hit of his career. The track won him an American Music Award, a Grammy (the third of four consecutive wins for Best Male Rock Vocal), and spurred “Greatest Hits” to sales of 4 million plus. The song’s guitar heroics and Bryan Adams-ish pop/rock sensibility marks most of what you hear on “Lenny”.
Not that what you hear isn’t good. “Lenny” took a long time to grow on me, but it proves itself to be as good as any of his previous albums. There are full-on rockers, sensitive ballads, and a couple of tracks which subtly incorporate the use of current (urban) rhythms.
There’s never been much change in Lenny’s subject matter. Songs about love and broken hearts are plentiful here, along with a couple of his typical Lennon-ish songs about peace and love, which have stuck him with a “neo-hippie” tag since the beginning of his career.
There is major guitar riffage on this album. Just about every track has a standout guitar part, although Lenny plays just about every single instrument on this album. Among the better of the aggressive songs are the opener “Battlefield of Love”, and “Bank Robber Man”, in which Lenny tells the true tale of being mistaken by Miami police for a guy who’d just robbed a bank (if a bank robber looked like Lenny, he probably stick out like a sore thinb, wouldn’t he? Can’t you picture a guy with a huge ‘Fro, tattoos and a nosering coming up to a teller window going “Give me all your money, yeeeeaaaahhhhhhh!!!”) This is the most rocking song on the album, with it’s lightning-fast guitar part sounding like something right off a Who record.
“Dig In’ features rattling percussion and a vaguely spiritual/self-help lyric (“once you dig in/you’ll feel it coming out the other side”), while “Pay to Play” funs up the rock riffs and adds a kiss-off lyric to a gold digging former lover.
The ballads on here are excellent, too. “Stillness of Heart” is an obvious attempt to rip “Again” off, but it has a contagious sing-along quality that makes it endearing. The album’s standout track, ‘Believe in Me”, marries Lenny’s quiet(er) vocals to a Timbaland-esque double-time beat and some atmospheric keyboards. It is a very pretty track, and unlike most of the other songs on the album.
The album’s only blatant misstep is that Lenny’s songs do sometimes blend into one another, Lenny’s songwriting skill hasn’t matured much either, and at this point, probably never will. His lyrics are usually very simple in the “moon/June” sense, a characteristic which is sometimes endearing (as in his ‘state of the world” song “God Save Us All”) and sometimes really annoying (“If I Could Fall in Love”, which features a doubly annoying delayed vocal effect).
After all this time, I don’t think anyone expects Lenny to reinvent the wheel. He keeps cranking out albums which feature some great rock songs, mixed with a couple of ballads, and a couple of funkier songs (Lenny has spoken out many times in the past about wanting a stronger Black fan base. I don’t think he knows exactly how many Black folks by Lenny records on the DL). Yes, his influences are worn on his sleeve (John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Led Zeppelin), but he manages to meld them into a sound that is enjoyable to listen to. No song on here is gonna make you run around and slap your mama, but “Lenny” and Lenny, remain, as always, an enjoyable listen
On his new album, Lenny Kravitz digs deep, goes long and hangs tough to discover...himself. It s no fluke that his long-awaited sixth album is titled,...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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