With the appropriately titled It Is Time for a Love Revolution, Lenny Kravitz wants to change the way you look at love. But unfortunately for the 43-year-old musician, the album doesn’t exactly spark the seeds of change. Instead, it inspires listeners to switch CDs (or iPod albums, whatever).
Recent years have been tough for Kravitz. After his 1998 album, 5, went double platinum, it was followed by a triple-platinum greatest-hits package. But after that, his sales began to drop: 2001’s Lenny only went platinum once, and 2004’s follow-up, Baptism, only made it to gold. It Is Time for a Love Revolution aims to regain success for Kravitz, but it doesn’t hit the mark.
With this album, Kravitz takes a seat in the producer’s chair, in addition to his place in front of the microphone. Though the move does create a handful of successes, there is an overall lack of consistency here.
“Love Revolution” is a classic Kravitz track – after all, he’s been around for almost two decades at this point. Think “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” ramped up a notch or three. The power-charged guitars and driving drumbeat are the backbone of almost every rock song Kravitz has ever written, and it’s a formula the man has ridden to enormous commercial and critical success. “Love Revolution” is no different.
But the rest of the album’s 14 tracks aren’t as exciting – slower, ballad-style songs are the bulk of It Is Time for a Love Revolution, and unfortunately, that isn’t where Kravitz shines. In fact, these songs pale in comparison to their rocking counterparts.
Thankfully, though, when the album does venture into high gear, it is clearly derivative of ’70s era classic rock, borrowing beats from many of the major players of that period. These songs are well-written love letters to a bygone time and are the definitive highlight of It Is Time for a Love Revolution.
For example, “Bring It On” opens with roaring guitar and pounding drums that could have been written by Jimmy Page and the late John Bonham. It’s a fun track on the musical side, but lyrically, it doesn’t offer much substance.
Borrowing from another band of that era, “Dancin’ Till Dawn” copies the opening riff of the Rolling Stones’ disco experimental “Miss You.” Kravitz keeps the staccato dance-style rhythm going for the length of the five-minute-plus song, but it just might be too much of a good thing. The song is enjoyable, and the beat might be good for dancing, but the track drags in its latter half – perhaps a little trimming was in order.
As a completed work, It Is Time for a Love Revolution comes up far short of world changing. When Kravitz turns it up to 11, the album soars. Unfortunately, the volume level on most of It Is Time for a Love Revolution hovers at around a six, and the album suffers greatly for it. Many of the tracks bleed together, creating long lulls in the music.
If Kravitz had kept the pace (and volume) up for the entirety of the work, it would have been much better – maybe even enough to vault him back to platinum status. As it is, it’s mediocre at best.
tripp.laino@yahoo.com
RATING: 3 STARS OUT OF 5
