Kravitz calls for �Revolution� ...

But sluggish, ambiguous tunes offer few returns

By Bill Earl

2008-01-30

Blast from the past

Led Zeppelin
“Led Zeppelin” (Atlantic)
1969

Led Zeppelin began its career by pursuing the blues grime which the band members had grown up with, investing in plenty of electric guitar evil along the way. And oh, what a noise they made! Although their debut is often overlooked in favor of their revolutionary later work, it is no less essential. Need proof? How about guitarist Jimmy Page’s furious solo on “Communication Breakdown,” John Paul Jones and John Bonham’s thundering rhythm section in “Good Times Bad Times,” or even the slow burn and sultry lyrics of “Dazed and Confused”? A classic introduction to an essential body of work which burns just as bright as it did decades ago.

It’s not difficult to understand the appeal of Lenny Kravitz. Outside of his well-documented role as a fashionista, his songs resonate with the middle-age masses, eager to remain edgy without realizing that they may be losing their cool. Perhaps this derives from Kravitz’s affection for the rock and soul of the ‘70s, which he emulates shamelessly. In fact, two of his biggest hits included a ham-handed cover of The Guess Who’s “American Woman,” and his breakthrough hit “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over,” a shameless redo of the classic Earth, Wind and Fire track “That’s The Way Of The World.”

For better or worse, Kravitz continues this formula on his eighth studio album, “It Is Time For A Love Revolution.” But revolution is the last thing that this soggy record achieves. Take first single “Bring It On” as an example. Lyrically, it is an exercise in futile rock anthem-ism: “It’s getting heavy / But I’m ready / To take on this world and rock steady / So come on, bring it on.” Instead of sounding epic, it rings truer to a page out of the Spinal Tap songbook. Such mediocrity could be anchored with strong instrumentation, yet the track resembles a karaoke-fied version of the Led Zeppelin classic “Black Dog,” sans emotion and technical guitar wizardry.

The track itself is indicative of the snoozy valleys the rest of the album settles in. Album opener “Love Revolution” is essentially the same song as “Bring It On,” with a slightly modified tempo and Kravitz shouting about “love revolutions” instead of “bringing it on.” Perhaps that too is what remains frustrating about Kravitz — his formulaic nature. While “Love Revolution” is a toe-tapper, its tired template prevents it from rocking; after all, it’s play a riff, crank it up in the chorus and yell some good-natured nonsense to top it all off.

In fact, the highest points of this album are the few times Kravitz derivates from this repetition. These shifts are best heard on gentler tracks such as “Good Morning” and “A Long And Sad Goodbye,” which shamelessly ape The Beatles and Queen, respectively.

In all, this album will do well no matter what the critics think. But if you need some classic rock stomp in your life, please pick up albums by and support the artists which Kravitz so shamelessly rips off, and leave this self-proclaimed “flower child” to keep his copycat hippie catchphrases to himself.

Maine native Bill Earl is a student at Ithaca College and is currently serving a writing internship with USA Today in Washington, DC.