Lenny Kravitz | ||
| Allmusic Biography : Rock music in the 1980s had completely lost the gritty feel of earlier eras until Lenny Kravitz rediscovered the magic formula. Kravitzs sonic template combined good old-fashioned rock & roll with glam, soul, and psychedelia, making him a massive success. He made a splash straight out of the gate with his album Let Love Rule. After that, he de-emphasized the flower-power aspects of his music and began moving toward a heavier rock sound. This progression brought him such huge hits as "Are You Gonna Go My Way" and a hard-rocking cover of the Guess Whos "American Woman." Along the way, his flamboyant image, model-like looks, and frequent acting roles made him a fixture in pop music circles. Born in New York on May 26, 1964 (his mother was actress Roxie Roker, best known for her role as Helen Willis on the popular TV series The Jeffersons, and his father was a TV producer), Kravitz was raised in Los Angeles, where he found himself around countless musical giants as a youngster due to his parents friendships with the likes of Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, Bobby Short, and Miles Davis. Kravitz was a member of the California Boys Choir until his teenage years, when he decided to pursue rock & roll while in high school and under the heavily influence of funk-rocker Prince. Kravitzs admiration of the Purple One was so great that he at first patterned his style and approach directly after Prince and became known as "Romeo Blue" (complete with blue contact lenses), but failed to land a recording contract. In the late 80s, Kravitz relocated to New York City, where one of his roommates turned out to be actress Lisa Bonet (who played the part of Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show); they eventually got married. During this time, Kravitz wisely discarded his Prince-like approach and looked back to such 60s/70s classic rockers as Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, Bob Marley, and the Beatles for inspiration. Kravitz found a kindred spirit in engineer Henry Hirsch (who would stick by Kravitz throughout his career). With a back-to-basics approach, his style was quite refreshing in the humorously gaudy late 80s. He inked a recording contract with Virgin Records and issued his debut release, Let Love Rule, in 1989. Kravitzs debut proved to be a surprise hit due to the success of the title track, which became a hit single and oft-aired video. A few critics were quick to assume that Kravitzs retro look and sound were simply a shtick to get the publics attention, but come the 90s, it had become integrated into the mainstream (both musically and fashion-wise), proving that Kravitz was a bit of a trendsetter. It was around this time that Kravitz penned a major hit single, not for himself but for Madonna, who went to number one with the sultry track "Justify My Love." What should have been a time of happiness for Kravitz quickly turned sour as he and Bonet divorced in the early 90s. Kravitzs heartbreak was very evident in his sophomore effort, Mama Said, which was even stronger than its predecessor, highlighted by the Led Zep-like funk-rocker "Always on the Run" (a collaboration with Guns N Roses guitarist Slash), as well as a mega-hit with the Curtis Mayfield-esque soul ballad "It Aint Over Til Its Over," which confirmed that Kravitzs success was no fluke. But the best was yet to come. His third release overall, 1993s Are You Gonna Go My Way, is often considered to be the finest album front to back of his entire career, and with good reason: every single song was a winner, including the uptempo, anthemic title track, which turned out to be one of MTVs most-played videos that year. The album was a massive hit and Kravitz became an arena headliner stateside, as well as being featured on countless magazine covers. Despite an almost two-year gap between albums, Kravitzs fourth release, Circus, came off sounding unfocused and was a major letdown compared to his stellar previous few releases. Perhaps sensing that he needed to stir things up musically, Kravitz dabbled with electronics and trip-hop loops for his next album, 1998s 5. Although not a huge hit right off the bat, the album proved to have an incredibly long chart life, spawning the biggest hit of Kravitzs career, "Fly Away," almost a year after its original release. With the singles success, Virgin decided to cash in on the albums sudden rebirth by reissuing it around the same time with a pair of bonus tracks, one of which became another sizable hit single, a remake of the Guess Whos "American Woman" (which was used in the hit 1999 comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me). Kravitzs first best-of set, the 15-track Greatest Hits, was issued as a stopgap release in 2000, while his sixth studio release overall, Lenny, was issued a year later. Baptism followed in 2004. After starting a residential, commercial, and product design company called Kravitz Design, he recorded a funky version of John Lennons "Cold Turkey" for Amnesty Internationals 2007 benefit compilation Instant Karma. Before the end of the year it was announced that Kravitz would return in 2008 with a new album, It Is Time for a Love Revolution. The album arrived in February, accompanied by a brief tour. Kravitz made his acting debut in the Academy Award-nominated 2009 film Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. As he was filming his next role -- a spot in the eagerly awaited adaptation of Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games -- he released his ninth album, Black and White America, in the summer of 2011. Reprising his role of Cinna in the second Hunger Games movie in 2013, Kravitz wouldnt return to the studio until the following year. He released his tenth studio album, Strut, in September of 2014; it was preceded by the disco-rock single "The Chamber." Strut debuted at 19 on the Billboard Top 200. After a four-year break, Kravitz returned in September 2018 with his 11th album, Raise Vibration. The single "Low" featured a posthumous vocal collaboration with Michael Jackson and yielded a deluxe remix collection later in the year. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 15 Title: Mama Said Released: 1991-04-01 Tracks: 14 Duration: 53:05 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Fields of Joy (03:58) 2 Always on the Run (03:53) 3 Stand by My Woman (04:20) 4 It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over (04:02) 5 More Than Anything in This World (03:28) 6 What Goes Around Comes Around (04:49) 7 The Difference Is Why (04:52) 8 Stop Draggin’ Around (02:39) 9 Flowers for Zoë (02:43) 10 Fields of Joy (reprise) (03:59) 11 All I Ever Wanted (04:14) 12 When the Morning Turns to Night (02:59) 13 What the Fuck Are We Saying? (05:13) 14 Butterfly (01:51) |
| Mama Said : Allmusic album Review : Moving forward a couple years from the psychedelic fixations of his debut, Mama Said finds Lenny Kravitz in the early 70s, trying to graft Curtis Mayfield and Jimi Hendrix influences to his Prince and Lennon obsessions. This time around, he synthesizes his influences better; its essentially a seamless record, with all of its classic rock homages so carefully produced that it sounds as if it could have been released in 1972. Kravitzs songcraft has gotten better as well, with the swirling Philly soul of "It Aint Over Til Its Over" and the rampaging Sly Stone-meets-Hendrix "Always on the Run" standing out as instantly addictive singles. Still, some of the joy that informed Let Love Rule has worn off, largely because its more polished and studied than its predecessor. That, however, doesnt prevent Mama Said from being another thoroughly enjoyable guilty pleasure -- its sweet soul and fuzzy hard rock are slyly seductive. Ironically for such an inviting record, Mama Said is Kravitzs divorce album, yet it never quite conveys any true pain or emotion, since he puts sound over substance. Essentially, the lyrics are afterthoughts, but with a record as immaculately produced and sonically pleasurable as Mama Said, it doesnt really matter that its talking loud and saying nothing, because it sounds good while its talking. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 15 Title: Let Love Rule Released: 1993 Tracks: 10 Duration: 56:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Let Love Rule (08:32) 2 Flower Child (04:54) 3 Freedom Train (08:09) 4 Does Anybody Out There Even Care (04:52) 5 If Six Was Nine (07:05) 6 Mr. Cab Driver (04:03) 7 My Flash on You (03:29) 8 My Precious Love (05:14) 9 Blues for Sister Someone (05:19) 10 Be (04:21) |
| Let Love Rule : Allmusic album Review : The title is a tip-off: Lenny Kravitz is a hippie, something that was commonplace 20 years before his debut, Let Love Rule, and was familiar five years later when he scaled the charts with Are You Gonna Go My Way, but was practically unheard of in 1989 when the Grateful Dead were reaping the benefits of hippies turning into establishment. Kravitz had yet to become a classic rock caricature and he could still surprise on this unformed, endearingly unwieldy first record, where he split the difference between John Lennon, Curtis Mayfield, David Bowie, and Prince, sometimes exhibiting too clear of a debt to his idols but more often getting by on a combination of chutzpah and pastiche, something that winds up as an enormously appealing guilty pleasure. Kravitz has a tendency to overreach lyrically, striving to speak deep truths about big themes from world peace to child abuse, but the winning thing about Let Love Rule is how it plays as sheer sound, evoking memories of the paisley-drenched 60s and the lush sounds of 70s soul, all filtered through the multicultural flowering of the late 80s. Remarkably for an album thats essentially the work of a one-man band, Let Love Rule never feels stiff or insular -- it feels roomy and open, testament to Kravitzs talents as a producer -- but the record remains one of his best because it also has one of his greatest collections of songs, chief among them the stately, psychedelic march of "I Build This Garden for Us," the hippie-funk of "Sittin on Top of the World," the Hendrixian riffs of "Freedom Train," the urban groove of "Mr. Cab Driver," and the surging "Let Love Rule," songs that created Kravitzs sound and persona and remain among his most engaging work. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 15 Title: Are You Gonna Go My Way Released: 1993-02-26 Tracks: 11 Duration: 46:35 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Are You Gonna Go My Way (03:31) 2 Believe (04:54) 3 Come On and Love Me (03:54) 4 Heaven Help (03:11) 5 Just Be a Woman (03:48) 6 Is There Any Love in Your Heart (03:40) 7 Black Girl (03:44) 8 My Love (03:53) 9 Sugar (03:58) 10 Sister (07:04) 11 Eleutheria (04:53) |
| Are You Gonna Go My Way : Allmusic album Review : The cover indicates that Are You Gonna Go My Way is Lenny Kravitzs bid for rock stardom. Designed in the style of an early-70s record, it features Kravitz in hippie clothing, apparently exposing himself to a photographer -- in other words, hes a dangerously sexy counterculture rebel. That may have been true in 1970, but in 1993, he simply sounds like a weird sideshow exhibit, the man who never lived past 1973. Of course, its easy to make such potshots, but Kravitz opens himself up to such attacks. No other artist, especially a successful one, has been quite so devoted to the past and ignorant of the present. Since he has considerable talent for songcraft and production, Kravitz isnt nearly as bad as he could be, and Are You Gonna Go My Way is just as enjoyable and more accomplished than its predecessors. This time around, Hendrix is his chief influence, as evidenced by the roaring title track, and he does expand that with his traditional Lennon, Curtis Mayfield, and Prince obsessions. Song for song, its his most consistent album, although by the end of the record, his painstaking reproduction of classic rock sounds begins to appear a bit too studied, suggesting that Kravitz may have hit a creative wall. Nevertheless, that does nothing to diminish the enjoyment of this record. | ||
 | Album: 4 of 15 Title: Heaven Help Released: 1993-09-29 Tracks: 8 Duration: 37:43 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Heaven Help (03:11) 2 Brother (04:18) 3 Ascension (03:47) 4 I Build This Garden for Us (06:17) 5 Fields of Joy (03:58) 6 Stand by My Woman (04:20) 7 Sister (07:53) 8 Heaven Help (03:58) |
 | Album: 5 of 15 Title: Circus Released: 1995-09-06 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:08 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Rock and Roll Is Dead (03:24) 2 Circus (04:48) 3 Beyond the 7th Sky (04:54) 4 Tunnel Vision (04:19) 5 Can’t Get You Off My Mind (04:33) 6 Magdalene (03:48) 7 God Is Love (04:26) 8 Thin Ice (05:33) 9 Don’t Go and Put a Bullet in Your Head (04:22) 10 In My Life Today (06:29) 11 The Resurrection (04:28) |
| Circus : Allmusic album Review : After the fuzz-rock revivalism of Are You Gonna Go My Way, Lenny Kravitz seems to have settled into a comfortable groove, alternating between early-70s album rock and early-70s soul, with the occasional Prince flourish thrown in for good measure. Circus is the weakest of Kravitzs albums, simply because he didnt change his style in a distinctive manner, replicating the sound of Are You Gonna Go My Way instead. To compound his problems, Kravitz kicks off the record with "Rock and Roll Is Dead," a workmanlike rewrite of "Are You Gonna Go My Way" that lacks hooks. However, after one more half-hearted rocker, Circus begins to open up, as Kravitz turns in a series of ballads and lightly psychedelic mid-tempo pop numbers, which prove to be his real strength. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 15 Title: 5 Released: 1998-04-30 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:06:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Live (05:10) 2 Supersoulfighter (04:58) 3 I Belong to You (04:17) 4 Black Velveteen (04:48) 5 If You Can’t Say No (05:17) 6 Thinking of You (06:24) 7 Take Time (04:31) 8 Fly Away (03:42) 9 It’s Your Life (05:02) 10 Straight Cold Player (04:19) 11 Little Girl’s Eyes (07:44) 12 You’re My Flavor (03:48) 13 Can We Find a Reason? (06:30) |
| 5 : Allmusic album Review : Lenny Kravitz must have realized he bottomed out with the turgid Circus, so he decided to shake things up a bit on its follow-up, 5. Like any veteran in the late 90s, he dabbled in electronica, adding a few trip-hop loops and analog synths to his bedrock rock n soul. Its enough to make 5 sound relatively fresh, at least compared to the retro dead-end of Circus, yet it sounds like Kravitz read about the idea of electronica without actually listening to any music. Anemic synths and stilted drum loops (sampled from Kravitzs playing, not old records) are scattered throughout the record, along with vaguely distorted vocals. Its not enough to make Kravitz sound hip, especially since he still loves endless funk jams and electric sitars, but it does revitalize his sound. At least for a little while. By the end of the album, his songwriting sounds as tired and unmemorable as on Circus. Without hooks, melodies, and style, Kravitzs Sly, Mayfield, Hendrix, Lennon, and Prince pastiches are a bore. 5 has a few passable cuts, yet it falls short of the quirky hero worship and melodic smarts that made his first three records so enjoyable. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 15 Title: Greatest Hits Released: 2000-10-18 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:02:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Are You Gonna Go My Way (03:31) 2 Fly Away (03:42) 3 Rock and Roll Is Dead (03:24) 4 Again (03:48) 5 It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over (04:02) 6 Can’t Get You Off My Mind (04:33) 7 Mr. Cab Driver (03:50) 8 American Woman (04:21) 9 Stand by My Woman (04:20) 10 Always on the Run (03:53) 11 Heaven Help (03:11) 12 I Belong to You (04:17) 13 Believe (04:54) 14 Let Love Rule (05:42) 15 Black Velveteen (04:48) |
| Greatest Hits : Allmusic album Review : Lenny Kravitzs greatest gift is that hes a master synthesist, pulling together different sounds and styles from eras past to create a sound that isnt necessarily blazingly original, but fresh due to his craft and sheer mastery of the studio. 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. 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. Certainly, there are some fan favorites missing, and the non-chronological sequencing is maddening (two of his three worst singles are within the first three songs), but it does boast the magnificent new single "Again," along with such seminal Kravitz moments as "Are You Gonna Go My Way," "Mr. Cabdriver," "Stand By My Woman," "Always on the Run," "Believe," "Let Love Rule," and "It Aint Over Til Its Over," which is enough to make this a first-class greatest-hits compilation. After all, it doesnt just have all the main songs, it also illustrates that he indeed is a master synthesist. | ||
 | Album: 8 of 15 Title: Lenny Released: 2001-10-30 Tracks: 12 Duration: 49:58 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Battlefield of Love (03:14) 2 If I Could Fall in Love (04:21) 3 Yesterday Is Gone (My Dear Kay) (03:52) 4 Stillness of Heart (04:15) 5 Believe in Me (04:40) 6 Pay to Play (02:50) 7 A Million Miles Away (04:32) 8 God Save Us All (03:53) 9 Dig In (03:37) 10 You Were in My Heart (05:29) 11 Bank Robber Man (03:31) 12 Let’s Get High (05:39) |
| Lenny : Allmusic album Review : Sure, 5 gave Lenny Kravitz a career revival, thanks to a really big hit with the didactic, clumsy "Fly," and he followed it with a hit that was equally inexplicable -- a lumbering, dunderheaded cover of the Guess Whos "American Woman," which surely benefited from its presence on the blockbuster Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Heather Grahams accompanying, chest-grabbing video -- and equally distasteful. Combined with the lackluster Circus, it was easy to assume that Kravitz had plateaued, deciding to recycle lame sub-Hendrix stadium rock instead of crafting the kind of lush, post-psychedelic soul that made his first three records so fine. Then, out of nowhere, he threw out the lovely "Again" as a new track for Greatest Hits, setting the stage for the return to form thats Lenny. This, not the empty hard rock of Circus and 5, finds Lenny Kravitz at the peak of his powers, crafting classic rock homages that get by not only on their melodic force but in sterling studiocraft that may shamelessly worship classic rock, but gets the sound and texture right. Kravitz has gotten to the point that his blend of album rock, smooth soul, hippie love, and hipster pop is now his own musical signature -- yes, its still possible to play "spot the influence," but its all blended better and presented with an offhand grace, particularly in how the gorgeous, enveloping ballads and mid-tempo pop is punctuated by the rockers that sound much fiercer in this context. There may not be singles that are as immediately grabbing as "It Aint Over Til Its Over," "Let Love Rule," and "Are You Gonna Go My Way," but there are no dull spots, either, and this easily stands alongside his first three albums as a set of classy, near-irresistible pop for listeners weaned on classic and college rock, which is a wholly welcome surprise. | ||
 | Album: 9 of 15 Title: Another Life: B-Sides and Rarities compiled exclusively for Target Released: 2004 Tracks: 6 Duration: 25:14 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Uncharted Terrain (04:28) 2 Spinning Around Over You (03:36) 3 Confused (06:47) 4 Another Life (04:00) 5 Light Skin Girl From London (02:43) 6 For the First Time (03:40) |
 | Album: 10 of 15 Title: Baptism Released: 2004-05-14 Tracks: 13 Duration: 54:06 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Minister of Rock ’n Roll (03:34) 2 I Don’t Want to Be a Star (04:25) 3 Lady (04:15) 4 Calling All Angels (05:12) 5 California (02:38) 6 Sistamamalover (04:29) 7 Where Are We Runnin’? (02:42) 8 Baptized (04:48) 9 Flash (04:12) 10 What Did I Do with My Life? (04:04) 11 Storm (03:58) 12 The Other Side (04:50) 13 Destiny (04:55) |
| Baptism : Allmusic album Review : To some, listening to Lenny Kravitz was always a bit of a guilty pleasure, but rarely has listening to one of his albums induced overwhelming feelings of guilt, as does his seventh album, Baptism. Guilt that you took him for granted, not acknowledging the craft behind his best singles. Guilt that you thought he couldnt be as nondescript as he was on "Fly." Guilt that you thought he couldnt sink lower than Circus. Or maybe it will just be a flush of angry guilt that youve wasted 55 minutes of precious time listening to an album that betrays all faith youve had in Kravitz as a retro-rock revivalist. Since 1993s Are You Gonna Go My Way? hed been erratic, stumbling on the doggedly rock-oriented Circus and only gathering his full strength on 2001s Lenny, which may have been a good record but failed to sell. Perhaps maintaining a balance of sales, craft, and fame had exhausted Kravitz, but he sounds worn down to the bone throughout Baptism. He may claim that he "can save your soul" on the opener, "Minister of Rock n Roll" (which bears unfortunate similarities in tone and theme to Circus dud opening salvo, "Rock and Roll Is Dead"), but on the rest of the album he sounds anxious to quit the business, wondering whether he would have been better off if he were a simple man and living off the land. These themes are commonplace in rock & roll, but most rockers have better sense than to air their concerns in the first person, whining that "Im internationally known...Ive got millions sold/But after the party, Im left standing in the cold," which engenders little sympathy since he could, after all, pull a Bobbie Gentry and quit the business and not make any more records. But he doesnt really want to do that since hes too enamored with the spoils of fame and all of its trapping, complaining "I Dont Want to Be a Star" in the same song where he exults "I got high with Jagger/It was really cool." Such shallow sentiments could be excused if the music worked, but its as thin as his words and stultifying lethargic, to the point that he doesnt bother to disguise how he cops ZZ Top on "Where Are We Runnin?" or Sly Stone on "Sistamamalover." Its such a drag that its a real shock when a song pierces through the murk, as it does on the addictive rush of "California" or the fuzzy glam of "Flash" -- these are the songs that remind you that Kravitz can fuse familiar sounds into something that giddily celebrates his love of music. While these are fine individual moments, they wind up being a bit dispiriting since theyre 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. Its 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. | ||
 | Album: 11 of 15 Title: Absolut Kravitz Released: 2006 Tracks: 11 Duration: 51:34 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Breathe (03:28) 2 Breathe (Ashley Beedle remix) (09:15) 3 Breathe (Chromeo remix) (03:24) 4 Breathe (Eric Roberson remix) (03:52) 5 Breathe (Jazzanova remix) (07:15) 6 Breathe (Latinsizer remix) (06:23) 7 Breathe (Little Louie Vega remix) (03:56) 8 Breathe (Luny Tunes remix) (02:46) 9 Breathe (Nikko Patrelakis remix) (03:54) 10 Breathe (The Presets remix) (04:19) 11 Breathe (Wang Lei remix) (03:02) |
 | Album: 12 of 15 Title: It Is Time for a Love Revolution Released: 2008-02-01 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:17:48 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Love Revolution (03:14) 2 Bring It On (03:35) 3 Good Morning (04:17) 4 Love Love Love (03:22) 5 If You Want It (05:09) 6 I’ll Be Waiting (04:19) 7 Will You Marry Me (03:44) 8 I Love the Rain (04:44) 9 A Long and Sad Goodbye (05:58) 10 Dancin’ Til Dawn (05:10) 11 This Moment Is All There Is (05:07) 12 A New Door (04:38) 13 Back in Vietnam (03:45) 14 I Want to Go Home (05:04) 15 Uncharted Terrain (04:28) 16 Confused (06:47) 17 I’ll Be Waiting (acoustic version) (04:23) |
| It Is Time for a Love Revolution : Allmusic album Review : Never let it be said that Lenny Kravitz lives in the past -- he knows that 2008 is all about the resurrection of Led Zeppelin, so hes constructed his eighth album, It Is Time for a Love Revolution, as a virtual tribute to the mighty Zep. Once he dispenses with the neo-title track -- a signature two-chord, fuzz-tone stomp recalling "Are You Gonna Go My Way" -- Kravitz turns his attention to a stack of old Zeppelin LPs, borrowing the close of "When the Levee Breaks" for the coda of "Bring It On," echoing "Babe Im Gonna Leave You" on "I Love the Rain," recycling the JB groove of "The Crunge" twice (once freshening it up with some Dirty Mind synth on "Will You Marry Me"), and then stitching together the verse of "Ramble On" and the chorus riff of "The Rain Song" for "If You Want It," all before inverting the "No Quarter" riff for the songs furious conclusion. Clever classicist that he is, Kravitz does all this without outright thievery, drawing knowing allusions to sacred texts and then meticulously constructing an album that feels and plays like an LP from the golden age of gatefolds. What his newfound obsession with Jimmy Pages guitar army has done is revitalize his overly familiar aesthetic, giving him another palette of colors to splash across his re-creations of the past. This new coat of paint surely helps It Is Time for a Love Revolution feel fresh, but it also helps that he has written some of his best classic rock pastiches in years, songs powered by big hooks and bigger harmonies. As sonic sculptures, theyre damn near irresistible but, as so many Kravitz songs are, theyre about almost nothing but the sound. Always one who favors a sledgehammer to a scalpel, he bluntly addresses his dying father in "A Long and Sad Goodbye" and the Iraq War in "Back in Vietnam," never digging deeper than the messages in the titles, while the rest of the record is dominated by rhymes only slightly more complicated than those of "Fly." Then again, insight has never been among the chief reasons to listen to Lenny Kravitz: his knack for shaping sound always has been his main gift. And by the measure of pure sound, It Is Time for a Love Revolution is a glorious feast of retro-rock pleasures -- a feast of empty calories, perhaps, but sometimes fast food is more irresistible than a five-course meal. | ||
 | Album: 13 of 15 Title: Black and White America Released: 2011-08-19 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:06:20 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Black and White America (04:35) 2 Come on Get It (04:26) 3 In the Black (03:25) 4 Liquid Jesus (03:28) 5 Rock Star City Life (03:24) 6 Boongie Drop (03:49) 7 Stand (03:19) 8 Superlove (03:29) 9 Everything (03:40) 10 I Can’t Be Without You (04:49) 11 Looking Back on Love (05:36) 12 Life Ain’t Ever Been Better Than It Is Now (04:17) 13 The Faith of a Child (04:05) 14 Sunflower (04:15) 15 Dream (05:11) 16 Push (04:23) |
| Black and White America : Allmusic album Review : Lenny Kravitz has walked the musical line between Black and White America ever since 1989, when he cannily crafted his persona through strands of Prince, Curtis Mayfield, David Bowie, John Lennon, and Jimi Hendrix. Kravitz has never been shy about his colorblindness but the very title of Black and White America suggests that he may finally be getting political, something he’s avoided outside of the occasional free love platitude. Naturally, this isn’t quite the case. Certainly, there are hints of politics flowing throughout the album, but Kravitz is never about detail -- he’s about big bright broad strokes, a skill that’s on prime display here. Unlike the monochrome It Is Time for a Love Revolution, Black and White America pulsates with color and texture, playing somewhat as a return to his one-man band hippie fantasias. If anything, this is looser than Let Love Rule and Mama Said and more forward-thinking too, the Mayfield-isms offset by heavy synthesizers and dance beats, the overall package bearing a modernist snap to its retro revivalism. Even with that stylized flair and cameos from Jay-Z and Drake, Black and White America never quite feels like it belongs to 2011; it seems as fuzzy and analog as its cover photo of a young Kravitz, which is of course a large part of its appeal. Kravitz’s greatest gift is how he evokes different eras through his sonic synthesis, and he’s let that gift slide slightly as he’s emphasized guitars over the studio. Here, he reverses that dynamic, playing the studio like the virtuoso that he is, and he’s come up with his best record in years, a shamelessly enjoyable piece of aural candy. | ||
 | Album: 14 of 15 Title: Strut Released: 2014-09-19 Tracks: 16 Duration: 1:11:31 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Sex (03:54) 2 The Chamber (04:57) 3 Dirty White Boots (03:57) 4 New York City (06:22) 5 The Pleasure and the Pain (05:08) 6 Strut (03:09) 7 Frankenstein (04:34) 8 She’s a Beast (04:42) 9 I’m a Believer (03:16) 10 Happy Birthday (04:56) 11 I Never Want to Let You Down (04:38) 12 Ooo Baby Baby (03:39) 13 Sweet Gitchey Rose (04:48) 14 Can’t Stop Thinkin’ ’bout You (03:44) 15 Lift Me Out of My Head (05:16) 16 It Won’t Feel the Same (04:22) |
| Strut : Allmusic album Review : The very title of Strut makes Lenny Kravitzs 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 albums opening track "Sex," just the first song in a parade of pleasure, pain, and dirty white boots. Any of the attempted sociopolitical overtures of 2011s Black and White America have been abandoned, jettisoned along with the stylistic excesses that pumped that album to double-LP length. Strut doesnt bother with any of that nonsense. Like so many records from the golden age of the LP, its just 12 songs and if it weighs in at a slightly hefty 53 minutes, its because Lenny has a hard time stopping a good groove and Strut consists almost entirely of grooves. Hell slip into a sultry slow jam -- "The Pleasure and the Pain," "I Never Want to Let You Down," and a cover of Smokey Robinsons "Ooo Baby Baby" thats fine but unneeded -- and hell 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, "Im a Believer is all foot stomps and handclaps) but usually finding the point at the Venn diagram where its 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. | ||
 | Album: 15 of 15 Title: Raise Vibration Released: 2018-09-07 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:04:38 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 We Can Get It All Together (04:40) 2 Low (05:19) 3 Who Really Are the Monsters? (05:19) 4 Raise Vibration (05:27) 5 Johnny Cash (06:18) 6 Here to Love (04:42) 7 It’s Enough (07:54) 8 5 More Days ’til Summer (04:02) 9 The Majesty of Love (05:49) 10 Gold Dust (05:08) 11 Ride (05:58) 12 I’ll Always Be Inside Your Soul (03:58) |