Lenny

1	Battlefield of Love 3:14
2	If I Could Fall in Love 4:21
3	Yesterday Is Gone My Dear Kay 3:52
4	Stillness of Heart 4:15
5	Believe in Me 4:40
6	Pay to Play 2:50
7	A Million Miles Away 4:32
8	God Save Us All 3:53
9	Dig In 3:37
10	You Were in My Heart 5:29
11	Bank Robber Man 3:31
12	Let's Get High 5:39

Barnes & Noble

Some musicians want to challenge an audience, force-feeding fans something that's new, different, and ostensibly "good for" them. Others take the more trad route, serving up the sonic equivalent of comfort food, tunes that lend themselves to almost instant sing-alongs (or at least Bic-flick-alongs). Lenny Kravitz has always unabashedly slotted himself into the latter category, and his righteous channeling of the spirit of '76 (1976, that is) has seldom been more effective than on this outing, which reconciles his strutting rocker side and his sweet soul singer side with panache. Kravitz's crooning has brought him many a chart hit, and this set doesn't skimp on hits-in-the-making -- although even make-out moaners like "A Million Miles Away" and "Believe in Me" are injected with a certain street savvy this time around. He's at his best when leaning into crunchy, riff-laden rockers, like "Dig In" and the Bad Company-meets-Zeppelin lust-fest "If I Could Fall in Love," and when slipping just a touch of bad-boy attitude into the mix, as on the chunky "Bank Robber Man." As is his wont, Kravitz also toys with post-hippie spirituality, but he's a bit less heavy-handed this time, making songs like "God Save Us All" -- which features a smile-inducing vocoder solo straight out of Peter Frampton's book of tricks -- seem less preachy than merely commiserating. While some might be tempted to grab Lenny Kravitz by the feather boa and let him know we've entered a new millennium, there's something reassuring about having a key to the way-back machine at the ready, and Lenny fires up the engine in no time flat. David Sprague

All Music Guide

Sure, 5 gave Lenny Kravitz a career revival, thanks to a really big hit with the didactic, clumsy "Fly," and he followed it with a hit that was equally inexplicable -- a lumbering, dunderheaded cover of the Guess Who's "American Woman," which surely benefited from its presence on the blockbuster Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Heather Graham's accompanying, chest-grabbing video -- and equally distasteful. Combined with the lackluster Circus, it was easy to assume that Kravitz had plateaued, deciding to recycle lame sub-Hendrix stadium rock instead of crafting the kind of lush, post-psychedelic soul that made his first three records so fine. Then, out of nowhere, he threw out the lovely "Again" as a new track for Greatest Hits, setting the stage for the return to form that's Lenny. This, not the empty hard rock of Circus and 5, finds Lenny Kravitz at the peak of his powers, crafting classic rock homages that get by not only on their melodic force but in sterling studiocraft that may shamelessly worship classic rock, but gets the sound and texture right. Kravitz has gotten to the point that his blend of album rock, smooth soul, hippie love, and hipster pop is now his own musical signature -- yes, it's still possible to play "spot the influence," but it's all blended better and presented with an offhand grace, particularly in how the gorgeous, enveloping ballads and mid-tempo pop is punctuated by the rockers that sound much fiercer in this context. There may not be singles that are as immediately grabbing as "It Ain't Over Til It's Over," "Let Love Rule," and "Are You Gonna Go My Way," but there are no dull spots, either, and this easily stands alongside his first three albums as a set of classy, near-irresistible pop for listeners weaned on classic and college rock, which is a wholly welcome surprise. Stephen Thomas Erlewine