Album Reviews |

Lenny Kravitz



It's Time For A Love Revolution 5 ( 2008 )
Love Revolution / Bring It On / Good Morning / Love Love Love / If You Want It / I'll Be Waiting / Will You Marry Me / I Love the Rain / A Long and Sad Goodbye / Dancin' 'Til Dawn / This Moment Is All There Is / A New Door / Back in Vietnam / I Want To Go Home

Multi-instrumentalist Lenny Kravitz unveils his eighth studio album to fair reviews and a top five placing in the US. A black man who had problems with record companies in his earlier career for not sounding black enough. Lenny was a fan of Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, etc. All that classic rock stuff. Indeed, 'Bring It On' sports a Led Zeppelin style guitar riff most enjoyably. The title track unfortunately is dire, full of cliches and sporting only the barest of ideas and hooks. His vocals appear to be mixed fairly low across the albums fourteen tracks ( sixteen on certain editions ) with the emphasis largely on his guitar playing. So, with 'Love Love Love' also kicking off with drums and guitar reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, is Kravitz trying to ride the coat-tails of the recent Led Zeppelin reunion? Well, he still has that Beatles vibe going on as well, but probably yes. You know, behind the pleasing sound of the basics contained within a song such as 'Love Love Love', one suspects the actual song-writing lacks substance. This is all a far cry from 1989 when he released his debut 'Let Love Rule' and although that album also sported a retro sound, it wasn't quite as base and obvious as this 2008 Kravitz model. 'A New Door' is a sad sounding ballad firmly in the John Lennon mode, 'Back In Vietnam' is a curious thing, not helping the 'Lenny wants to live in the Sixties' brigade who can't quite get the point of it all.

In the middle of the album we get a couple of welcome highlights, songs about things, restrained moments without the usual Kravitz attempted showboating. 'If You Want It' and 'I'll Be Waiting' sound all the world you see like actual proper compositions, both also able to nicely fit in on radio or MTV playlists. Lead single and album title track is all flash tricks, these are actual compositions. It makes a huge difference. 'A Long And Sad Goodbye' is a six minute ELO styled number, replete with strings and Lenny repeating the word 'Papa' over and over again. Not so good, really. So, the best song here is perhaps the Zeppelin stylings of 'Bring It On'. Overall though, the album just doesn't add upto much. There's nothing actively wrong with anything, it's just all so ultimately forgettable.

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