This year, I was able to pick up the new Lenny Kravitz
album for under $10 thanks to a Boxing Day sale. Would
I have bought it at regular price normally? Probably
not, but that's not to say Lenny isn't half-bad. In
fact, on his latest he seems to channeled that energy
that he is famous for and pushes the envelope just a
little bit further than usual.
Kravitz has long been lumped into the category of
imitator, most often compared to Jimi Hendrix. To give
you an idea, other musicians that share this category
include the Tea Party (the Doors), Oasis (the
Beatles), and Creed (Pearl Jam). Kravitz has always
induced that extra spark of originality that has
slightly allowed him to hover over the others. His
unique challenge has always been to transcend the
lable of imitator without sacrificing the quality of
the music. If anything, on Lenny, he accomplishes this
and, at times, decides to imitate other artists
instead. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. "Stillness
of Heart" hearkens back to Neil Young's "Heart of Gold"
period, and on "If I Could Fall In Love", he does the
distorted-Cher-"Believe"-voice thing.
There are a lot of insightful moments on the album.
Gone are the "Bonet Lies Over the Ocean" motifs from
earlier works; here Kravitz makes it clear that
"Yesterday Is Gone" (the ballad is subtitled "My Dear
Kay" and is one of the best songs on the album). If
the song "God Save Us All" was recorded prior to
September 11th, could he have predicted his insight
when he sings, "We need a leader / We can't seem to
help ourselves / Fighting and lying / We can't seem to
let it go / We live each day / On a small piece of
borrowed time"? The most insightful lyrics of all,
though, describe the physical agonies he's endured in
regards to heartaches and loss ("Battlefield of Love",
"Believe In Me").
But Lenny would be disappointed if we looked too hard
at his words. It's the soulful rock that bleeds best
and tracks like "Dig In" and "Bank Robber Man" pack a
mean punch. Long before today's punk-pop hybirds
washed ashore, he was a pioneer of a return to rock
and roll that can only moderately be seen in some of
today's entertainers. Considering he released a
greatest hits package last year, one would think he'd
perhaps be ready for a short hiatus, but Kravitz is
now at the most popular peak of his career, so I think
he'll only rest after he's too old to play anymore.
This album shows, at the very least, Kravitz is on his
way to shaking that pesky imitator image. Lenny takes
off in so many different directions, I'm sure it will
soon spawn its own set of imitators.
