

Even if Circus and 5 were sunk by their own bloat, they still had good singles, as did those early albums, so the 2000 collection Greatest Hits is a terrific encapsulation of Kravitz at the peak of his talents. Since he was an unabashed classicist, his records often suffered the brunt of nasty criticism, but they were often very good, particularly early in his career before he indulged in the mannerisms of guitar-blasting stadium rock. Lenny Kravitz's greatest gift is that he's a master synthesist, pulling together different sounds and styles from eras past to create a sound that isn't necessarily blazingly original, but fresh due to his craft and sheer mastery of the studio.
