“Fly Away.”<\/p>\n
If you have, by some miraculous chance, avoided the monster hit
\nfrom Lenny Kravitz’s last album
\n5<\/i>, then count yourself among the few. From TV ads to VH-1,
\nthis song has been around for the past couple of years and refuses
\nto go away.<\/p>\n
And why should it? After the success of songs like “It Ain’t
\nOver Till It’s Over” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way,” the artist once
\nknown as Romeo Blue has waited a while for his next big hit to
\nstrike. Though well liked by people across various generational
\ngaps by his mix of ’60s love vibes, ’70s funk, and ’80s guitar
\nrock, Kravitz has nonetheless never gotten over with critics. He is
\noften perceived as nothing more than a cheap knockoff of the music
\nof the ’60s and ’70s. Add to that the message to “Let Love Rule”
\nthat permeates all of his work — a mantra plucked straight out of
\nthe flower power generation. It has not been easy for Kravitz to
\nseparate himself from detractrors’ cries for unoriginality.<\/p>\n
That said, Kravitz’s last offering, 5, serves a more potent mix
\nof his music than his last album did. It may have been due to the
\nrecent death of his mother, TV star Roxie Roker, but
\nCircus<\/i> was a dark and depressing album. After all, Kravitz,
\nlike all artists, feeds off his emotions and feelings to create. I
\ndoubt that he was feeling cheery and peppy during those times.<\/p>\n
However, the Kravitz of
\nAre You Gonna Go My Way<\/i> makes a welcomed return here as
\n5<\/i> presents more fun and funk. The album kicks off with the
\nstraight rocker, “Live,” which is not bad. From there you get some
\nof 70s funk — both in sentiment and in music — in
\n“Supersoulfighter” and the instrumental “Straight Cold Player,”
\nR& B in “Take Time” and mid-tempo rock with “It’s Your Life”
\nand “You’re My Flavor.” Along with that you get some soulful music.
\n“Thinking of You” seems to be a dedication to his mother and is
\nvery good. At the same time, “Little Girl’s Eyes” is for his
\ndaughter and is very soft and tender.<\/p>\n
Then you get the three hit singles. “Fly Away” is a monster. I
\nremember seeing the video way back and instantly liking it. It
\ncaptured all of the emotions I was feeling during midterms. By now,
\nthough, I’m sure you’ve decided whether or not it is for you.
\n“American Woman” finds its way here after the song became a hit
\nfrom that
\nAustin Powers<\/i> movie. Again, I won’t meddle too much with
\nyour opinion, but I will say that it’s just as good as the Guess
\nWho’s original. Finally, “I Belong To You” is a great, danceable,
\nsong that is full of tropical flavor. It’s become a hit in its own
\nright.<\/p>\n
There are no truly bad songs in here. However, there are a few
\nthrowaways. Most notably, those are mid-tempo and moody tracks.
\nSongs like “If You Can’t Say No,” the enviro-friendly “Can We Find
\nA Reason?” and the other bonus track “Without You” are not bad.
\nHowever, they tend to drag the album down. It’s not that I don’t
\nlike soft or moody material — both “Thinking Of You” and “Take
\nTime” can fit in that same bill. The difference, nevertheless, is
\nthat those songs are enjoyable. At 15 songs (13 in the original
\nrelease, plus the two tracks later added), I personally don’t see
\nwhy they could not have been culled and released as single B-sides.
\nIt would have made
\n5<\/i> a much tighter album.<\/p>\n
In the end, this album ended up being the boost that Kravitz
\nneeded in his career. While some of the funk and lovey-dovey lyrics
\nmay not be your cup of tea, he mixes in enough rock to make it into
\nsomething original and personal. Here’s hoping the next album keeps
\non this trend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":25453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6352],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-36659","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-lenny-kravitz","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36659"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36659\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36659"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}