A good album (It Is Time For A Love Revolution - Lenny Kravitz)

Member Name: liamb71

Product:	It Is Time For A Love Revolution - Lenny Kravitz
Date:	27/05/09 (4 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Title track and a good few others besides

Disadvantages: A few ponderous self-indulgent ballads

'It is Time for a Love Revolution' is Lenny Kravitz's eight studio album (he has also released a 'Greatest Hits' package) and for me it is one of his finest. He has never quite managed to build on the monumental success of 'Are you gonna go my way?', although the use of 'Fly Away' on a TV commercial did temporarily bring him back into the full glare of the media spotlight. However whilst his latest offering does not necessarily offer us anything radically different from previous albums, I think it deserves a lot more praise than it has received.

The album gets off to a great start with the title track, classic Kravitz in the same vein as his biggest hit single, an instant toe tapper. Next up is 'Bring it On', which has a slightly more jamming soulful feel to it, more of a slow burner than an anthem. 'Good Morning' is a bit disapointing for me by comparison, a bit plodding and the lyrics are hardly the most inspired, but then we have 'Love Love Love', a real highlight, with a great guitar riff and a very simple message to go with it. 'If You Want It' is a bit too moralising for my liking and also a bit too slow, but in case you think I can't cope unless the guitars are in full flow, I love next track 'I'll be Waiting', a very simply arranged and beautiful song about unrequited devotion (there is a just a touch of desperation about the 'as long as I'm living, I'll be waiting') In case we were getting too bogged down and melancolic, we get the funky 'Will you marry me?' next (maybe his devotion has finally paid off??), and then the paces changes again for 'I Love the Rain', another personal favourite.

However for me Kravitz is rather too self indulgent on 'A Long and Sad Goodbye', before returning to form with 'Dancin' til Dawn', which reminds me a little of the Rolling Stones in 'Harlem Shuffle' mode. 'This Moment is all There Is' could have been omitted without many shedding a tear, and 'A New Door' is also unremarkable. Fortunately the album ends strongly with 'Back in Vietnam' and the catchy 'I Want to Go Home'.

So overall a good album, one which I feel could have been great had it only had 11 or 12 tracks and thus been shortened by about 10 minutes. It has not propelled Kravitz back to the top of the tree, but I doubt he is that bothered at this stage of his career! Well worth purchasing if you have ever liked him and have forgotten about him somewhere along the way.

Summary: Kravitz's eighth studio album