Lenny Kravitz

A few weeks back, one of my friends needed to get rid of a big box of CDs. I figured, if anything, I could use the jewelcases, so I took them. There were about a hundred CDs total, and I kept a handful. One of them was It Is Time For A Love Revolution, by Lenny Kravitz.

I've heard his hits before, and typically enjoyed them, but I always thought he was more R&B than rock. Well, It Is Time For A Love Revolution certainly proved R&B is part of his repertoire, but not nearly the main style and, man...what a fantastic album.

So since then I've bought nearly all of his albums, except the debut which has been reissued with bonus material, so I'm holding out for that one. But again, fantastic stuff. I had no idea this cat was so good. Rock, blues, R&B, folk, all present; there's even some more beat-oriented stuff thrown in from time to time.

We'll see how this stuff ages with me, but as of right now I've become a big fan. Anyone else dig his work?

I have a Best Of comp and I think that's all I need.

I have his best of and I think one other, he's good at what he does. I like some of his songs

i like him ok. my wife is a big fan of his, so i get to listen to him quite a bit. it's not anything i feel like turning off, so that says a lot.

I really dig his guitar player and writing partner Craig Ross. He played on Lions and is a good friend of Marc Ford(ex- Black Crowes). Craig was in a band called The Broken Homes that were pretty good back in the late 80s/early 90s.

I'll have to check Lenny out.... I've always dug what I have heard(is, the hits).

I am a fan and so far only two discs of his so far.

He is really throw back in some ways, to artist he most admired such as The Beatles, Curtis Mayfield, Sly and the Family Stone and so many others, did not fit in with what was going musically at the time his debut album was released and still is outside out of mainstream.

chewie wrote:

I really dig his guitar player and writing partner Craig Ross. He played on Lions and is a good friend of Marc Ford(ex- Black Crowes). Craig was in a band called The Broken Homes that were pretty good back in the late 80s/early 90s.

I'll have to check Lenny out.... I've always dug what I have heard(is, the hits).

I was surprised to see that he writes most of the songs. Ross has a hand in some, but he doesn't seem to write entire songs, nor are there a bunch of industry songwriters involved.

manny wrote:

I am a fan and so far only two discs of his so far.

He is really throw back in some ways, to artist he most admired such as The Beatles, Curtis Mayfield, Sly and the Family Stone and so many others, did not fit in with what was going musically at the time his debut album was released and still is outside out of mainstream.

And it's weird, too, because he's had mainstream hits (or songs have been used in commercials or whatever) from nearly every album, yet he's still on the fringe.



That's from his latest album, which I got today. Yet somehow I knew this damn song! No idea how I knew it, but I did.

manny wrote:

I am a fan and so far only two discs of his so far.

He is really throw back in some ways, to artist he most admired such as The Beatles, Curtis Mayfield, Sly and the Family Stone and so many others, did not fit in with what was going musically at the time his debut album was released and still is outside out of mainstream.

Very true. His early stuff (Let Love Rule, Mama Says, Are You Gonna Go My Way) was a fantastic fusion of genres, with Lenny honing a 'retro' sound before it was fashionable. The fact he could have some huge hits yet still be outside of maninstream is odd! I really enjoy (and own) the three albums mentioned, but haven't heard much of his output for the last few years. Certainly an interesting artist for thosr who are a little eclectic in their taste.

Lenny is very talented, I'm especially fond of "Let Love Rule" which I don't think he ever quite topped. Lenny is another artist who is a stickler for vintage technology, his custom built studio consists of gear no newer than 1972.

Karl Denson (sax) was a member of his band for the first 3 albums and I'm a huge fan of his soul/funk/jazz music that he's created with The Greyboy Allstars and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe. Worth checking out as well.

S.D. wrote:

Lenny is very talented, I'm especially fond of "Let Love Rule" which I don't think he ever quite topped. Lenny is another artist who is a stickler for vintage technology, his custom built studio consists of gear no newer than 1972.

Really!!!! That's very interesting................ and cool!

At one time i started buying his cds but stopped and sol them about 10 years back.

I like his work up through Circus...once he discovered drum loops I checked out. Circus is actually my favorite album of his...dark, moody record.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

I like his work up through Circus...once he discovered drum loops I checked out. Circus is actually my favorite album of his...dark, moody record.

Luckily he doesn't do albums of that stuff, just a one-off track here and there. I mean, Jay-Z is on a track on the new album, and of course he utterly ruins the song immediately with his first two lines:

"Pop, lock and drop it, I make that pussy speak Patois."

What the hell does that even mean? And "nigga" isn't too far behind that, as expected.

Sigh...

Why do guys who mostly stay away from the drivel do songs like that? Does it help sales?

Dark Horseman wrote:

Why do guys who mostly stay away from the drivel do songs like that? Does it help sales?

Well, I imagine Lenny is a fan of hip-hop, so artistically he probably enjoys collaborating. I just don't get how he could allow such insipid lyrics on one of his songs.

Eyesore wrote:

Dark Horseman wrote:

Why do guys who mostly stay away from the drivel do songs like that? Does it help sales?

Well, I imagine Lenny is a fan of hip-hop, so artistically he probably enjoys collaborating. I just don't get how he could allow such insipid lyrics on one of his songs.

Especially since he claims to be a Christian. Of course just because someone claims to be religious, don't mean he is.

DallasBlack wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Dark Horseman wrote:

Why do guys who mostly stay away from the drivel do songs like that? Does it help sales?

Well, I imagine Lenny is a fan of hip-hop, so artistically he probably enjoys collaborating. I just don't get how he could allow such insipid lyrics on one of his songs.

Especially since he claims to be a Christian. Of course just because someone claims to be religious, don't mean he is.

I see you've got a can of worms there.

Liking Hip Hop isn't the problem, though I can't stand it, but at least make it more then a 4th grade level lyric.

When I got married and my wife moved in, I inherited most of her paltry cd collection by default. Most of it was poop of course, but there was a coupla of Kravitz discs in there. The only one a cared for was Circus. The rest were ok, but didn't do much for me. I still have his Greatest Hits. I figure that's about all I need when I need a fix.

The problem I have with his music is that it's kinda all over the place. When he rocks, he rocks. And when he's mellow, it's mellow enough to put me to sleep. He does both styles very well, but it makes for a strage listening experience, if that makes sense. He could put out an album of all just straight-up rockers and then an album of all mellow soulfull tunes.

I remember reading an interview with him years ago and he said that the record company didn't know how to market him. He was too much "rock" for the black audience but too "r&b" for whitey. Seems like he still might be facing that problem on some levels.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I remember reading an interview with him years ago and he said that the record company didn't know how to market him. He was too much "rock" for the black audience but too "r&b" for whitey. Seems like he still might be facing that problem on some levels.

To me that's not a problem, but a reason to commend him.

S.D. wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I remember reading an interview with him years ago and he said that the record company didn't know how to market him. He was too much "rock" for the black audience but too "r&b" for whitey. Seems like he still might be facing that problem on some levels.

To me that's not a problem, but a reason to commend him.

Not if you're a suit trying to sell albums.

Eyesore, if you're gathering up all his albums, check the track listings and releases. I think at one point, he had one of those "exclsuive" deals with Target. There might be some tunes or eps that were only availabe at their stores.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

S.D. wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I remember reading an interview with him years ago and he said that the record company didn't know how to market him. He was too much "rock" for the black audience but too "r&b" for whitey. Seems like he still might be facing that problem on some levels.

To me that's not a problem, but a reason to commend him.

Not if you're a suit trying to sell albums.

Eyesore, if you're gathering up all his albums, check the track listings and releases. I think at one point, he had one of those "exclsuive" deals with Target. There might be some tunes or eps that were only availabe at their stores.

Yeah, the latest album was a Target exclusive. A bonus CD with like five exclusive tracks. Worth the extra cash, I think.

S.D. wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I remember reading an interview with him years ago and he said that the record company didn't know how to market him. He was too much "rock" for the black audience but too "r&b" for whitey. Seems like he still might be facing that problem on some levels.

To me that's not a problem, but a reason to commend him.

Absolutely, but you're a music fan, interested in quality music, rather than a 'music' exec looking at a bottom line. As he's still signed, Lenny is obviously able to get by on the strength of his music, and doing it the way he wants. And in this era of disposable pop and talentless 'artists', how great is that?

I loved Let Love Rule and Momma Said but really stopped getting his stuff after that. No real reason for that either. I'm sure I'd probably be into his other records. I do have to now search out for that deluxe version of Let Love Rule. That would be a must buy for me.

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I mean, Jay-Z is on a track on the new album, and of course he utterly ruins the song immediately with his first two lines

I'm a big old school rap fan and the fact that Jay-Z is one of the biggest rappers ever is still one of those mysteries that can never be solved. I remember when he was the side-kick for this rapper Jaz. His contributions back then were to add "yeahs" here and there. I even found him annoying vocally in that role too.