Raise Vibration
by Lenny Kravitz
  • Record Label: BMG
  • Release Date: Sep 7, 2018
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. StevenX
    Oct 6, 2019
    5
    A lot of the touchstones of Kravitz' previous outings are here, for better or worse: interesting arrangements, funk (more of a smooth-jazz funk this time for the most part), ballads, lots of God stuff. What's missing this time, strangely, is the stripped-down rock that made him a star - despite a near-miss or two, there's not a hard rocker in the bunch. Since his last album, "Strut",A lot of the touchstones of Kravitz' previous outings are here, for better or worse: interesting arrangements, funk (more of a smooth-jazz funk this time for the most part), ballads, lots of God stuff. What's missing this time, strangely, is the stripped-down rock that made him a star - despite a near-miss or two, there's not a hard rocker in the bunch. Since his last album, "Strut", housed a couple of his best rockers since "Rock And Roll Is Dead" over 20 years ago, this is a major disappointment. To bring things down another notch, the song "Johnny Cash" (written to honor Cash and his wife, who comforted Kravitz when his mother died in 1995), despite its honorable intentions, is awkward and stilted. Kudos to Kravitz for being in experimental mode, but this one should fare much better on headphones than in concert. Kravitz has risen and fallen more than once, so I'm not counting him out yet, though if this were his first album I'd be on the fence about trying again.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. AllMusic
    Sep 11, 2018
    80
    Kravitz knows how to sculpt not just sounds but a cohesive LP, and that kind of pro assurance when combined with his earnest hippie beliefs, make Raise Vibration a sunny, affirming listen.
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  2. Slant Magazine
    Sep 11, 2018
    50
    Raise Vibration's more serious shortcoming is its lyrics, which stumble whenever they reach for grand proclamations on the state of the world.
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  3. Mojo
    Sep 7, 2018
    40
    Kravitz's stylistic schizophrenia remains on Raise Vibration, whether in the early-80s electro-beats of Who Really Are The Monsters? or the What's Going On moves of It's enough. [Oct 2018, p.87]
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