Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz returns; his new album is self-referentially titled, well, Lenny. The album opens with “Battlefield of Love,” an awesome psychedelic rock tune with heavy electric guitar. Another cool number is the Beatlesque ballad “Yesterday Is Gone.” On the album’s first single, “Dig In,” the signature line “Have yourself a good time” is underscored by fuzzy guitar; the result is a great party song. Other standouts include “Bank Robber Man,” with its Led Zeppelin-esque riffs, and “Let’s Get High,” which is reminiscent of the Jimi Hendrix classic, “Waterfall.” According to the album’s credits, Kravitz plays almost all the instruments on it, which makes him almost a one-man band. And, while the album may be derivative, when positioned next to the current works of ’NSync and Britney Spears, it becomes a vehicle to escape the mind-numbing universe of plastic pop. Yes, Lenny rocks.