Lenny Kravitz

The off-kilter Moog effect at the start has me thinking that I've mistakenly flipped on a Judge Jules compilation, but within seconds the familiar drum pattern, vocals and trademark 60's guitar kicks into gear. ‘Minister Of Rock & Roll' won't win any lyrical prizes but luckily Lenny screaming the repeated phrase strikes a chord. As in most of this album ‘I Don't Want to be a Star' sees Lenny playing all instruments, and apart from an odd Bowiesque moment, he seems to have stripped down his sound and gone back to basics. ‘Lady' rocks in the same vein. The emotional number is ‘Calling All Angels' –All of my life I've been waiting for someone to love- etc etc. ‘California' has got single written all over it. Up beat rockin riff led and with more than a little Weazer in the mix it will have heads bobbing everywhere. ‘Sistermamalover' has a great guitar hook and lends itself more to sweaty live renditions. ‘Where Are We Runnin'?' the current single did not at first impress but inexplicably I now love. The title track ‘Baptized' slows things down again and sticks to the formula Lenny adhered so closely to on his first (and his best) two albums. ‘Flash' just rocks. ‘Storm' sees Jay-Z take to the mike for a rap, and as he's the lucky sod that's seeing Beyonce, I'd like to slag it off but again it exudes sexuality and is another winner. ‘The Other Side' sees Lenny walking off into the sunset knowing he can do no wrong even finishing off with an acoustic little ditty called ‘Destiny'.

It's a Lenny Kravitz album for Kravitz fans. He's chosen not to disappoint (as he did with the last album) and give us some hallmark Kravitz. This inevitably means that we see no musical progression, but I'll gladly forgo that for some decent music this time. Gets better every time I hear it.