Baptism

by

Lenny Kravitz

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I could easily just write the word "Awesome" and explain this cd thoroughly, but it deserves way more praise than that. I must say that Baptism is the album where Lenny comes back, and back with a vengance!!!! Every single song on this album really felt like he was singing from his heart, like the lyrics had meaning rather than just sounding good. Not only were the lyrics good, but also the music is just as good if not better! If every song were an instrumental, I'd enjoy it just as much. Although I am a little saddened that his former drummer Cindy Blackman is no longer part of his band, I must say the new band (including the back up singers) are great. The music was put together, written, aranged and performed greatly. The ballads were simple, but beautiful. Perhaps it is the simplicity, which made it so great for his ballad "Calling all Angels" track 4. It was pure and he wasn't trying so hard...it just came out simply sounding great. I also thought "Baptized" track 8 was a ballad that was written with feeling and soul.

Now on to my favorite part of this album.... the faster, more upbeat, ROCK n' ROLL songs!!! Tracks like "Lady", "Flash", "Where are we Runnin'" and "I Don't Want to be a Star" made me want to dance, move, tap my feet and slap the steering wheel while listening and driving! These were songs that truly brought us back to the true Lenny. Not so much cookie cutter...the Lenny we all love and going from tracks like "Minister of Rock n' Roll" to "Storm", really showed that diverse side of Lenny. He can easily go from Rock n' roll to a more r&b, hip-hop song; something only Lenny can do so graciously. The only negative thing in my opinion is that for "Storm", it would've been better without JayZ. I like JayZ and all but I really didn't see the need for him in this song.

Overall, this album is worth buying whether you are a Lenny fan or just a fan of good music.

Apparently a lot of people don't seem to care about this album. I was really surprised to see that this is only the twentieth review for it. Basically, I've always been a fan of Lenny Kravitz, but like another reviewer said, things have been going south since 5. Take his last album, Lenny, for example: it was one of those albums that critics loved but fans hated. I agreed with the rest of the fans, because aside from "Dig In", it really didn't have much to offer. And I hoped that Baptism would be a step up, but it's not. But it's not a step DOWN either; it's more like an equivalent of walking in place.

Editorial reviewer Robert Burrow really reviewed this album well (and what IS going on on the album cover?), but I'll voice my own opinion here also. It's not to say that the entire album is bad, but I'll just say that it's a good thing his label picked "Where Are We Runnin'", "California" and "Lady" as the singles, because those are really the only completely good songs on here. There's also one of those not-quite-great, not-quite-filler songs: "Storm" with Jay-Z. It's better than Jay and Lenny's "Guns and Roses", but that's not really saying much.

The mellow songs on the album aren't impressive either. "Calling All Angels" really starts to drag after a while, but the biggest problem is that Lenny sings these smooth songs in very strange voices. This is obvious by listening to "What Did I Do With My Life" and the strangely produced "The Other Side". But the greatest mistake he made would have to be his choice to try to sing falsetto on "Destiny". That song actually almost gave me an earache.

There are also a few well-produced songs that have bizarre lyrics, like "Sistamamalover" and the failed party joint "Flash". And "I Don't Want to Be a Star" is the kind of song you'd expect to find on his first album, not his seventh. All in all, this album is really for diehard Lenny Kravitz fans only. The rest of us will have to continue rolling our eyes until he makes a decent comeback.

Anthony Rupert