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Baptism
Studio album by Lenny Kravitz
Released	May 18, 2004
Recorded	2003–2004
Studio	Hotel Edison Studios, Miami, Florida, US
Length	54:00
Label	Virgin
Producer	Lenny Kravitz
Lenny Kravitz chronology
Lenny (2001) Baptism (2004) It Is Time for a Love Revolution (2008)
Singles from Baptism
"Where Are We Runnin'?" Released: April 5, 2004 "Storm" Released: July 6, 2004 "California" Released: July 12, 2004 "Lady" Released: August 30, 2004 "Calling All Angels" Released: November 15, 2004

Baptism is the seventh studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on May 17, 2004, by Virgin Records. The album produced five singles and reached number 14 on the Billboard 200 and number 74 on the UK Albums Chart.

Production

Lenny Kravitz originally intended this album to be a 1970s style funk album, simply titled The Funk Album. However, he changed his mind when he picked up an acoustic guitar to write the songs for the album. Having stated that songs started pouring out of him, Kravitz decided that his special project could wait. Instead, Kravitz recorded a more straightforward rock album similar to his 1989 album Let Love Rule. The album was recorded at Hotel Edison studios in Miami, Florida, and also features a contribution from rapper Jay-Z on the song "Storm". "Storm" was originally titled "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" and was originally recorded with Michael Jackson. Kravitz had previously played guitar on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse. Kravitz had mentioned in an interview that at the time of the album's production, he was in dispute with his record label, who did not agree with his decisions to alter his project, saying that the album featured some darker material representing his stage of depression and other problems he was going through at that time.

Promotion

For the promotion of the album, Kravitz kicked off the Baptism tour in April of that year across North America. In 2005, Kravitz embarked on yet another tour called The Electric Church Tour: One Night Only in select cities. Kravitz also had a prominent role in the Gap campaign of 2004–2005 as he modelled for the brand and his image was used in stores across North America as a major celebrity seal. Kravitz's single "Lady" was used very heavily in the company's "How Do You Wear It?" campaign and also filmed two commercials with Gap spokesmodel Sarah Jessica Parker playing the song to and dancing with Parker.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	43/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Blender
Encyclopedia of Popular Music
Entertainment.ie
Entertainment Weekly	C
laut.de
Mojo
Rolling Stone
ShakingThrough.net	1.8/5
Slant Magazine

Initial critical response to Baptism ranged from average to negative. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 43, based on 10 reviews.

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote "His highly stylized brand of retro rock has always been a guilty pleasure, even though it's been largely hit or miss, but with Baptism, Kravitz's seventh album, it's become sad and limp, like a wet, leftover noodle or a stash gone bad. He should just do a cover album and be done with it". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "While these are fine individual moments, they wind up being a bit dispiriting since they're surrounded by lazy, exhausted retreads where it sounds as if the act of making music is a chore to Kravitz—something that he nearly admits in his lyrics. It's a shame and embarrassment, and hopefully it will be a temporary slump like Circus—unless he really does want to quit this business called show, since it would be better for him to stop making records than to crank out depressing sludge like this."

Ryan Lenz of Today added "Some have speculated that Kravitz is intent on cementing a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the fans, Baptism seems more intent on giving them something to worship." Kevin Forest Moreau of ShakingThrough.net wrote "Lenny Kravitz became a star by peddling familiar wares in a flashy package: If there was always an element of "Been there, heard that" in his rock, soul and funk classicism, Kravitz's craftsmanship and charisma were usually enough to carry the day. But those elements are critically missing from Baptism." Caroline Bansal of musicOMH added "The production is in fact what lets this album down. The mix is all wrong, with the drums far too high and the guitars way too low."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians

• Lenny Kravitz – vocals, electric guitar (tracks 1–3, 5–13), acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 10, 13), guitar solo (tracks 3, 6, 7), bass guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–12), drums (tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 8–12), piano (tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 10, 11), hand claps (tracks 5, 8, 12), Moog synthesizer and Mellotron (track 1), timpani (track 4), Hammond organ and wood block (track 11), synthesizer (track 12), string arrangement (tracks 4, 10, 11)
• Tawatha Agee – background vocals (track 8)
• Tyra Alston – handclaps (track 8)
• David Baron – baritone saxophone (track 3), string arrangement (track 4)
• Henry Hirsch – bass guitar (track 3), piano (track 7)
• Jay-Z – rap (track 11)
• Denine LaBat – handclaps (track 8)
• Norma Rodgers – handclaps (track 8)
• Craig Ross – electric guitar (tracks 3, 6, 7, 10, 12), guitar solo (track 9), drums (tracks 3, 7), piano (track 3), tambourine (track 7)
• David Sanborn – saxophone (tracks 9, 10, 12)
• The Uncle Clappers (Uncle Bruce, Uncle Hans, Uncle Craig) – handclaps (track 6)
• David Whyko – handclaps (track 8)

Production

• Lenny Kravitz – producer, mixing
• Henry Hirsch – engineer, mixing
• Cyrille Taillandier – assistant engineer, Pro Tools engineer
• Ted Jensen – mastering

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

1. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1549. April 2, 2004. p. 22.
2. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1562. July 2, 2004. p. 28.
3. "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. July 10, 2004. p. 27.
4. "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. No. 1570. August 27, 2004. p. 17.
5. "Lenny Kravitz: Calling All Angels". Bundesverband Musikindustrie, GfK Entertainment. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
6. Patel, Joseph (March 10, 2004). "Lenny Kravitz Ditches Funk, Feels Reborn On Baptism". MTV News. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
7. ^ "BAPTISM by Lenny Kravitz". Metacritic. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
8. ^ Allmusic Review
9. "Blender ::". Archived from the original on November 30, 2005. Retrieved 2013-05-01.
10. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
11. Entertainment.ie Review
12. "Entertainment Weekly Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 26, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
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15. "Rolling Stone Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-11.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
16. ^ Moreau, Kevin Forest (May 27, 2004). "Lenny Kravitz: Baptism". ShakingThrough. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
17. ^ CINQUEMANI, SAL (May 25, 2004). "Lenny Kravitz: Baptism". Slant Magazine. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
18. Lenz, Ryan (May 17, 2004). "Kravitz creates a rocking 'Baptism'". Today. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
19. Bansal, Caroline (May 17, 2004). "Lenny Kravitz – Baptism". musicOMH. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
20. ^ Baptism (booklet). Virgin. 2004.
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48. "Canadian album certifications – lenny Kravitz – Baptism". Music Canada.
49. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Lenny Kravitz; 'Baptism')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
50. "Portuguese album certifications – Lenny Kravitz – Baptism" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Archived from the original on March 28, 2012.
51. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Baptism')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
52. "Lenny Kravitz's 10 Studio Albums Ranked". January 19, 2016.
53. "American album certifications – Lenny Kravitz – Baptism". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• VH1 news story on Baptism

• 2004 albums
• Lenny Kravitz albums
• Virgin Records albums
• Albums produced by Lenny Kravitz