02/29/00

Rating : four out of five stars.

 Are you a Lenny Kravitz fan but heard Fly Away or Lenny's cover of The Guess Who's American Woman way too many times? Yeah, I'll admit that's what kept me from getting this CD too. But don't worry, the best songs on this CD don't get radio airplay.
 Perceptive listeners might realize that something sounds different about this CD. Kravitz was well known for using old vintage studio equipment to get that raw, gritty, old-school sound but on 5, he used an all digital recording system known as Pro-Tools. So on this CD, there are loops, samples and other technological innovations usually reserved for dance, rap and pop bands. On If You Can't Say No, Kravitz uses a sequenced Roland TR808 drum machine with minimalist keyboards and guitar, something he would never have done before.

 The sound is slicker and more current sounding but isn't the retro-vibe why we first fell in love with is music? Don't get me wrong, the songs are still excellent as always but they don't have that super-funky vibe going. It's only a mostly-funky vibe.

 Some of my favorite tracks are the beautiful Thinking Of You, written for his mother Roxie Roker who passed away and I Belong To You, a sensitive ballad.
 If you're a fan, you will enjoy this CD, just do what I do and skip over Fly Away and American Woman and you're sure to enjoy the rest of this CD.