Baptism - Kravitz, Lenny (CD 2004)

Let's face facts-Lenny Kravitz is probably the most critically maligned rock star of his generation. Throughout his entire 15 year career, Lenny's caught sh*t for being a hippie throwback or for being too derivative. Not like any other current artist out there is doing anything blindingly original. At any rate, I'll go on the record as having been a consistent Lenny fan since "Let Love Rule". And you don't survive for fifteen years without doing something right, right?

Of course, at this point, Lenny's outgrown a bit of the wearing his influences on his sleeve, and with 8 albums under his belt, you could say that there's a somewhat identifiable Lenny Kravitz sound. The guy's a throwback to artists like Prince who wrote, performed and produced all their music. Of course, comparing Lenny to Prince is like comparing Britney to Madonna. they're reminiscent of each other, but with a few glaring faults. And "Baptism", Lenny's new album, has several of those faults on semi-continuous display.

On "Baptism", as on most Lenny albums, there are several different Lennys you see here: there's the "rock god" Lenny, who screams over chunky guitar riffs, there's earnest love balladeer Lenny, there's spiritual wanderer Lenny, and there's funky Lenny, who pops up every once in a while just to remind you that he's Black. Unfortunately, none of the four Lennys do much beyond recycling things Lenny did better on other albums.

Before we get to the music, let's take a quick second to ponder this album's cover. It features Lenny against a red background. He and his guitar are submerged into some red mess (is this supposed to signify blood? I dunno). He has also forgone the dreads and the 'Fro that replaced it with a perm circa "Earth Song"-era Michael Jackson. To make a long story short, the brother looks like a pimp that's been shot and is suffeering from massive blood loss on the cover.

OK-back to the music. There are some good/interesting tracks on the album if you listen long enough. "California" is total cliche, hackneyed lyrics about surfing and a general sunny vibe, but the cliche kinda works here. It's addictive in an "I don't wanna like this song!" way. And the gleeful Cali vibe is offset by some kick-*ss loud guitar. "Sistamamalover" is this album's dedicated "Funk" jam. With a thumping bassline (which sounds suspiciously like Sly's "Thank You For Talkin' To Me Africa"), this suggests the type of Lenny might've been better off going in.

These mildly enjoyable moments are offset by songs like "Calling All Angels". In case you're wondering, this has nothing to do with the pretty decent Train song of the same name. Instead, it's a lifeless ballad which sounds almost amateurishly demo-like until an orchestra kicks in 2/3 of the way through the song. Tracks like the single "Where Are We Runnin'" and "I Don't Want To Be A Star" are quite derivative-of Lenny's own work. If you've heard "Dig In" or "Are You Gonna Go My Way", then you've heard either of these two songs.

Many of these songs concern a spiritual longing for Lenny, or a desire for a simpler sort of life. On songs like "Baptism", he seems to be denouncing the rock-star life, but it's hard to look at that rationally when you realize "This is Nicole Kidman-dating, supermodel-snogging, tattoo-covered ROCK STAR Lenny Kravitz!" Anyway, "Baptism" is a country-flavored ballad which is saved by some impassioned wailing from background vocalist Tawatha Agee (for those in the know, Tawatha was the lead singer of 80's funk outfit Mtume, who had a humongous hit with "Juicy Fruit", but I digress...)

Among the album's other guests. Lionel Richie co-wrote the gentle acoustic ballad "Destiny" which Lenny pulls out the crooning falsetto for, while David Sanborn shows up for two hiney-kicking sax solos, opening up the rock jam "Flash" (easily the only decent part of the song), and stealing the show again on the Lennon-esque ballad "The Other Side". Both of his solos breathe life into the otherwise boring proceedings, sort of a surprise until you remember that this is the same saxman who played the stunning opening notes of Bowie's "Young Americans".

The album's most interesting guest, however, is the one and only Jay-Z. Young Hov drops a fairly quick 16 on the downtempo, brooding "Storm". As weird as it is hearing an MC on a Lenny Kravitz record, Jay does his thing on this religious-themed record.

For most of this album, you just get the feeling of "I've been here before". Lenny's a masterful musician, but there's no "pop" in most of these songs. The uptempo rockers all sound alike, alnd the mellow "Imagine"-esque ballads all do too. It all might be easier to take if Lenny were a better lyricist (that's always been his Achilles heel), but when the dude's rhyming "flash" with "panache", you know it's time to go.

This album's not terrible, just boring and a bit disappointing, especially with the knowledge that Lenny is capable of better (try on "Mama Said", "Are You Gonna Go My way" or "5" out for size. If you're a massive Lenny fan, you'll find some redeeming value here. If not, this is one "Baptism" you might as well stay home for.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Repeat: "Storm" (feat. Jay-Z), "Sistamamalover", "Baptism"

Skip: Most of the rest of the album.

Great Music to Play While: Realizing that Lenny's voice is eerily identical to Elvis Costello's.