machinegunner Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I listened to his first 4 albums, which were very good and included many, many, cool catchy songs - Believe, I Build This Garden For Us, Mama Said, Always On The Run, Be, Let Love Rule... The 4th album, Circus, was a bit darker and deeper and more abstract... and then somehow i got distracted and lost track of his career after that. Around the time of his cover of American Woman, i think...In his first albums he had these funky guitar-driven retro-stylings going on... then he went lighter and more RNB... and kinda less distinguished. But Lenny's palate is big, he is not afraid to confront major issues such as race and sexuality in his songs... i've not heard much of his latter material though, so just how interestingly he has done this to date i'm really not sure... One of the things about him i like is that he doesn't claim to have all the answers.... rather, he tends to ask a lot of questions... "who are we but what we are..", "are you gonna go my way?", "what do you want from me?", etc... Not sure that many have put across the 'we are one' message as well and as consistently as Lenny... but, he doesn't come across as a goody-two-shoes, either...I have often thought it would be badass if he and Slash started a band, ever since Slash worked on Mama Said... Velvet Revolver could use a singer with the charisma of Lenny.... if just for one album...Anyway, will someone bring me up to date with his career, are his latter albums very good? What are his most notable recent songs? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OmarBradley Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I am not too familiar with his material, but I saw him tour with Aerosmith in 2006. He was very good, it was the Let Love Rule tour, I remember liking the single from that album, can't remember what it was called. Bring It On? Bring It Home? Something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wfuckinga Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 I like American Woman and Always On The Run. Don't really know his other songs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR DOOM Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I've always found him a bit derivative/generic personally, though I've never listened to anything but the hits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalsh327 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Slash did say he wants to work with Lenny again, they probably could tour together and do a few songs together as encores. Other than that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixes Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I've always found him a bit derivative/generic personally, though I've never listened to anything but the hits.He's as generic and bland as they come Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR DOOM Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 "He's like Hendrix!"No, he isn't.Everytime I hear "Fly Away" I want to violently attack the back of someone's head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towelie Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) He is extremely derivative and couldn't play a decent guitar solo to save his life (check out his performance of American Woman with Prince on the Rave Un2 The Year 2000 DVD. Prince absolutely slays him and shows no mercy).Having said that, I do own a few of his albums. I quite liked Baptism and Love Revolution had some cool Zeppelin-esque riffs. But on the whole they were nothing to write home about. Edited January 19, 2014 by Towelie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Drama Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I've been flogging the Believe single ever since I got it late last year. The B sides Sister and For the First Time are his two best tunes. IMO. I also have his first five albums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My Name is Trinity Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 he and alanis morricette killed rock'n'roll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetness Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Meh... He's a very unremarkable guitar player and a mediocre songwriter, I never got what the fuss is about with Kravitz. He would have never had a career if his parent's weren't in show business. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Real McCoy Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I have his Greatest Hits and "Mama Said." That's pretty much all that I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinegunner Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 I've always found him a bit derivative/generic personally, though I've never listened to anything but the hits.Derivative? He's never denied this. If that's the biggest critism you can level at him well, congratulations for figuring it out, but he did it on purpose!]It's no secret that he is derivative of all the stuff he liked from the 60's and 70's, but it is hard to argue that his retro (re)stylings of all that stuff is not very well done...Generic? Never! Or else where are all the other 'generic' singer/writers/performers who sound like him who are occupying the airways? The fact is he doesn't sound like anyone else - when you hear him you know it's Lenny Fucking Kravitz...No-one else on the planet could have come up with Fly Away...---Are his songs bad? Like, give examples, which ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnold layne Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Boooooooo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinegunner Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Boooooooo.Thank you for the information.....fucktard.back on topic, which Kravitz songs are particularly objectionable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnold layne Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Boooooooo.Thank you for the information.....fucktard.Glad to be at your assistance Captain Douchenozzle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I still give Mama Said a spin now and then. It sounds a little like UYI-lite pop rock. Fields of Joy, Always on the Run, It Ain't Over. It's sounds good on a stereo with a nice bottle of chicken livers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinegunner Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Not a surprise that the Prince fans are also into Lenny, as there's obvious similarities in style with heavy emphasis on rock/funk revolving around guitar. Of course there's no comparison talent-wise or ingenuity-wise, but I think what made Lenny so successful is his mainstream-friendly appeal and willingness to bring back soulful 60's rock at a time when people were sick of grunge/alternative and wanting to fill a void left by Prince.Think about it, Best Male Rock Vocal Grammy for 4 consecutive years ... nobody has come close to doing that. Lenny is just a very likeable guy who appeals to a wide segment of society, young/old/black/white/men/women etc.His best work IMO is 5, I played the hell out of that CD and still listen to it quite often. Black Velveteen is probably his most underrated work, if anyone has the opportunity to purchase with the uncensored music video I highly recommend it.No love for Black & White America? I got the Target deluxe edition and really enjoyed it, best songs are probably What Do You Want From Me and Liquid Jesus and Faith of a Child and Sunflower and Boongie Drop to go along with the commercially successful Come On And Get It and Rock Star City Life.The man has a ton of hits, produces/writes other people's hits (ie: Justify My Love), records lead and backing vocals, and plays 5 instruments. I think he deserves a bit more credit ... even though Craig Ross may be a better guitarist. Thanks for posting your recs. Have you heard Baptism?I still give Mama Said a spin now and then. It sounds a little like UYI-lite pop rock. Fields of Joy, Always on the Run, It Ain't Over. It's sounds good on a stereo with a nice bottle of chicken livers. and Stand By My Woman.... a modern soul classic if ever there was one..not to mention the ogligatory question song which most of his albums include at least one... "What the Fuck Are We Saying?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR DOOM Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I've always found him a bit derivative/generic personally, though I've never listened to anything but the hits.Derivative? He's never denied this. If that's the biggest critism you can level at him well, congratulations for figuring it out, but he did it on purpose!]It's no secret that he is derivative of all the stuff he liked from the 60's and 70's, but it is hard to argue that his retro (re)stylings of all that stuff is not very well done...Generic? Never! Or else where are all the other 'generic' singer/writers/performers who sound like him who are occupying the airways? The fact is he doesn't sound like anyone else - when you hear him you know it's Lenny Fucking Kravitz...No-one else on the planet could have come up with Fly Away...---Are his songs bad? Like, give examples, which ones?Fly Away is bad.It's lame, middle of the road and uninspired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Not a surprise that the Prince fans are also into Lenny, as there's obvious similarities in style with heavy emphasis on rock/funk revolving around guitar. Of course there's no comparison talent-wise or ingenuity-wise, but I think what made Lenny so successful is his mainstream-friendly appeal and willingness to bring back soulful 60's rock at a time when people were sick of grunge/alternative and wanting to fill a void left by Prince.Think about it, Best Male Rock Vocal Grammy for 4 consecutive years ... nobody has come close to doing that. Lenny is just a very likeable guy who appeals to a wide segment of society, young/old/black/white/men/women etc.His best work IMO is 5, I played the hell out of that CD and still listen to it quite often. Black Velveteen is probably his most underrated work, if anyone has the opportunity to purchase with the uncensored music video I highly recommend it.No love for Black & White America? I got the Target deluxe edition and really enjoyed it, best songs are probably What Do You Want From Me and Liquid Jesus and Faith of a Child and Sunflower and Boongie Drop to go along with the commercially successful Come On And Get It and Rock Star City Life.The man has a ton of hits, produces/writes other people's hits (ie: Justify My Love), records lead and backing vocals, and plays 5 instruments. I think he deserves a bit more credit ... even though Craig Ross may be a better guitarist. Thanks for posting your recs. Have you heard Baptism?I still give Mama Said a spin now and then. It sounds a little like UYI-lite pop rock. Fields of Joy, Always on the Run, It Ain't Over. It's sounds good on a stereo with a nice bottle of chicken livers. and Stand By My Woman.... a modern soul classic if ever there was one..not to mention the ogligatory question song which most of his albums include at least one... "What the Fuck Are We Saying?"The whole album is pretty good as I remember. There's been other good songs like Are You Gonna Go My Way and that one he did with Jay Z too. American Woman is one I recall. Black Girl was a classic. Edited January 20, 2014 by wasted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Len B'stard Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Never liked him, there's something very pedestrian and inoffensive and middle of the road about him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovim Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 He fucked madonna. Gross.I like Are You Gonna Go My Way and the 2 songs he did with Slash. I consider it a guilty pleasure. Unoriginal and kinda boring imo. He always aimed to be easily digestable it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Kind of like Jimi Lennon/John Hendrix to me. A bit like mid era Stones. His best song was Sign Your Name Across My Heart. Edited January 20, 2014 by wasted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towelie Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 ^^ Sign Your Name was Terence Trent D'arby not Kravitz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR DOOM Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 ^^ Sign Your Name was Terence Trent D'arby not Kravitz.Terence Trent Darby I do rate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.