Baptism

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

Barnes & Noble

Lenny Kravitz has described this self-produced disc as his most personal recording to date, a description that's hard to argue with, given the intimate lyrical tenor of many of the album's 13 songs and the one-man-band makeup of many others. Lenny indulges his Sly Stone fixation on a passel of Baptism's cuts, most notably the good-vibe ode "I Don't Want to Be a Star," which gooses the Family Stone classic "Everybody Is a Star" into the post-paparazzi world. Yeah, the sentiment is pretty much diametrically opposed to the preening opener, "Minister of Rock n Roll," but Kravitz manages to make listeners overlook the U-turn via a winning combination of sharp guitar work and honey-dripping vocals. Although it's one of Kravitz's more rock-oriented albums, Baptism does dip into the trough of funk here and there, most effectively on the greasy, bass-driven "Sistamamalover." Some of the disc's more introspective ballads -- "Baptized," for one -- wilt under Kravitz's overheated delivery, but the surprises, such as a guest spot from Jay-Z on "Storm" and the neo-bubblegum tone of "Flash," make up for those few fallow spots. On his first new album in three years, Kravitz sounds, well, renewed. David Sprague

Rolling Stone

Baptism makes the case that it's the music, not the stardom, that ultimately matters. Conviction like that will get you through forty and beyond, and will help you make albums as uplifting as this one. Anthony DeCurtis