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David Watkins

Lenny Kravitz
It is Time for a Love Revolution
(Virgin)
The auspiciousness of the number eight has certainly rubbed off on Lenny Kravitz for his corresponding studio album.
Love Revolution  is a revitalised, charged and aggressive return to his best form and his most complete album since Let Love Rule.
Written, composed, arranged, performed and produced by Kravitz,  the record carries a denim-clad vibe of vintage musicianship with some of his best riffs in years.
The sentiment is equally retro, as Kravitz (right with Brazilian President  Luiz Ignacio 'Lula' da Silva) draws on echoes of politics past in his belting riposte to the Iraq occupation, Back in Vietnam.
It should be noted that Kravitz was one of the quickest artists to post a protest song at the invasion back in 2003.
Frequently called out for his lyrical laziness, Kravitz's writing here is tighter and more focused, although there are lapses, namely with the insipid Good Morning. Meanwhile, A Long Sad Goodbye sees Kravitz confront his own sense of betrayal following the divorce of his parents when he was 20 and perhaps the regret of words unsaid following his father's recent death. The song strains under the weight, with Kravitz choosing pure angst as his medium instead of the considered reflection of a 43-year-old.
Other highlights include A New Door, which channels mid-1970s Elton John, while Will You Marry Me is lanced by a wobbly keyboard line that would have done Prince proud in 1980.
Indeed, Love Revolution  sees Kravitz roaming over his own musical map with such relish that it becomes redundant to question his derivative tendencies. His sound is unmistakably his; it is now also time to reappraise Kravitz for the guitar hero he is. The man himself has clearly done the same.



Lenny Kravitz