Let Love Rule
Lenny Kravitz
1989
Album Summary
Let Love Rule is the debut studio album of American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on September 6, 1989, by Virgin Records. Then-wife Lisa Bonet wrote the lyrics to "Fear" and co-wrote the lyrics on the song "Rosemary"; other than that the album is virtually a one-man Kravitz show, as he wrote and produced all the songs and played nearly all the instruments.Let Love Rule reached number 61 on the Billboard 200, while it peaked at number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The video for the lead single "Let Love Rule" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.
WikipediaLenny Kravitz wants you to know three things: Love is good, Hate is bad, and he listened to a lot of his parent's records while he was going to Beverly Hills High School. Let Love Rule's musical offerings of peace and love are so insipid and empty that it's hard to imagine him having anything but a cushy upbringing—take how Klan lynchings are mentioned in passing on one track, but don't weigh quite as heavily on Kravitz's mind as the racial injustice the entire next song is dedicated to: him being unable to catch a cab. With a complete lack of nuance, it just sounds like a studio version of a dude with an acoustic guitar sitting below a tree on a college campus trying to get laid, which is maybe not the best idea when you're already married to Lisa Bonet. Key Tracks: Blues for Sister Someone
.5 all kravitz albums are ten stars by default due to the ripped pants penis flop video. however every song on this album takes away .5 stars from this rating. so overall .5 stars because zero stars don’t exist. https://66.media.tumblr.com/e8123b078d94d8b0d61bd8a8bc0963dc/tumblr_nskhs7yCrG1qg8i7yo3_r1_500.gif
I was not expecting to rate Lenny Kravitz this high. Was completely unfamiliar with his work, but the versatility and energy is incredibly impressive. He made this album basically ENTIRELY BY HIMSELF. One of those albums where there wasn't a clear winning track, a lot of it flowed effortlessly and did a great job of being unique on its own.
Parts of it sounded like Prince. Parts sounded more grungy. Very cool vibe and guitar playing, but at the same time, nothing really WOWed me. Great job Lenny, here's a 3.5!
Easily one of the greatest debut albums of all time. The Beatles influence is strong, but not dominating. Sometimes the layers upon layers of vocal tracks gets a tad overwhelming, but otherwise the technique is used to great effect (a la George Martin). Hands down, the title track is an all-time classic and in today's political and pandemic fatigued world, would be a welcome reminder to be good to one another. Also, Karl Denson's saxophone solo on Let Love Rule is one of absolute greatest in recorded history and a joy to the ears everytime I hear it.
Another album whose singles played predominantly in my 90s video phase. Decades later it comes of as maybe a little soft-pedaled? Plenty of good stuff though. Saw Kravitz live at a festival in the mid-90s and he did not disappoint.
Great music for a one-man show. I didn't realize Kravitz was so soft rock when he started. I feel bad only knowing him for his amazing cover. He's a great writer.
I should not be this combination of angry and bored two songs into an album. What is the point of this album? Lenny Kravitz seems to have mastered the art of making vacuous music that manages to convince people that it's deep despite all of the intellectual content of the album being spread thinner than a pat of butter on a 6 foot sub. JUST REPEATING THE WORDS "FREEDOM TRAIN" OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS NOT A FUCKING SONG. Wait, nevermind, he said "Uh-huh" a couple times too, so I guess that it technically is a song Every song is just him repeating the name of the song over and over again, which makes me wish that he had named one of these "I'm going to shut the fuck up and stop recording now" 2/5
Bloat is a big issue here, honestly liked most songs, but too many on the same record methinks.
It was ok to me, but didn’t stand out as anything spectacular that must enter my ears frequently in the future.
.5 points for Blues for Sister Someone for sounding like Lenny tried to cover Venus in Furs based on someone describing the song to him, and instead it came out sounding like the worst song Led Zeppelin never wrote
Oh no, it's like being stuck in the mind of a horny 55 year old woman with poor taste.
no co mam powiedzieć no zajebiste, każdy utwór bez wyjatku, najbardziej chyba be, empty hands i blues for sister someone
Loved this! The instrumentals and tone are great. A mix of relaxing and energizing.
Aun con un contenido lírico discreto (aunque certero en ocasiones) el álbum es una pasada. Una faceta maravillosa de Kravitz, mezclando soul, pop rock 60 de UKs, blues y pequeños destellos de psicodelia. Un buen 9
Que disco raro! No porque sea malo ni nada... Siempre asocié a Kravitz con algo mas rockero y no lo tenia tan blusero. Me encantó, creo que mas que la musica que hace normalmente. Tiene unas pinceladas de Hendrix que quedan excelentes con lo espaciadas que están. Es una lastima que haya encontrado otra identidad y no haga tanto de esto, aunque probablemente tambien sea que evolucionó en la forma de hacer musica y no sea tan cruda. No se si habría lugar para un Hendrix hoy, tanto como para un Lenny así. Faveado.
I love people like Lenny who sing with such passion. It really gets you into the album and music and lyrics and theme. Phenomenal record.
I had honestly only ever listened to fly away before this but this was a great intro into Lenny kravitz. Excellent album and his yelly voice with the production just works
From the outset this was a really enjoyable collection of songs with shades of hippie rock, psychedelia, soul and funk. Kravitz is quite obviously a massive fan of late sixties psychedelic rock and this is apparent in the music styles and especially his lyrics; whilst cliched they never jar. He sings enthusiastically throughout and the music has plenty of breathing space. There's a few nice touches like the processed vocal effect on 'Freedom Train' and strings on 'Fear'. Great stuff.
First time listening to the full album by Lenny Kravitz and my first thought is - Why haven't I done this sooner? It's a very well made album, entertaining from start to finish (although it falls off a little by the end). Mix of rock, at moments hard rock, with blues and soul, resulting in extremely fun record for a wide variety of fans. Lenny was the solo artist on this album - vocals and lyrics, guitars, bass, drums and other instruments were composed and played by him. And you can tell how talented he is. It wasn't over the top at any point, which happens to some other overcomplicated recordings, but also it wasn't too simple, it hit the right mark. Guitar solos felt really at place and in the groove of the song or beat. Additional instruments like sax or trumpet added another layer to the mixture. And finally, it wouldn't be as attractive without great singing voice of Lenny. He could swing in-between slower, more emotional tracks and fast and heavy ones with ease, and you could tell he felt good and comfortable in any setting. I am very surprised with this album, but it easily jumps to the list of my favourites.
Hadn't listened to this since a long time and was reminded what a great album it is. A warm bath!
This is a phenomenal album! I remember the first Lenny Kravitz song I ever heard (American Woman, off of Big Shiny Tunes 4). I thought it was a fantastic song, and really liked his style, but never really delved into his back catalog at all. I found myself enjoying that same sound on this album (rock mixed with strong funk/jazz/blues vibes). This album touches on topics such as peace & love, racism, and religion. The piano breakdown in My Precious Love was fantastic!! Favourite songs : Let Love Rule, Rosemary, Blues For Sister Someone, I Build This Garden for Us, Flower Child Least favourite songs: if forced to pick, Mr. Cab Driver, Freedom Train, Sitting on Top of the World 5/5
Yeah it was pretty good.Felt a little long and wasn’t really my kinda music but I liked it.Could’ve done with less Jesus stuff though but that’s his choice I guess
Fajny, moje klimaty, czasami piosenki były podobne do siebie ale odsłuchiwało mi się bardzo przyjemnie
Very good. Although I can't really relate to the strong Christian themes.
Me gustó un chingo. Pensé que en el 89 ni había nacido Lemmy Kravitsss
Hippie, soulful, that can definitely find it's groove and rock. It amazingly keeps interest up even though the tracks clock in at almost an hour.
Reminds me of 6th grade when Mike let me borrow all his Lenny Kravitz CDs for our family trip to Italy. I thought this was so cool... and I still like it. It feels like the very beginning of what would become the early 90s throwback to the 60s/70s. The slower love songs are less my style. I don't like the Jesus shit. And some of the writing is a little elementary... but this album still reminds me of a simpler time. 4.
Went in completely blind with no expectations. I really enjoyed it and plan on looking deeper into his discography.
1989, Funk rock, hard rock, psychedelic soul, hat großteil des Albums selbst produziert, fast alles selbst geschrieben, nice würde wieder hören, starke 4
1) 2* weird way to start a debut album. Very pitchy and squeaky. 2) 4* 3) 3* 4) 2* 5) 4* 6) 4* fear 7) 3* 8) 4* 9) 3* 10) 3* 11) 4* 12) 4* 14) 4*
Let Love Rule is an awesome song. Kind of jammy sometimes, also soulful. Really liked this one.
I'm used to the poppy, un-creative bullshit he put out later in his career. This was refreshing and very good.
I like it. This is the type of music I listen to a lot but I never really listen to Kravitz. I'm going to have to give him more of a listen. OOOO "Rosemary" is sort of a Christian song, that's interesting. "Empty Hands" without doing research, I can see this being about Jesus or MLK Jr.
Pretty solid album, good background music. Enjoyable, but I felt like a lot of the songs sounded the same. 4/5 stars.
Loved the mix of genres in this and the themes. Lots going on in terms of instruments but the production was great. Let Love Rule is a highlight track.
Enjoyed it a lot, Lenny has a great voice when he wants it to be. Real rating 3.5/5 but rounding up since it was an impressive debut
Buen disco! Lo escuche mientras limpiaba la casa jaja Lenny me gusta pero escuche obviamente lo mas contemporaneo 4 efes
Not exactly my usual type of music, but liked it and would listen again. "4 - enjoyed it, will listen again."
This was fun. Lots of good Lenny songs even if I didn’t recognize many
Pretty good. Particularly enjoyed "Mr. Cab Driver", but I was definitely watching the tracks towards the end counting down the number remaining.
Great listen. Lenny Kravitz is another that I came to later in his career and never went back to explore his earlier stuff. Clearly very talented, an explosive debut.
Really, really great! So much variety; I was impressed! A bit too much religious imagery for my taste lol
I first heard Kravitz when a friend played for me the entire "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" album shortly after it came out. I followed that up by buying this, Kravitz's first album. I've listened to this album many times, but probably only once in the last 15 years. It was good to come back. "Let Love Rule" got my highest rating for an individual track. Overall the individual tracks don't come to mind as something that I should play again, but I would put on the album as a whole.
Lenny Kravitz is not the artist I thought he was. This album was a lot different than the radio stuff of his I heard.
Loved this album at the time (close to the end of when you listened to a whole album). Mr. Cab driver. Yeah
Unexpectedly cool album. Based on the selections for this generator, I can always appreciate some accessibility and non-boringness.
With nods slinky soul, funk, R & B, glam rock this album is a winner. Freedom Train, Let Love Rule, Be, Mr Cab Driver and more show him as an inspired artist letting his freak flag fly.
This album fucks! So atmospheric, so driven, and so intentional. Love the sound and the lyrics. Groove!
My impression of Lenny Kravitz after hearing “Fly Away,” “American Woman,” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” on the radio forever is that he’d be hard to take seriously. Listening to this album though I’m like…what if Lenny Kravitz is good???
It’s a cool, atmospheric album. Lenny has cultivated the 60s ideals of peace and love, and infused them with his smooth funky flow. He’s offering it all up for a new generation of groovy-minded people. I like it a lot. It’s a solid debut album, the perfect introduction of what’s to come.
8/10. This was pretty good. long album, of course, but pretty enjoyable every step of the way
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Sitting on top of the world, Freedom train, I build this garden for us, Fear
I bought this album when it came out, and it was on steady rotation for a while. Now — as I was then, I'm impressed with the songs, performances, vibe, and the sparse but adept production. The experience held up on this listen, the first in many years. This is just a plain solid album, and that's without delving into the fact that Kravitz apparently did most of it himself. I was never again enthralled by anything Kravitz released, he seemed much more focused on being a rock star that a music artist, and I felt the next bunch of releases were devoid of the things that made this album so great (good songs and honest performances). I've pretty much not listened to anything since 1998's "5," which disappointed me (I did buy the CD, though I no longer have it). But that's a tangent, this album is really good. 'Nuff said.
p607. 1989. 4 stars Well done pilfering of Prince, Hendrix and Beatles circa Abbey Road. Was surprised at how much I liked this. 1 star deducted for some tracks outstaying their welcome. Still on the replay list, though.
I bought this one on vinyl when it came out. Really strong debut album. It seemed to go against the grain at the time, which was heading more toward alternative and grunge. This felt a bit more like throwback classic rock, and it was a breath of fresh air. I didn't really track Lenny much after this album, other than hearing the hits. 4 stars.
I liked this album. I found that his voice could be a little grating at times when it begins to sound scratchy. The actual songs and instrumentation were pretty good though. Overall, this seems to be a strong debut album. My favourite songs were Let Love Rule and Does Anybody Out There Even Care.
Non sapevo che Let Love Rule fosse dell''89, ho cominciato ad ascoltare Lenny attorno al 2000 e lo adoro. Chitarra elettrica adoro.