Lenny Kravitz
Lenny
On Sale Now
For $13.75

In the past decade or so Lenny Kravitz has transitioned from an underground cult phenomenon to a retro fashion icon to a worldwide rock superstar. After his recent greatest hits CD sold a cool eight million copies, Kravitz ducked into Roxie Studios, his new recording facility. Within those walls he wrote, performed and recorded the twelve tracks that became his 2001 release, Lenny.

From the very first bars of the opening cut, "Battlefield of Love," Kravitz is kickin' with lightning electric guitar riffs and quick primed drum beats. Not a big surprise. But on this record Mr. K played all of the instruments himself. You'd swear it was a sweaty rock band. But it was all Lenny.

While tracks like "Bank Robber Man" (which chronicles Lenny's mistaken identity as a fugitive) kick out the jams and rock steady, not every tune here uses decibels and a revved up tempo to get the point across. On "Stillness of Heart" the beat drops back while the singer goes inside to find some answers. "All I want is stillness of heart/ so I can start to find my way out of the dark."

Kravitz busts out the acoustic on "A Million Miles Away." Then "Believe in Me" fuses a hip-hop beat and soulful vocals with early eighties electro-pop and a classical guitar solo. The song has the strangest arrangement since the Lenster demanded a sitar appearance on the hit, "It Ain't Over Till It's Over."

The album's first single, "Dig In," picks up the rock again with this socially conscious party song. Fatty beats and fuzz distortion make this one a likely Kravitz classic.

Although the name of this record does not exactly stretch the boundaries of creativity, the songs on Lenny more than make up for the unfortunately worded title. Flying high on the heals of recent successes, this disc is sure to wind up fans with its daring production, introspective lyrics and big rock attitude.

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