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Lenny Kravitz - Circus Audio CD

A fair review of the Lenny Kravitz "Circus" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Lenny Kravitz reviews here, or go back to the Lenny Kravitz tabs.

Lenny Kravitz Band: Lenny Kravitz
Title: Circus
Rating:
Release Date: 1995-09-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rock and Roll Is Dead 2: Circus 3: Beyond the 7th Sky 4: Tunnel Vision 5: Can't Get You off My Mind 6: Magdalene 7: God Is Love 8: Thin Ice 9: Don't Go and Put a Bullet in Your Head 10: In My Life Today 11: Resurrection

Rock N Roll Is Dead?
There was his mimickry and lack of originality for starters but mostly the fact he took his music career seriously. There were probably a lot of critics and music fans who were waiting in the 90's to give Lenny Kravitz a hard time for the things they DID'NT like about him. All of this criticism had it's effect on Kravitz by this time and on this album he penned a series of very dark hued songs,full of distorted blues riffs and the flavors of Hendrix in a dreary state of mind. "Rock N Roll Is Dead" says it all;the guy is obviously tiring from all of the hype,positive and (usually) negative that surrounded him and was trying to exhaust a specific sound so,once people lost interest he could move onto something different. As we'd see that would meet with mixed results but overall,most of the songs on this album are built around similar style structures,with little variation in the pieces which was more common on earlier (and more varied) albums like the excellent Mama Said. In addition to the reoccuring themes of fatique and paranoia there is also a pronounced religious flavor to the point where there's even a song called "God Is Love". There are two songs here that point to a possible different direction for this album. The ferocious rocking funk of "Tunnel Vision" is a groove that really pointed to something good but,it sadly ends before it can quite work into ones subconcious. "Don't Go And Put A Bullet In Your Head" is among the darkest songs here as it focuses on economic hopelessness and thoughts of suicide but,at the same time it has this warm folksy soul kind of rhythm where that same darkness actually works to make the music of the song stronger. Has these been the primary musical focus of the album and it had gone from there it might've been really good. Through most of it though he just seems to be going through the motions of his retro psychedelic blues-rock. He had all the stuff to make it,perhaps even on the funkier end:a strong sense of groove,the voice and most importantly that ability to take important (and often tragic) human issues and spin positive concepts off of them to offer hope. In this case all of this shone through but sadly wasn't channeled through the best kind of material to make it among his strong efforts.


One more spin on the merry go round
3 1/2

Lenny's fourth studio was still intriguingly rocking enough to warrant a listen, but one could hear apathetic or redundant qualities beginning to creep into the compositional approach.


I thought it was decent.
That being said I decided to check out Circus, I think this album was amazing on some levels and kind of bland on other levels. I really wasn't too familiar with some of lenny kravitz's earlier work, considering that he's been making music for almost 20 years now. I think that this is a great rock album but compared to lenny kravitz's other albums and singles this has to be the most different, and interesting. Can't get you off my mind had a country twang to it which I actually thought was interesting. Im glad that he decided to stick it and do something different. My favorite tracks were tunnel vision and Circus. I think those have to be the two hidden gems on this cd. Overall, I'd this album is interesting and should be given a listen to but if possible get it the free way. I wouldn't pay to much money for this cd. Overall, if your an avid kravitz fan, or like rock in general then this is the album for you to get. Also, some of the tracks kind of follow the grunge trends just a bit because of the times!.


deep circus
this is one of lenny's best, it's different funky rock'n'roll,but you wont be disappointed if you buy it.


Lenny rules
I really appreciate his earlier work maybe even more than his more famous things. I never understood why Lenny never got the respect he deserved sooner. This one and particularly the song circus make this a must have for any lenny fan. .


You can see a complete list of all Lenny Kravitz discography, or go back to the Lenny Kravitz tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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