Baptism - Lenny Kravitz
Baptism Image
Metascore
43 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critics What's this?

User Score
4.9 out of 10

Mixed or average reviews- based on 37 Ratings

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0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Kravitz handled virtually all of the instruments for this seventh album, which features a guest appearance from Jay-Z on the track "Storm."

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 5 out of 10
  1. Rolling Stone
    70
    Somewhere along the line in his career, he fully absorbed his pantheon of Sixties and Seventies influences and began to sound like no one but himself. The confidence that results from that growth -- along with the knowledge that comes from having made records for fifteen years -- is apparent throughout this album.
  2. Q Magazine
    60
    Crass, brash, open freeway excess at its best. If only he didn't spend half the album apologising for them. [Jul 2004, p.118]
    All this publication's reviews
  3. ShakingThrough.net
    36
    There's precious little rocking to be found, and the turgid numbers that make up Baptism's bulk are bogged down by insipid clichés and half-hearted tempos.
  4. Blender
    30
    Kravitz has evolved merely from one set of retro-’70s surfaces to another, with uncharacteristically uninspired hooks.

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 28
  3. Negative: 16 out of 28
  1. Mab_987
    10
    Maybe it's partially because I have a nostalgic attachment, given that this is pretty much the first album I ever owned, but I think the negative reception this album got is highly undeserved. It's packed full of infectious hooks, emotive lyrics & nice guitar riffs. It shows Lenny's unique combination of rock, soul, pop & R&B on a lot of tracks, but this is easily one of of his more ballad-driven albums, showing a lot of insightful introspection in beautiful tracks like I Don't Wanna Be a Star, Baptized, What Did I Do With My Life, The Other Side & Destiny. Meanwhile there's some great raw rock songs here too, like Where Are We Runnin, Minister of Rock & Roll, the soul-tinged Flash & my personal favorite California. Usually my reviews are longer than this but I really just wanted to make a case for an album I have a strong personal attachment towards given the absurd 4.8 average user score.… Expand
  2. richardj
    8
    This is not a bad Lenny Kravitz album atall compared to 5 or Lenny which i think are weaker then this, this has a lot a mixture of old Lenny sound "Mama Said and Are you gonna go my way" to the new sounding "5 and new tracks from the greatest hits", the only criticism I have is it is pretenious but Lenny has been in the industry for over 15 years so he has a right to be. Tell me soemone else who comes up with albums as good as this in the genre? If your a fan of Lenny Kravitz or like some of his music buy this and give it a few listens then make a more rounded judegment! Also Paul V tell that commetn to Prince aswell maybe? You have to be influenced by someone.....it's how music develops and evolves!… Expand
  3. DaveV
    7
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it. This is classic Lenny Kravtz, you either like him or you don't
  4. jurajm
    4
    I was looking forward to hearing a new album from lenny, but was seriously dissapointed... totally uninspired. A shame, really...

See all 28 User Reviews

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