With Baptism, Lenny Kravitz is reborn. He comes full circle in his career, ready to close out one cycle and embrace the beginning of another. With its charged, elegant rock & roll; its brazen riffs and heartfelt lyrics, Kravitz has made a revealing album that stands as a tribute to the basics in life. Amazon.co.uk On Baptism, his seventh album, Lenny Kravitz writes, arranges, performs and produces every track. The trouble with working alone is that there's little quality control; some of the songs here really could have benefited from a bit of that. Not to say that Baptism is a complete dud of an album, indeed, the worst thing about it is its awful cover. "California" has a catchy, power pop bounce thats actually reminiscent of Fountains of Wayne, with its fuzzy guitars and handclaps, as well as its un-Kravitz-like short running time (just over two-and-a-half minutes). But then "Sistamamalover" veers deep into Prince territory, with a groove that's too contrived, too dull and too long. And there's some of the self-indulgence of the satisfied, middle-aged rocker apparent on "Minister of Rock & Roll" and "I Don't Want to Be a Star" (it's easy to sing about wanting only "a Chevy and an old guitar" when you're living in a massive mansion). The best tracks are the most straightforward, fun ones: the aforementioned "California", the ZZ Top-inspired "Where Are We Runnin'?" and the Stones-sounding "Flash". Kravitz should loosen up more and leave the angst to the teenagers. --Robert Burrow