Happy 20th Anniversary to Lenny Kravitz’s sixth studio album Lenny, originally released in the UK October 29, 2001 and in the US October 30, 2001.
There is a lot to say about the “Minister of Rock ‘n Roll,” Lenny Kravitz, from his undeniable guitar riffs to his impeccable musicianship and songwriting. Along with his prolific career, Kravitz has never failed to inspire, get his audience to reflect, and make us dance. Even his live shows are pure adrenaline and high vibrations. Attending his concert at the O2 Arena in London on June 11th, 2019 is still an unforgettable experience for me. Joy and energy were permeating the room, and everyone was elated, thrilled, and uplifted.
From his earliest days at 5 East 82nd Street in Manhattan to his relocation to California in his adolescent years, Kravitz has always been exposed to a vast array of artists and music genres. As he explained in his recently published memoir Let Love Rule, his life has always been about opposites and so is his musical tastes, which span classic rock, soul, jazz, blues, funk, hip-hop and beyond.
Kravitz’s love for music was instilled by his parents, who, when he was a child, introduced him to the music of Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Al Green, Curtis Mayfield, Otis Redding, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Jackson 5, Miles Davis, and James Brown.
Moving to Los Angeles in his early teenage years was perhaps what forged his music taste and style as an artist. When he started his first year of junior high in Santa Monica, in the mid-70s, Kravitz was able to experience some of the best and most prominent rock artists and bands: Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, KISS, Steely Dan, and David Bowie, to name a few.
Kravitz’s broad music taste and knowledge of classic rock’s most prominent years have been particularly pivotal for his career. Going through his prolific discography, the experimentation with different genres and styles, previously pioneered by his peers, does not surely go unnoticed. Kravitz, however, took the rock lessons he learned from his favorite artists and blended them with his distinctive blueprint sound. The complex melodies, sophisticated arrangements, funky bass lines, the exhilarating electric guitar riffs, and rhythm sections along with the impeccable songwriting and production, make his music unmistakable from the first note, beat, or chord.
After changing his name to Romeo Blue and several attempts to put a foot forward in the music industry door, Kravitz’s career took off in 1989, with his debut album Let Love Rule. The record, filled with acoustic guitar solos, quirky basslines and drumbeats, reflects the artist’s love story with his former wife, the actress Lisa Bonet. Indeed, in songs like “Flower Child,” “Let Love Rule,” “I Build This Garden for Us,” “My Precious Love,” Kravitz explores themes of love from a romantic and humanitarian standpoint.
Following the excellent Let Love Rule, the musician released his sophomore record Mama Said in 1991. Mama Said commenced his musical and personal evolution, blending elements of rock, soul, funk, and jazz. Compared to his previous work oozing joyous ‘60s-tinged melodies, Mama Said exudes rawer emotions, driven by the grieving, loss, and denial of the artist’s then-recent breakup with Bonet.
Kravitz’s artistic progression and eclecticism did not end with Mama Said. His next artistic endeavor, Are You Gonna Go My Way (1993), is a mesmerizing combination of up-tempo, energetic, and vivacious rock songs reminiscent of some of the best ‘70s classics, as well as heartbreaking ballads, offering testament to the musician’s skills in mastering a broad range of genres, instruments, and themes.
In 1995, Kravitz took everyone off guard with the release of Circus. Throughout his fourth studio affair, the artist got more serious, exploring the meaning of life, infusing it with spiritual themes, over impeccable speedy, dark guitar solos.
After three years of silence, due to the passing of his beloved mother, the acclaimed actress Roxie Roker, Kravitz resurfaced with his fifth album the appropriately titled 5 (1998). The record bursts with a newfound vitality and love for life, reflected in music with gleaming horn sections, sharp percussions, slapped bass lines, and dreamy melodies.
With his sixth studio album, the self-titled Lenny, the musician joined a group of exceptionally creative artists such as Prince, George Michael, and Michael Jackson, who skillfully arranged, wrote, produced, and performed every piece on their records. The artist created a one-man show, layering electric and acoustic guitar sections, Moog basslines, keyboards, drum kit machine beats, live percussions, and Hammond organ. The new project allowed Kravitz to experiment with new sounds, broaden his sonic palette, and keep his music fresh.
The anthemic “Battlefield of Love” opens the record and sets the tone. The song is built upon a series of staccato guitar riffs and incisive, expressive vocals. Embracing a similar approach, the next track, “If I Could Fall in Love,” finds the artist added crunchy electric and acoustic guitar licks and chorus tonal progression.
The adrenaline of “Battlefield of Love” and “If I Could Fall in Love” eases up with the John Lennon-esque “Yesterday Is Gone (My Dear Kay).” The vocal delivery and the reassuring lyrics of the acoustic ballad sound like a warm hug, encouraging the listener to move on and not lose hope for a better future, in lines like, "I'm sorry your situation has let you down / I know that things did not go as planned / In this time you're feeling alone and sad / This is what you must understand / There is way / Yesterday is gone / It's a new day.”
The highlight of the album, “Stillness of Heart,” is arguably one of the most poignant, heartfelt, and genuine songs in Kravitz’s vault. Sentiments of excruciating pain, confusion, and isolation are extremely well portrayed in its authenticity, which makes the track relatable for many. I had the pleasure of witnessing the beauty of that song live at the O2 Arena in 2019. Right before performing “Stillness of Heart,” the artist delivered a few urgent words, and I quote: “What are we going to do about these monsters? These governments, these corporations, these unenlightened ...unenlightened human beings … driven by greed, ego, power, money, control. We were put on this planet to experience the greatest gift that God gave us, that’s life. And within that gift of life, we are the most powerful thing there is in the universe, and that it is love. And the wonderful thing about this human existence is that we were created in these highly advanced bodies, to store our minds and to store our souls, and we mustn’t forget my friends, I mustn’t forget, we all mustn’t forget that we were created in perfection however we were created and that we have all of the answers, we have and own all of the healing, we have everything, within us. But these monsters wanna keep us preoccupied. Don’t think that all of this technology, and all these diversions that we stare at into our televisions, into our phones, into our computers… That’s all on purpose, you all. Because when we can feel, we can connect, it’s dangerous, because we have the power. So, let’s be still.”
And right after these words “Stillness of Heart” began. It was executed so beautifully and precisely that when I listened to the video I took that night, I struggled to distinguish the live rendition from the album version.
The next song is arguably one of the most experimental on Lenny. “Believe in Me" is brimmed with drum kit machine beats and Moog basslines to layer the main rhythm, accompanied by lavish vocals, swirling synthesizer, and Latin-nuanced acoustic guitar arpeggios.
“Pay To Play” brings back the electric guitar over quirky beats. Interestingly, the drum programming and the lyrics dealing with a tormented love story show subtle resemblances with a few of Michael Jackson’s pieces on Dangerous (1991), particularly “She Drives Me Wild” and “Can’t Let Her Get Away.”
Similar in tone to “Stillness of Heart” and “Yesterday Is Gone” both lyrically and melodically, “A Million Miles Away” is yet another down-tempo acoustic ballad expressing the artist’s restlessness in losing touch with his lover, as he confides, “When I can't feel your touch / And we've lost another day / Seems like a million miles away / I wander in the dark / Looking for somewhere to stay / Seems like I'm a million miles away.”
The mid-tempo “God Save Us All” presents an electric guitar staccato section, Beatles-influenced vocal harmonization, and “we must learn to see the light” sentiment, which serves to nudge the listener to reevaluate and improve “this thing called life” (a clear reference to the intro of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” from 1984’s Purple Rain).
The joyous, infectious, upbeat “Dig In,” with the Sly and The Family Stone meets Chuck Berry electric guitar solo, is such a breath of fresh air, a hymn to authenticity, and letting our inner selves shine through, because “once you dig in / You'll find you'll have yourself a good time.” It’s way more fun to be genuine, not trying to imitate someone else.
Like “Believe in Me,” “You Were in My Heart” is the second experimental track that includes Moog Bass, synthesizers, and drum kit. With a few straightforward lines, the artist addresses his inner struggles and demons, which are taunting his romantic relationships.
The autobiographical “Bank Robber Man” tackles an incident that happened to Kravitz in 2000. According to the artist, one day while walking to the gym, he found himself surrounded by police cars, then handcuffed and questioned by cops, because he matched the description of a man who had just robbed a bank nearby. Then Kravitz crafted “Bank Robber Man,” which was inspired by that incident. The song perfectly reflects the artist’s anger and disappointment in its lyrics, arrangement and general attitude, as he sings, “I think you misunderstand / Do you think that I am the one that did it / Just because I'm tan? / Just then the officer at hand said / I don't give a damn that you are in a rock and roll band.”
The mellow “Let’s Get High,” recalling the smooth sound and harmonies of master guitarist Jimi Hendrix, gorgeously closes the album.
Kravitz’s five subsequent albums—most recently, 2018’s Raise Vibration—are defensibly on the same level as his previous LPs, a testament to how he has let his creativity flow freely and kept his sound fresh. Now the artist is in the studio recording his next album, and honestly, I cannot wait to see and hear what the future holds for him.
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