Baptism

Lenny Kravitz | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 18, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B0001XAMC2
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (93 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,760 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #73 in Music > Rock > Funk Rock

Track Listings

1. Minister of Rock 'n' Roll

2. I Don't Want To Be a Star

3. Lady

4. Calling All Angels

5. California

6. Sistamamalover

7. Where Are We Runnin'?

8. Baptized

9. Flash

10. What Did I Do With My Life?

11. Storm

12. The Other Side

13. Destiny

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Batism. The album that brings Lenny back, August 19, 2004

By 

H. R. Rondilla "helaroni" (Calgary, Alberta Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baptism (Audio CD)

I could easily just write the word "Awesome" and explain this cd thoroughly, but it deserves way more praise than that. I must say that Baptism is the album where Lenny comes back, and back with a vengance!!!! Every single song on this album really felt like he was singing from his heart, like the lyrics had meaning rather than just sounding good. Not only were the lyrics good, but also the music is just as good if not better! If every song were an instrumental, I'd enjoy it just as much. Although I am a little saddened that his former drummer Cindy Blackman is no longer part of his band, I must say the new band (including the back up singers) are great. The music was put together, written, aranged and performed greatly. The ballads were simple, but beautiful. Perhaps it is the simplicity, which made it so great for his ballad "Calling all Angels" track 4. It was pure and he wasn't trying so hard...it just came out simply sounding great. I also thought "Baptized" track 8 was a ballad that was written with feeling and soul.

Now on to my favorite part of this album.... the faster, more upbeat, ROCK n' ROLL songs!!! Tracks like "Lady", "Flash", "Where are we Runnin'" and "I Don't Want to be a Star" made me want to dance, move, tap my feet and slap the steering wheel while listening and driving! These were songs that truly brought us back to the true Lenny. Not so much cookie cutter...the Lenny we all love and going from tracks like "Minister of Rock n' Roll" to "Storm", really showed that diverse side of Lenny. He can easily go from Rock n' roll to a more r&b, hip-hop song; something only Lenny can do so graciously. The only negative thing in my opinion is that for "Storm", it would've been better without JayZ. I like JayZ and all but I really didn't see the need for him in this song.

Overall, this album is worth buying whether you are a Lenny fan or just a fan of good music.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, not great., August 24, 2006

By 

Fredrick Nielson James III "nerd" (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Baptism (Audio CD)

I picked this album up used at a record store for $6, and I think it's well worth it. I'd only heard "Lady" (pretty good) and "Where are we Runnin'?" (great), so I thought I'd get it. I like the album for about half the songs. I appreciate that Lenny does slow songs, but 6 out of 13 songs? I don't even find them very good slow songs. If they were good slow songs, I'd give this CD 5 stars, but no. The fast songs are really good, so why aren't the rest like that?

1. Minister of Rock 'N' Roll: 9.5/10 Perfect way to start the album.
2. I Don't Want To Be a Star: 7/10 I don't like his whiny voice in the intro and chorus, but the verses are good.
3. Lady: 8/10 Too long and repetitive, but the solo is cool.
4. Calling All Angels: 5/10 Ugh. Slow, boring, lame lyrics, too long, etc. Skip this track.
5. California: 9/10 Fun song, good tune to dance to.
6. Sistamamalover: 9/10: Nice funky feel to the song, but odd lyrics.
7. Where Are We Runnin'?: 10/10 Awesome. Heavy bass, heavy guitar, good verses.
8. Baptized: 7/10 Bad verses, good chorus.
9. Flash: 9.5/10 I love this song. Again, odd lyrics, but good.
10. What Did I Do With My Life?: 7/10 Lenny sounds like Elvis Costello in this song, but it doesn't help.
11. Storm: 9/10 Another funky song, but this has Jay-Z, so it's that much better.
12. The Other Side: 6.5/10 Wow. This sounds just like all the other piano ballads on this album.
13. Destiny: 6/10 Sub-par defines this song. Lenny with an acoustic guitar and a falsetto. Almost worse than it sounds.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where ARE we runnin'?, December 1, 2004

By 

Anthony Rupert "shut up, Shut Up, SHUT UP!!!" (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Baptism (Audio CD)

Apparently a lot of people don't seem to care about this album. I was really surprised to see that this is only the twentieth review for it. Basically, I've always been a fan of Lenny Kravitz, but like another reviewer said, things have been going south since 5. Take his last album, Lenny, for example: it was one of those albums that critics loved but fans hated. I agreed with the rest of the fans, because aside from "Dig In", it really didn't have much to offer. And I hoped that Baptism would be a step up, but it's not. But it's not a step DOWN either; it's more like an equivalent of walking in place.

Editorial reviewer Robert Burrow really reviewed this album well (and what IS going on on the album cover?), but I'll voice my own opinion here also. It's not to say that the entire album is bad, but I'll just say that it's a good thing his label picked "Where Are We Runnin'", "California" and "Lady" as the singles, because those are really the only completely good songs on here. There's also one of those not-quite-great, not-quite-filler songs: "Storm" with Jay-Z. It's better than Jay and Lenny's "Guns and Roses", but that's not really saying much.

The mellow songs on the album aren't impressive either. "Calling All Angels" really starts to drag after a while, but the biggest problem is that Lenny sings these smooth songs in very strange voices. This is obvious by listening to "What Did I Do With My Life" and the strangely produced "The Other Side". But the greatest mistake he made would have to be his choice to try to sing falsetto on "Destiny". That song actually almost gave me an earache.

There are also a few well-produced songs that have bizarre lyrics, like "Sistamamalover" and the failed party joint "Flash". And "I Don't Want to Be a Star" is the kind of song you'd expect to find on his first album, not his seventh. All in all, this album is really for diehard Lenny Kravitz fans only. The rest of us will have to continue rolling our eyes until he makes a decent comeback.

Anthony Rupert