Search - Lenny Kravitz :: Lenny (Bonus CD)

A bogus 'Bonus CD'

David Johnson | Mill Creek, WA USA | 06/11/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Please don't think I'm giving the album "Lenny" a 2-star rating. I'd give it 10 if I could! I love it. It's one of my favorite Kravitz projects. I'm giving the bonus CD 2 stars because it is nothing more than the ORIGINAL verions of the songs digitally tweeked to only include acoustic guitar music. Now, maybe this is just me: but when I hear someone say "acoustic version," I usually think of the artist playing that song live or recording it again with an acoustic guitar only. That is NOT what happened here. All that was done was the original pieces were stripped of electric guitar, drums, etc. So it's really almost no different than listening to the original, in fact it's worse because it sounds watered down rather than recreated.Another thing I find VERY ANNOYING about the acoustic verions is all but 2 (I think) have a lot of echoe/reverb. I know that those effects can be very powerful and nice to listen to, but not on such a plain track! His voice bounces back and forth and sounds weighty and almost whiney because of the heavy-duty reverb and feedback delay they put on the vocals. I really think that those effects are hiding the true quality of the tracks. I would not even mind if these songs were the originals minus electric guitar and drums IF IT WERE NOT for the stupid echoes.I'm not saying I'm pissed off that I bought this CD, not at all. I know I'll listen to the acoustic versions in the future. But it will have to be in moderation so as not to bore myself or get sick of them! Beware, that's all I have to say."