Lenny Kravitz
Baptism
(Virgin **)

When Prince sings, "Don't you miss the feeling music gave you back in the day?" on "Musicology," he could be talking to Lenny Kravitz.

Has Kravitz ever been anything but back-in-the-day? The retro rocker's guitars and primal screams merely ape the Purple One and Lennon and Aerosmith and (fill in the blank). Though Kravitz has shown great moments in cloning experiments ("Are You Gonna Go My Way?"), Baptism is the sound of a man who has stopped trying to be anything but copycat.

On "Where Are We Runnin'?" and "Flash," he discusses that burnout with lackluster bluster, instead of his usual brio. Though his signature growl-and-howl is still mightily intact, he seems tired, tritely name-dropping, complaining about celebrity, and showing a willingness to chill in his Chevy rather than stay, as he puts it, "a Minister of Rock 'n' Roll."

Kravitz had better work on getting more worked up, or the title of his "I Don't Want to Be a Star" will become sadly prescient. Actually, that would be new.

- A.D. Amorosi


The Streets
A Grand Don't Come for Free
(Vice ****)

Nobody else sounds quite like Mike Skinner, the 25-year-old Englishman who records as The Streets. Though British rap contemporaries such as Dizzee Rascal and So Solid Crew are also Cockney-accented rhymers associated with the electronic subgenre known as 2-step garage, none of them shares Skinner's awkward vulnerability or nerdy charm. His choppy flow, peppered with references to geezers and birds, may sound odd to American ears, but is ultimately a refreshing break from the slick wordplay of our own hip-hop MCs.

On The Streets' 2002 debut, Original Pirate Material, Skinner proved himself a master of finding high drama in everyday life. Grand ups the ante, presenting an epic meditation on romance and friendship through an album-length narrative about a broken TV set, some missing cash, and lots of alcohol, smoke and pills. Musical motifs dictate the tale's emotional flow: Cheesy piano riffs accompany the first-date tableau "Could Well Be In" and the ode to domestic life "I Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way." Menacing beats and sinister synths anchor the angry, paranoid "What Is He Thinking" and "Empty Cans."

Repeated listens are required to fully grasp the plot, but that's part of the fun; Grand is like a book you can dance to.

- Amy Phillips

Yeah, Lenny's new single and video suck! It is the most played out crap he has ever done. Obviously no effort.