Lenny Kravitz Albums (8)
'It Is Time for a Love Revolution'
Release Date 1/30/2008
Tracks 14
Label Toshiba EMI
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
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 he's 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 I'm 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 song's 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 Page's 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, they're damn near irresistible but, as so many Kravitz songs are, they're 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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 Who's "American Woman," which surely benefited from its presence on the blockbuster Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Heather Graham's 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 that's 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, it's still possible to play "spot the influence," but it's 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 Ain't Over Til It's 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
It's sometimes shocking to sample some of Lenny Kravitz's stylistic kidnapping. While he has satisfied himself in the past swiping pleasantly from the '70s soul soundboard, as well as the odd Jimi Hendrix riff, this disc lacks the flash and bluster of earlier efforts. "Super Soul Fighter," the second track on this disc, is such a shamefaced and bland Prince ripoff it makes one's jaw drop. ~ Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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 Kravitz's albums, simply because he didn't 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Are You Gonna Go My Way'
Release Date 1/1/1993
Tracks 11
Label Virgin
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
The cover indicates that Are You Gonna Go My Way is Lenny Kravitz's 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, he's 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, it's 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 isn't 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, it's 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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; it's 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. Kravitz's songcraft has gotten better as well, with the swirling Philly soul of "It Ain't Over 'Til It's 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 it's more polished and studied than its predecessor. That, however, doesn't 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 Kravitz's 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 doesn't really matter that it's talking loud and saying nothing, because it sounds good while it's talking. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
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 that's essentially the work of a one-man band, Let Love Rule never feels stiff or insular -- it feels roomy and open, testament to Kravitz's 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 Kravitz's sound and persona and remain among his most engaging work. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
