Lenny Kravitz - Circus

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• Lenny Kravitz - Circus Brazil Import

Music reviews of Circus

Music Review: Personal pain resulted in darker, more personal record
Rating: 4 Stars

Probably the most damning was the Zeppelin-derived opener "Rock & Roll Is Dead", which really is a good rocker in the end, but people thought Lenny was contradicting himself when he put down the excess of rock stars, everything from drugs to groupies. After all, didn't Lenny's music come from a time when those things were used in abundance? Even so, the song still rocks to high heaven. The same goes for the funk-driven (if a little too James Brown-inspired) "Tunnelvision", "Magdalene" (Lenny's "Dancing Days", if you will) & "Thin Ice".

But with all the emotional turmoil in Lenny's life around the time of CIRCUS, a more introspective person emerged. The eerie title track (with its eyebrow-raising video), "Don't Go & Put A Bullet In Your Head", "In My Life Today" & the country-tinged "Can't Get You Off My Mind" demonstrate a Lenny starting to mellow out ever so slightly, even if it took a personal tragedy (his mother's death) to make that happen.

Religion also becomes a focal point on songs like "God Is Love", "Beyond The 7th Sky" & "Resurrection". While the death of his mother may have gotten Lenny to thinking about his own mortality, most of these songs come off as too preachy in the end. Such indulgence can be forgiven & even understood nevertheless.

CIRCUS was indeed a shocking record coming from Lenny Kravitz, not just for its ever-present influences, but for its overall depressing mood. After all, wasn't Lenny supposed to be about the love, peace & happiness vibes of the late 1960s? Instead, CIRCUS had Lenny facing reality & discovering that such things don't come so easy. Most fans weren't willing to go on that dark ride with Lenny & critics were often even more harsh in their reviews. But while it's true that CIRCUS may be not as enjoyable as its upbeat title states, after a few listens, the album will start to reveal itself as an intriguing, well-worth-listening record in the end.

Description of Circus

Lenny Kravitz Photos

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Baptism

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Mama Said

Kravitz's continued adherence to his ridiculous, often-parodied rock star stance is what makes him--even more than his decidedly retrograde music-- an anachronism. And while bands like Urge Overkill get away with Kravitz-like stud rock because they riff with their tongues firmly planted in their cheeks, Kravitz is all the more difficult to stomach because he's so lacking in irony.

If it's possible to separate the music from the silly rock star that created it (or if you actually dig Kravitz's pose), Circus turns out to be a better-than-average classic rock record. "Magdalene" bursts with as much melody and enthusiasm as Matthew Sweet power-pop; the mid-tempo "Can't Get You Off My Mind" sways like the country-flavored rock of the '70s; and "Don't Go and Put a Bullet in Your Head" is driven by a surprisingly nonretro drum machine beat.

Circus is interesting as well for its heavy religious content. Though Kravitz's hippified vision of world harmony goes back to his first single, 1989's "Let Love Rule," never has he sounded more overtly Christian than here on songs like "God Is Love" and "The Resurrection." Traditional Christians might find his mix of sexuality with religion offensive, and secular rock fans might find his beatitudes creepy. Still, if gangster rap or left-wing folk music are valid themes for pop music, there's certainly room as well for Kravitz's religious convictions and positive vibe. --Roni Sarig

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