Strut

by Lenny Kravitz

Overview

The very title of Strut makes Lenny Kravitz's intentions for his tenth album plain: he wants to swagger, he wants to get off on his moves. To underscore the whole carnality of it, Kravitz calls the album's opening track "Sex," just the first song in a parade of pleasure, pain, and dirty white boots. Any of the attempted sociopolitical overtures of 2011's Black and White America have been abandoned, jettisoned along with the stylistic excesses that pumped that album to double-LP length. Strut doesn't bother with any of that nonsense. Like so many records from the golden age of the LP, it's just 12 songs and if it weighs in at a slightly hefty 53 minutes, it's because Lenny has a hard time stopping a good groove and Strut consists almost entirely of grooves. He'll slip into a sultry slow jam -- "The Pleasure and the Pain," "I Never Want to Let You Down," and a cover of Smokey Robinson's "Ooo Baby Baby" that's fine but unneeded -- and he'll tip his hat to Bill Withers on "Frankenstein," but he devotes most of the album to disco and glam, dedicating individual tracks to each style ("The Chamber" is pure glitter-ball rock & roll, "I'm a Believer is all foot stomps and handclaps) but usually finding the point at the Venn diagram where it's all big beats, heavy hooks, and dirty sex. Kravitz deploys all his considerable sonic skills on songs that are purposefully trashy and unapologetically fun and the result is pure pleasure. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2014
Label:	Roxie / Roxie Records
UPC:	5060186923550
Rank:	94259

Tracks

1. Sex
2. The Chamber
3. Dirty White Boots
4. New York City
5. The Pleasure and the Pain
6. Strut
7. Frankenstein
8. She's a Beast
9. I'm a Believer
10. Happy Birthday
11. I Never Want to Let You Down
12. Ooo Baby Baby

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lenny Kravitz   Primary Artist,Harmonica,Mini Moog,Tambourine,Wood Block,Glockenspiel,Handclapping,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Arp String Ensemble,Vocals (Background),Bass,Heys,Drums,Organ,Piano,Congas,Vocals,Cowbell,Glasses,Soloist,Clavinet
David Bowlin   Violin
Woody Harrelson   Handclapping
Ludovic Louis   Trumpet
Craig Ross   Heys,Soloist,Handclapping,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric)
James "D-Train" Williams   Vocals (Background)
Harold Todd   Saxophone
Darrett Adkins   Cello
Ryan Price   Handclapping
Mathieu Bitton   Heys,Handclapping
Julie Weiss   Heys
Mali Hunter   Handclapping
Carleen Donovan   Heys
Joe Manchisi   Heys
Katrine Weiss   Heys
Kenyea Johnson   Handclapping
Mia Ross   Handclapping
Mish Wasserman   Heys
Rodney Burns   Handclapping
Terri Manchisi   Heys
Tom Kartsotis   Handclapping
Tawatha Agee   Backwards Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Bob Clearmountain   Handclapping
Cindy Mizelle   Vocals (Background)
Kenji Bunch   Viola

Technical Credits

Lenny Kravitz   Composer,Lyricist,Producer,Horn Arrangements,Vocal Arrangement,Rhythm Arrangements,String Arrangements,Rhythm Accompaniment
Warren "Pete" Moore   Composer,Lyricist
Steven Wilson   Lettering
Tom Edmonds   Engineer
Craig Ross   Composer,Engineer
Smokey Robinson   Composer,Lyricist
Miguel Scott   Assistant Engineer
Ellen Wakayama   Art Direction
Dave Baron   Synthesizer Programming
Mathieu Bitton   Design,Art Direction
Artie Smith   Instrument Technician
Greg Kadel   Photography
Bob Clearmountain   Mixing
Bob Ludwig   Mastering