Reviews (page 3 of 7)
Pretty groovy
lenny kravitz' let love rule was an album i knew, two songs in, that i would enjoy. what i'm stuck on is if i enjoy it on its own or that it's got a lot of prince vibes. well, i know i'm not upset with the prince similarities. in some ways, this felt more like a family friendly version of prince. when you add to the fact kravitz did prince's trademark--performing almost all instruments by himself--well, that isn't a uniquely prince attribute, but it's another connection. regardless, it's admirable. there was *so* much funk here! kravitz nailed it. great immersion with rock and soul music.
I really like the songs of Lenny Kravitz that I’ve heard, but I don’t recognise any song titles here on this album. To be completely honest, I didn’t even know he started making music in the 80’s (I always thought he got big in the 90’s), so let’s find out how this album is! Songs I already knew: none Favourites: I Built This Garden For Us, Fear I’d always considered Lenny to be a rock musician. Although there are certainly rock elements found here, this felt a lot funkier that the music I’m already familiar with. I’m assuming from this that he leaned more into the rock genre as time went on (but always kept a funky element). His vocals are perfect - there is genuinely nothing I could critique about his singing as he sounds great. Overall, I enjoyed this but I think I’d personally prefer his later albums.
I think this one was solid. And I'm not just saying that because I would scream MR CAB DRIVER over and over again with my toy guitar as a kid.
Funkrock met redelijk wat soulgehalte. Niet slecht
Not my jam but pretty good
A great album, made amazing by the fact it was almost entirely solo. Definitely some Beatles influences in there. I had no idea how old it was because the music holds up so well.
This debut album rocked.
This album grew on me. Second half of this album made me listen first half one more time and it definitely wasn't wasted time. Music and vocals are both great. As usual I really appreciate keyboard.
Huge when it came out. Lenny was such a unique performer. Everyone loved or hated him. Standouts: Let Love Rule, I Build This Garden For Us, Does Anybody Out There Even Care? Mr. Cab Driver. Others: Sittin’ on Top of The World, Freedom Train, My Precious Love, Be. 3.5 maybe 4
La parte del directo mejor que la de la grabación en estudio. Un 4.
I actually enjoyed this album a bit, but it was pretty repetitive and the topics of the songs started to repeat enough it got kind of old. Still, pretty good. There's a style to this that's generic but still it's own flair to make it different.
Listenable, but not a big shot
I genuinely thought I hated Lenny Kravitz 🤔
Slightly irritatingly "right on" lyrics, but nothing Stevie Wonder wouldn't have sung. Obviously influenced by The Beatles and Wonder and a little Hendrix - no bad thing when done well. Very enjoyable from my nostalgic standpoint and what appeals to me. But I already knew this!
Lenny Kravitz is the man. Not his strongest set of songs here, but I love the dude-rocking-an-electric-guitar-and-singing-his-ass-off vibes. Plus, he just oozes cool.
Cinna funky as hell goddamn
I... _WANT_ to like Lenny Kravitz. I feel like he is trying his best to meld the past, present and future into one thing in his music. A guy who brings out John Paul Jones to play with him on stage gives you a pretty good idea he wants to honor the music he dearly loves. But I listen to a song like "Empty Hands", and I can hear him lift a guitar lick right off of Zeppelin's "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You." I feel like he can do better than that. This is in comparison to Oasis, who I also admonished for pretty much copying a song. But I felt that they were doing the best that they could in homaging. They could not elevate that style any higher. Whereas I think that Kravitz can move things forward, like he does in some of his songs that work, like "Let Love Rule," which sounds like Lennon without quoting him directly. Or "Fear," which I really liked. That was probably my favorite off of the album. Part of me feels like I'm using a double standard here, but this album has a lot of potential, and I see it in some of the songs that he performs later in his career. So I will rank this album higher because of that, as opposed to Oasis' first album.
I've always liked Lenny but never dug deep into his albums (with the exception of "5", which I've listened to a lot). Great groove, funk, rock, psychedelic. Lots of great moments - I particularly like the transition from Let Love Rule to Freedom Train. Every song is good, but the main strike against the album is a lot of it is pretty derivative. That said, I'd listen again any day, which makes it at least a 4 for me.
Lenny's beste plaatje. Hier heb ik veel goede herinneringen aan toen ik begin jaren 90 een 'DJ duo' vormde met mijn buurjongen Menno.
Om Evan Dando te quoten: Lenny, you're so good to me, And I'm only fifteen, baby - whooo!
Oelala, wat een jeugdsentiment weer. M’n broer had een heel leuk vriendinnetje. Zij was fan van Lenny en zo leerde ik zijn muziek kennen. Toen ging ik vooral voor de ballades zoals ‘Rosemary’, die vind ik nu het minst interessant.
Solid album, I liked it.
lenny just does something solid for me man i love his style of songwriting and lyricism
it's good
Very solid for a debut
Solid debut album, comfy songs
banco una banda 8/10
Being the debut album of Lenny Kravitz, I was expecting something much more standardized and less "Kravitz." However, it was the opposite, and he already had all his energy and personal style of making music. It's not perfect, but I enjoyed it a lot!
Didn't expect to like it but really rather good.
relaxing
I was jamming to it. Has a lot of sounds I dig
Better than expected
I have a huge amount of respect for Lenny Kravitz, but I’ve never enjoyed his music a lot. I’d give this album a 3.5 if I could. It had a few songs I liked, but I don’t think I’d listen to the whole album again.
Lenny klikkar ekkert. Fíla þessa plötu mjög vel.
Yeah Lenny kinda ate ngl. Bass goes hard and I dig it. He really feelin it (or something)
Let Love Rule was a pleasant surprise in 1989 and has aged well. Nothing innovating about the music or lyrics, but it just makes you happy.
Non sapevo che Let Love Rule fosse dell''89, ho cominciato ad ascoltare Lenny attorno al 2000 e lo adoro. Chitarra elettrica adoro.
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.
great
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.
Good songs, but sometime too hippy Lanny
Not Objectionable. Tbh I slept a very deep sleep through this.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Sitting on top of the world, Freedom train, I build this garden for us, Fear
8/10. This was pretty good. long album, of course, but pretty enjoyable every step of the way
You’re trying just a little too hard, Lenny. 7/10
Haven't heard this album for a long time. Very well done
Outstanding AND a first album!
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.
This one was really cool
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???
Genial, genial, la pasé re bien.
This album fucks! So atmospheric, so driven, and so intentional. Love the sound and the lyrics. Groove!
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.
Unexpectedly cool album. Based on the selections for this generator, I can always appreciate some accessibility and non-boringness.
Rock, blues, soul
funky stuff thanks Lenny
Wasn’t bad at all!
Great variety
Nice, Lenny!
Non mi dispiace, ha carattere.
Loved this album at the time (close to the end of when you listened to a whole album). Mr. Cab driver. Yeah
It rules
Lenny Kravitz is not the artist I thought he was. This album was a lot different than the radio stuff of his I heard.
Great album, really enjoyed.
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.
Really, really great! So much variety; I was impressed! A bit too much religious imagery for my taste lol
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.
Pretty good. Particularly enjoyed "Mr. Cab Driver", but I was definitely watching the tracks towards the end counting down the number remaining.
Really liked the first half but the back half fell off for me.
This was fun. Lots of good Lenny songs even if I didn’t recognize many
Really enjoyed this one, solid blues rock album.
Not exactly my usual type of music, but liked it and would listen again. "4 - enjoyed it, will listen again."
Buen disco! Lo escuche mientras limpiaba la casa jaja Lenny me gusta pero escuche obviamente lo mas contemporaneo 4 efes
Enjoyed this one
3.5? I enjoyed it, but it wasn't my favorite?
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
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.
Pretty solid album, good background music. Enjoyable, but I felt like a lot of the songs sounded the same. 4/5 stars.
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.
Really good, I didn't think I would enjoy this album as much.
I'm used to the poppy, un-creative bullshit he put out later in his career. This was refreshing and very good.
Good quality songs
Let Love Rule is an awesome song. Kind of jammy sometimes, also soulful. Really liked this one.
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*
Liked it.
Can’t put kravitz in a corner
Una gran voz y un gran estilo y banda detrás
La parte del directo mejor que la de la grabación en estudio.
1989, Funk rock, hard rock, psychedelic soul, hat großteil des Albums selbst produziert, fast alles selbst geschrieben, nice würde wieder hören, starke 4
Went in completely blind with no expectations. I really enjoyed it and plan on looking deeper into his discography.
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.
Enjoyed a lot great vibes thanks Lenny 4.3
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.
Me gustó un chingo. Pensé que en el 89 ni había nacido Lemmy Kravitsss
Raw, funky,
Very good. Although I can't really relate to the strong Christian themes.
A really solid album
Fajny, moje klimaty, czasami piosenki były podobne do siebie ale odsłuchiwało mi się bardzo przyjemnie
bitchin'
So we have Prince from Temu now.
Great music and variety but the vocals can be so over the top sometimes.
I never been huge into Lenny Kravitz but I can see his appeal and actually liked quite a few songs on this album.
-hmm, this started off promising and i was looking forward to finally listening to Lenny Kravitz, which i haven’t done -honestly it ended up falling pretty flat for me. a bit cheesy and overproduced for my taste -nevertheless it wasn’t bad, Lenny has a great voice and interesting interpretation of soul sounds. maybe i’ll enjoy Mama Said more -Favorites: Sitting On Top Of The World, Let Love Rule
I find Lenny to be a bit slow footed in too many songs. I dig his voice, and many of his songs are memorable. But overall, he, like this album come up short for me. Just saw him live, and the show ranged from intense full sounding music, to songs seemingly performed for resting. I get that the soulful sound is not resting, it's just often times too low energy for me
Sort of everything we’ve come to expect from Lenny. Every groove is deep, every riff swings. But it still feels flat, calculated. There’s a formula, and Lenny knows it front to back.
3/5
Feel like I should have liked it more. Missing something, that I can't quite put my finger on.
Really solid debut album from Lenny Kravitz. Had only really checked out his Mama Says and Are You Gonna Go My Way albums, so this was a first listen. Let Love Rule, I build this Garden for Us, Does Anybody out There Even Care, Mr Cab Driver and Rosemary were standout for me. But overall it was very enjoyable from start to finish.
It's very cool that he played most of the instruments, but that doesn't make it a great album.
Review: Well not bad this album has a lot of areas of improvement. First off the fact that he sounded like he was pushing out a poop about 70 times a song. I do not understand screaming in songs in any scenario. It even drives me crazy when Linkin Park does it I just can't stand it. The guitar was amazing though and was by far the best part of the production. The fact that he did everything himself and this was his debut album was very impressive. It just felt like if he changed a couple of things this could have been in the high 7s low 8s range for sure.
It’s impressive that he played all these instruments and I love his use of scarves in general. These songs plod along with a lovely groove and I think he maintains a good sense of the kind of blues rock he wants but there’s nothing here that I’m super into.
Solid LK. Probably his best overall work. Maybe a song or two too long. But still really good. 3.75
I thought I would like it but then I poisoned the well by reading the reviews. Y'all disliked it so intensely you drug me down with you. Heartless and cruel. All I could think about was this entitled, smug guitar player fucking Lisa Bonet.
(4/7) bold and funky
3 - decent
I mean.... Its okay, i would say its a "Album to listen to before you die" Album
Some of it is really catchy, and then it overstays it's welcome.
Some of it was decent’ish. 2.5
Correcto
Does not change my impression that Lenny Kravitz is mid. It's fine. Well-produced, but not earth shattering.
Started off well yet fell off hard in the mid to late section
“sir, another leonard has hit the generator!” “oh. wish he’s not as bad as cohen.” (two songs into the album) "...well. he is not as bad as cohen... actually, he's even worse than cohen!" 3/5
Enjoyed it more than I thought I would going into it
Such an interesting artist. Lenny has a distinct sound and style, but it's not necessarily something that draws me in. He has moments that grab my attention, but then the rest of the album is just the typical Lenny Kravitz I've come to expect. Again, it's not bad, just not something I would actively seek to listen to. "I Build This Garden For Us" was a nice one, reminded me of Chris Cornell a bit, and the era in which this record was released.
i've never listened to a full lenny album until now. he has such a specific sound - there is such a grit and angst to his voice that it feels desperate. he has wonderful melodies, guitar riffs, and arrangement elements that make the songs sound grand. it's a unique and raw and full of layers.
man I was gobsmacked to find this was a 1989 release. In my head Kravitz was a late 90's rock guy that was like a proto Bruno Mars. For a debut album its okay, its got a lot of Lenny's style all over it before he really honed it in. Some funky sounds and voice effects throughout, it just strikes me as wanting to be Jimi Hendrix on stage at Woodstock so so bad, and it definitely wore out its welcome. I'll credit him that it doesnt sound like your typical 80's album at the time.
Smooth, but maybe just not for me.
I like Lenny, but only about 60% of this LP.
Let Lenny Vibe
No. 197 Very simplistic, lots of songs about love. There are a few that do stand-out, but for an album it's just 'alright'.
Послухаємо) Знаю цього чувака)
Some decent moments, but felt very derivative (palpable Hendrix influences). Cool guy, decent musician - a much lesser version of Prince. 2.5
A relatively successful pastiche of popular rock and r&b styles from 1966 to 1974. The songs are pretty good, and LK is a good instrumentalist (a surprisingly strong drummer), but points deducted for being the biggest nepobaby of his era.
Kravitz knows his way around an anthem like the title track....but most of this album is just OK at best and, at worse, grating and stupid. I really hate the song "Rosemary" with its message of "just suck it up, Jesus will make it all OK." But there are enough good songs--"I Build This Garden for Us," "Mr. Cab Driver"--to make it a worthwhile listen. But there are 1001 albums that are more deserving to be on this list.
Good album!
Lenny rubs me the wrong way but this album was pretty alright
A pleasant listen. Down to get down in more ways than one.
sometimes lenny rocks, sometimes lenny rolls
Enjoyable, but this will be my first & last listen. ★★★
This gets some leeway because Lenny Kravitz is undeniably talented and has a pretty cool voice. Otherwise, meh. Also found this gem from his Wikipedia page: "Kravitz began banging on pots and pans in the kitchen, playing them as drums at the age of three. He decided that he wanted to be a musician at the age of five." So unique.
pretty groovy, pretty funky, wrapped up in some pop appeal. enjoyable, but no song really blew my mind. favorite song is I Built This Garden For Us. soft 3
Pretty good.
Good not great. There's something cool about Lenny Kravitz and some of these songs are pretty enjoyable, like Let Love Rule (that saxophone is where it's at). I think the album is a bit too long though and the songs do start to blend together. I will say that whatever violin/fiddle action is going on in Empty Hands is pretty cool.
Crazy that this guy was in the hunger games... actually really liked his performance in that movie. This album started STRONG, let let rule was a fantastic song. So grandeous, and the harmonies during the chorus were so heavenly. Then this saxophone comes in to top it all off! That was where things peaked though... the rest of the album just sorta tapered off, his voice didnt offer much variety and most of the other songs were a bit forgettable. Happy I discovered Let Love Rule though, I will be returning to that one many times down the road.
I’ve never been a big Lenny Kravitz fan.
I think people are being a little hard on Lenny here. It's just an album by a guy who really wants to sound like Prince. It's not great, but it's not nearly as bad as people are saying it is. Still probably doesn't have any business being on this list.
Pretty good, buuut also kind of boring at times. He’s very talented though. There are definitely better albums in his discography
I listened to the whole thing and I feel like I owe it one more listen, but I also know that this is never going to particularly click for me. Lenny is a good looking fella. He makes good music. I respect his energy.
About six months after this album came out, I saw Lenny Kravitz open for the Cult. Even at 13, I found his hippie-rocker shtick cheesy, though maybe I was more put off by his linking hands and swaying with audience members. Or maybe it was the couple next to me who made out the whole time. Anyway, it was inauspicious, and nothing changed for me once Kravitz became a superstar. Imagine my surprise, then, at kind of enjoying this 36 years later. (Well, not so much "Flower Child.") I probably won't come back to it, but I didn't mind it. How far I've come. 3.5 stars.
A very good start for Lenny Kravitz with "that 70's" vibe. Although nothing new, it was quite original in it's time with that nostalgic touch.
Franchement un bon album mais pas si excellent que cela, il a su mieux faire par la suite, donc je m'en tiens à 3 étoiles
A precursor to the whole 70s revival wave that would follow. Nothing much to complain about, it just works, maybe a little too smoothly. I think the later albums are stronger, but the blend of soul, rock, blues and even touches of hard rock is undeniably effective. Almost so polished that you end up searching for the soul underneath it.
Way more like Prince than I expected this to be. That's not good or bad, just an observation. I thought this was going to be more guitar fueled like his later work I'm more familiar with, but the inclusion of a bunch of other instruments (strings, sax, etc) makes for a more interesting listen than I was expecting.
Average
Ég get ekki hætt að hugsa um fölsku nótuna í upphafi plötunnar. Var hún viljandi? Var hún óvart en ákveðið að hafa hana með til að ögra? Annars er þetta bara fínasta fönkrokk og vel flutt. Ég fílaði hann meira en ég bjóst við en samt er það þessi falska nóta sem ég kemst ekki yfir.
3.4 I have never heard the song Let Love Rule before and about a tenth of a second into the 1st chorus, I thought I should get strapped in for an extended chorus jam at the end of the song. That probably got played for 10 minutes in concert. Rest of the album was certainly listenable but not overly original. Havent heard Cab driver in years, thats a decent tune
3.5
I've always enjoyed hearing and listening to Lenny Kravitz over the years, so I'm glad that we get one of his albums, although I do wish we could have gotten an album later than his debut; he definitely got more polished and more interesting as the decades wore on. I hadn't realized that--at least on this album--he wrote, produced, played and sang everything on the album, a la Prince and others (except for co-writing by Lisa Benet on a couple of tracks). It's not the best album overall, and certainly not his best, but it's kind of interesting to see him getting his footing, and nice that he had complete direction by taking charge of everything. It's a bit too throwback for my tastes, and strangely slow across most of the tracks, but a few of the singles seem like good highlights of the album (The Beatlesesque "Let love rule" and "Mr. cab driver" especially); sadly, the videos actually detract from the songs (especially the plodding "I built this garden for us" as well as "Be"). I can definitely see why the reviews for his debut were pretty mixed, but glad he persevered and found a lot of success in later years.
3.25
Pop rock, Prince tinged, some interesting songs.
aigth
Great Songs: Let Love Rule, Rosemary, Be Good Songs: Freedom Train, My Precious Love, Fear, Does Anybody Out There Even Care, Mr. Cab Driver, Blues For Sister Someone, Empty Hands, Flower Child Mid Songs: Sitting On Top Of The World, I Built This Garden For Us Bad Songs:
The first time I heard Lenny Kravitz was when he was on Saturday Night Live promoting his Are You Gonna Go My Way album. Beyond this or hearing his hits on the radio, I have not really heard a lot of Kravitz's music. Fear, Be, and the title tracks are the stand-outs for me. A number of the other songs got REALLY repetitive... I'm looking at you I Build This Garden for You... and others. This over repetition is what keeps this from being a great album for me.
Expectation: -> Expecting a Lenny Kravitz album to be 3-ish for me. I do like his biggest hits. After listening: -> Enjoyed the blend of sounds/styles on this album. Like the interspersed saxophone and orchestral moments. This was Kravitz's first album and for me lacks a big hitter. Too many songs fell flat and were a minute longer than needed. Track ranking: Let Love Garden Precious Empty Flower Cab Blues Care Rosemary Be Fear World Train
This album gets absolutely shredded in the most popular comments, but I’d say it’s just fine. The sound is ‘The Beatles with a side order of Funk’, which makes it quite derivative but a pretty listenable. The lyrics are pretty basic, but it does at least have some inkling of a social conscience. Nothing special, but enough for 3*.
I enjoyed elements of this, it was very Beatles-y and there were some funk elements on some tracks, but I have to say there wasn’t a lot that stuck in my mind. ‘Mr. Cab Driver’ and the title track ‘Let Love Rule’ were the highlights.
This psychedelic rock/soul album was considerably better than I was expecting given the scathing top comments and a 2.99 current average rating. The lyrics might not be great poetry, but they’re not THAT bad (they do their job as a vehicle for some solid vocal performances), and are secondary to the music anyway. This is mostly pretty good, and sometimes even great, albeit a bit derivative of the 60s/70s. However, as I love that stuff, this didn’t bother me too much. It’s a bit too long, but I’d give it a strong 3 stars, very nearly 4.
Not bad, not spectacular, but not Lenny Kravitz yet. You can see places where he'll evolve from.
134. nice
Started out so-so, then picked up with the later tracks Does Anybody Out There Even Care, Mr. Cab Driver, and Be. 3.5 and can’t quite round up.
Mr. Cab Driver
Lenny Kravitz likes peace, love, The Beatles & Prince, and dislikes fear and racist cab drivers. Pretty controversial stuff, Lenny. It's somehow less than the sum of its parts, and ultimately pretty forgettable, but I've got to give him credit for doing almost all the songwriting and music himself.
For an artist who always seems to infuse his music with soul and undoubtedly has passion for what he's doing, Lenny Kravitz's music has always fallen flat for me. He clearly can write a good song, but the sum of the parts feel more important than the whole. Lenny Kravitz has the special gift of making music that so many people know, that some people like and yet there is a feeling they have no interest in hearing too much more of it. After hearing this album a few times, I can't say it does not deserve to be in this book, but I also can't say I would listen to the album again. I'm very NIMBY about Lenny Kravitz. Perhaps his greatest hits are something I would put on and listen to, because his music does have positives and he's doing Prince-lite here. That's fun. But...NIMBY. My favorite tracks: Let Love Rule I Build This Garden for Us Does Anybody Out There Even Care Mr. Cab Driver Rosemary Be
I remember this one being played here and there at parties in college, and I was pretty lukewarm to it then. Fast forward to now, and sure enough, same reaction. Is it bad? Not really. But dayum it was a lot longer than I remember. It also seems that Lenny’s solution to writing lyrics entails simply repeating same words n phrases over and over again followed by a series of emphatic “yeah, yeah, yeahs.” I will rate this one up a notch based solely on the fact that he pretty much played every instrument and arranged every part as a result.
Mid. Can't really say much about it.
A weird hodgepodge of a lot of different styles and influences. It’s all just ok, but it doesn’t do any one thing particularly well.
A solid debut effort by Lenny. A Kool mix of pop blues and rock. I like Lisa a little better though. LOL.
not my style but ok
i always forget he’s not just Famous
I enjoyed some songs, but it is a very long album and at some point it sounds a bit repetitive. I would give it a 3.5
So good. Lenny will always be a vibe. He’s done better work than this though.
Haven't heard much of his stuff but quite enjoyed this
Actually better than i thought
I like the rock / funk / pop combo on paper, but the execution on this album leaves a bit to be desired. Some of the instrumentals are interesting but I didn't love the vocals and the lyrics were too preachy for me. The grooves that the drums and bass get into were great though, and it's clear he was thinking about how they work together when writing and recording them.
This one’s a little tough for me. On the one hand, I don’t think Kravitz got as much credit as he deserved because he didn’t fit the late 80s categories, with their racial/racist assumptions. On the other hand, some of these songs are a little blah. On the whole, though, the album is more interesting and more original than I realized, with its Beatlesque song craft and social critique.
Enjoyed this more than I expected to. The vocals truly could not be cornier. It's like he didn't know what to sing about so he consulted a list of typical themes of song lyrics, noticed that "love" was somewhere near the top and then just decided he would beat the word to death so that he would have something to do with his mouth other than screech generic rock sounds (the christian theme also got pretty grating). I wish he wouldn't do the pushing-out-a-shit voice the whole time, but I'm glad it's there to provide some contrast to the vapid lyrics. Surprisingly though there's a lot of variety here, some fun instrumentals, and it kept me guessing. Still not really my thing though so it gets 3 stars.
Lenny Kravitz has been called a Throwback but I don't think that's right. Kravitz is a Fauxback. Throwback uniforms in sports or even redesigns often uses elements from the past designs to harken back to when they were good. Good example of a fauxback redesign would be the current uniforms for the New England Patriots & the LA Chargers. They look modern yet have design elements paying homage to their past. Lenny is more like the Astros current uniform set. They have all the elements of their fun uniform past but settled for boring block lettering across their chest. The uniforms are fine, just bland as vanilla. The elements of their past is there, the star H is back & it's got tequila sunrise trim. It's just boring. He sounds like Prince or Hendrix or whatever but it just falls flat or bland. Trying to hard 3 3
Good debut album with pleasing psychedelic rock vibes, but looking for something more exciting.
Favourite Songs: Let Love Rule Freedom Train Mr. Cab Driver
Lenny is very cool. I definitely like this! I love his voice and his mix of different musical styles.
Another new album/artist for me although I have heard of Lenny Kravitz before. The album sounded familiar in places, for example I found similarities between the music and lyrics of "Does Anybody Out There Even Care" and Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" from 15 years earlier. I don't know if he was heavily influenced by music of the past though. An OK album. Not one I'll actively seek to listen to again but I won't reject it if it came up on a playlist.
Kuunteli mielellään
just down the middle
All the Lenny Kravitz I know are his most popular songs, which aren't on this album. Let Love Rule is certainly something different, in that it sounds like a bunch of late 60s/early 70s album played by a musician that is somewhere between half-baked musical ideas and songwriting and decent musical ability. It's got some decent highs and some, well I'm just gonna say it, Christian-ass songs. No problem if you're into that, but it caught me off-guard for this album. And of course the name would imply that you wouldn't find those kinds of songs. Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum felt a bit more subtle. Let Love Rule is okay. Feels like it's on the list for brand recognition purposes (IE: his records sold well therefore we all got to know him), Lenny has always been more of a singles guy. I don't think anything new to the table comes with this album's inclusion. It's not bad, but it's chopped liver.
Ok - a couple of decent songs, but generally a bit too beige rock for me to really get into
Not a bad album, just not that good either. Feels like an early attempt at grunge and other styles of rock that Lenny didn't quite get right.
I liked a song or two on here, but overall it just was not terribly memorable.
Took me by surprise! I didn't expect to like it as much as I did.
Ok
Starting out with Sitting On Top Of The World, I was like ok, this is kinda whatever. But then Let Love Rule came in with a wonderful sax solo. Freedom Train was annoying, but at least is was the only real dud on the album. Got much better after that. My Precious Love was nice with some smooth piano work. I Build This Garden For Us had wonderful guitar. Does Anybody Out There Even Care was nice and smooth. As was Rosemary. All in all a decent album, I enjoyed it. Best song: Does Anybody Out There Even Care
Quite a nice listen. Did not love it, but did enjoy it quite a lot, a well made album. 3,5 stars, it was hard to decide to round it down or up.
A cool 90s(ish) alt-rock update on a style of rock that reminded me at different times of Prince and Bowie. I hear a bit of both those artists in Lenny Kravitz’s music, but he puts his own stamp on his songs too. Very enjoyable album and a great intro to Kravitz.
Lenny Kravitz is great and at this point a bit underrated I think. His songs these days are predominantly used for big truck commercials or football advertisements but his top songs are really quite nice pieces of rock music. He's got a great voice, great grasp of melodic phrasing, and is a solid multi instrumentalist. The first track is a great opener. I love how rough it starts- the loose acoustic guitar and pitchy vocals evolves so wonderfully into a Stevie Wonder-esque funk jam and it's a brilliant beginning. Several of the songs on this list are really solid, and some are just OK. "I Built This Garden For Us" is an awesome social commentary and I love the lyrics about prejudice and race, but it's so incredibly repetitive until around the 3:30 mark, but it's too late in the song. Then when the song breaks even more around the 5 minute mark I have the same sentiment.. it took too long to get here! 3.4/5 for me. It's a nice album that shows a lot of his diverse songwriting capabilities. With that being said, if there's only one of his records on this list, I would think that his album "5" would be in it over this one
pleasant
slut 80'erne men tilbage til 60 og 70'erne rock psychedelia, folk og en smule funk.
I mean, it’s just not very good really, is it?
7/10 It would sound great on a record
Sympa mais sans plus (album 200!)
Very familiar with Mr. Kravitz's music, but can't say I've gone back to his debut album. This unsurprisingly sounds a bit raw, but the foundation for the soul sound that Kravitz would try to make his own is apparent here. Plus, he handled most of the instrumentation himself here, which is always mighty impressive. Not much else to say here, it's a sort of fun debut with some imperfections.
So I only knew Lenny Kravitz’s biggest hits before this album, which are obviously his cover of “American woman” as well as “are you gunna go my way” and “fly away”. So for most of my life I’ve known of him as a pop rockstar from the early 2000s. Meaning he was already established as a musician and celebrity. So I never took the time or even had the thought to look into his earlier work. And while I’m only familiar with his album “five”, I have to say this album has got to be my favorite of his. The whole first half of the album is old school blues rock and it’s great! My only complaint is it does feel safe, especially for a debut album, like there are no expectations yet, swing for the fences! But that being said I did enjoy most of the tracks like “freedom train”, “fear”, “mr.cab driver” and my personal favorite song on the album “I build this garden for us”. That being said I have to get to the negative now, which is the first two songs are underwhelming and forgettable, like the track “does anybody out there even care”, but those are not the issue. The issue is the last five songs of the album are terrible! And I don’t say that lightly, I actually hated them so much more than anything else I’ve heard on this entire list so far. The condescending/selfrighteous nature of those songs really got under my skin and upset me. Like I had no idea he was so religious. And while I normally can look the other way on such things cause who am I to tell someone else what they should or shouldn’t believe in, but they are just so grating and irritating. Genuinely the most I’ve been ever been let down by an album so far, like the first half was so promising and then it just takes a HARD left turn and totally turned me off.
Good, solid debut album from a very unique artist. While the video and genre tour he takes is interesting and diverse, his lyrics and vague sense of spirituality are kind of odd and pretentious.
High 3 Decent listen this
I like some songs from Lenny Kravitz, one of them being the album's titular track "Let Love Rule", but an entire album proves to be a bit too much. The album overall sounds a bit repetitive, and each song sounds similar to the previous. Even though the album itself starts out relatively strong, by the end, it kind of falls off and drags on a little too much. 6.5 / 10
Growing up in the 90s, Lenny Kravitz was an iconic sound for me. I’m also impressed to read that he wrote, produced, and performed most parts for his debut album. I enjoyed the album and recognized the hit “Let Love Rule”. I also particularly enjoyed “I Build This Garden For Us”. What surprised me was the biblical theming present throughout the album.
Starts out strong but then never really builds to anything more or develops in any notable way. Not bad for a track or two (i.e. fine radio songs), but a whole album got boring quickly. Felt like you could feel the psychedelic influences in the music, but never actually did anything with them beyond an okayish imitation. Very derivative. Top tracks: Sitting On Top Of The World, Let Love Rule, Be
Yeah, this was fine. Gotta a little preachy at the end with Rosemary. Didn't mind it, but probably won't be seeking it out again.
C'était plutôt sympathique, mais pas non plus un truc sur lequel j'aurais particulièrement envie de revenir.
This guy's just always been cool, huh?
Middle of the road. Some groovy guitar work early on that was forgotten as the album stretched on. 3/5 stars.
Decent. Enjoyed it more than his more polished hits actually.
Weird. I thought I was going to like this one more than I did. Good stuff but didn’t click throughout. Maybe I like the latter Lenny
Interesting album. Lots of variation in tracks, both in genre and instrumentation. Enjoyed the saxophone usage. Slightly odd but overall a solid album.
im gonna be honest i didnt listen in full cuz im not assed but i kinda skimmed thru it and it didnt seem horrible so it gets a 3 from me
I wish there were more “recent” funk-rock albums that aren’t actually good, but I can still enjoy.
54/100. I’m not really a big fan of his vocals or the lyricism here, which makes it harder to connect with the songs. Decent enough, just not especially compelling.
Not bad in places but generally mediocre
There is something kind of lame about Lenny kravitz that I can’t put my finger on. I think maybe he’s just too good looking to rock. At a certain point, it’s just counterproductive to rocking. The actual music isn’t terrible, it’s just doesn’t seem authentic that a man this handsome would feel such earnest emotions. I’m not gay you are!
My mother once saw Kravitz at a festival in our country and bought the album there. This was sometime in the ’90s, and from that day on she became a huge fan. I’ve heard “Mr. Cab Driver” an insane number of times because of that. I do agree with most people, though, that Let Love Rule isn’t exactly a 10/10 album. There are some great tracks on it, but also quite a few that are pretty unremarkable. Still, I can’t bring myself to give it a bad rating because of the personal connection I have to it.
Pas mon style mais pas mauvais
Some good sounds here. Some songs I recognized. This was good but not great.
It sounds like he’s trying to be Prince. And I liked this better than Prince! But I don’t like Prince. My evil stepmother loved Lenny Kravitz, and I’m trying not to hold that against him.
Cool vibe
top 3 - I Build This Garden For Us, Sitting On Top Of The World, Does Anybody Out There Even Care. No strong opinions on this.
Loved it? Hello?
I dunno some of these reviews. Just cos they were two black guys with guitars round their necks doesn't mean Kravitz and Prince have much in common. Kravitz, at this point, was committed to making music that whole heartedly referenced/recreated the 60s and 70s. He said it in interviews and followed through even as far as the studio gear he used. Prince of course had influences from the past but he was very much an 80s act in his sound pallette and how he used the studio. Kravitz music was Beatles, 70s rock and classic soul. Prince was way more about the funk, modern pop and a bit of gospel with sure some classic soul in the ballads, and plenty other genre blending aside. Kravitz is lyrically obvious and SINCERE! Prince had loads of different lyrical modes including obscure, freaky and funny. Anyway, I have some fond memories of my university room mate enjoying this. It was good for soundtracking a sunny day dangling my legs out of our window when I was supposed to be studying.
How about cutting the song list in 50%?
this is the most average middle of the road funkish rock album i've heard but i didn't not like it so yea.
I'm not sure how this album feels so middle-of-the-road for being a funk album, but it does. Honestly, I'll stick to his hits after this.
Good album! Unlike Lenny Kravitz a lot but I've never heard this album I could see where he was headed with it!
I've liked this album for a long time. Kravitz gets props from me for writing all the songs (except for the one that sucks) and playing all the instruments.
Was not familiar with Kravitz's earlier work, and I was pleasantly surprised by how riveting some of these songs are.
Inoffensively pleasant? A bit boring. Very repetitive. So far not much more to say than that. You can sense the potential in his vibe / voice.
I actually find him very grating and performative - and the lyrics are so basic - but the music is solid, so I’ll give him sufficient props for that to just about hold on to a 3.
Musically a 4, lyrically a 2 at best. I'll go with a low 3.
Agreeable
Pretty much the definition of average. Average vocals. Average instrumentation. Average lyrics. Pros: - There's some experimental sounds, including a random car horn that made me smile. - Impressive for a mostly-one-man-effort. - Some of the tracks have quite a fun funk vibe. - Some fun instrumental efforts. - Overall vibe is chill, pleasant and easy to listen to. Cons: - The lyrics are extremely shallow. - Definitely tries a bit too hard to be Prince in places, and doesn't do a great job of it. I think "Fear" was the one that really gave me Prince vibes but I'm not going to listen again to check. - Bit boring, definitely only background-worthy. For a debut album I really don't understand the hate in the other reviews.
I didn’t hate this, even though I knew how Lenny Kravitz would turn out.
So I read he was in a Prince cover band. Could never tell... It's a solid album. Impressive as it's his first, and he played most of the instruments and produced it (again prince like). Feel like he's trying to overdo the vocals at times. Lyrics a little wishy washy.
A nice mix of funk, soul, and hard rock. Lenny can really play the guitar. Nothing spectacular, just solid all around. 3/5
i found this dragged a bit too much, he sounds a lot like elvis costello somehow, songs just felt too long, some tracks were okay tho
It is hard to deny the sheer talent on display here, especially knowing one sexy motherfucker played nearly everything. The production feels warm and authentically vintage without sounding dusty. Reminds me of Prince’s work ethic but without the dangerous edge. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Let Love Rule - Mr. Cab Driver - Rosemary
I really enjoyed this! Lots of classic rock references and riffs. Loved the songs cowritten by Lisa Bonet.
He's a drama queen, but it works. Could have had an extra star if it didn't have as much filler. Favorite song: I build this garden for us
𝘓𝘦𝘵 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘙𝘶𝘭𝘦 is a solid debut that shows Lenny Kravitz’s talent right from the start. The album blends soul, rock, and a retro 70s sensibility with ease, and the production has a warm, homemade feel that suits his style. While the songwriting isn’t consistently gripping across the entire record, there’s enough personality and musical ability here to make the album stand out. It’s a promising introduction rather than a fully realized statement, but the talent is unmistakable.
Some songs are beautiful rock-infused ballads but the album is also littered with generic pop rock hooks that don't excite me at all. I enjoyed his voice regardless of how boring some of the tracks were to me but it's not something I'd seek out again likely. 'Be' was ass lol Highlights Sitting on Top of the World Let Love Rule My Precious Love
Fine
Ahh Lenny with your big scarf. This was fine I suppose. Tempted by a two, but probably harsh. Simpsons: Yes (full guest star)
Never really listened to Lenny Kravitz. It's was quite good. Not sure I'd listen again though, or go see him when he plays in Sevilla this summer.
I did kinda like it but it didn’t feel all that special.
Entertaining record, but I prefer his later albums more.
Ha! "Lenny 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." - from the top review. It's not as bad as some of those reviews claim, but it sure in that low 3s for me.
Spet en, k sm ga v živo uspela vidit, čeprav nikol nism bla neki ful fan. In dons mam en tak šit dan, da se morm prou prisilt v tole. Uf. Se mi zdi, da se res sliš, kok je mlad še kle. Zanimivo je, da je večino inštrumentov na albumu sam igral, sam to, da je multiinštrumentalist, sm itak vedla že od prej - me ni presenetila ta informacija. Je blo bolj, valjda da je. Mislm da sicer, razen "Mr. Cab Driver" ne poznam nobenega od teh komadov. Kul prehod iz "Let Love Rule" v "Freedom Train". U, pa distorted vokali. Je pa bl k nek intermezzo ta komad. "My Precious Love" je kul balada. Tazadn komad, "Flower Child", ma pa mal Beatles vajb. Kul debut album.
My friends are pretty into Kravitz, but I’m not terribly impressed by this album. Solid melodies but it just failed to keep my attention beyond the first half
This album is like going to a friends house for dinner for the first time in their new house. Your friend is a self-confident guy, and the evening is a great time. The food is delicious, the conversation flows, the heat pump is set to the perfect temp. But at the same time, you can't help but feel that your friend is trying a bit too hard to ensure the evening is perfect. You just wanna say "bro calm down, this is a good time", but you also don't want to throw him off his rhythm because he is obviously stressing about making sure everyone's drink is topped up and that the aged gouda is being served at the right time. You do have a really good time though.
It tries to be Prince but its not there. It tries to be Tom Petty but its not there. It tries to have soul and something to say but its not there. This feels like an album bu am artist trying to find their own voice. Not sure why that makes it essential.
Damn, he's enthusiastic
Let Love Rule has some Hendrix, some Mayfield, some Lennon. Sounds like it should be incredible but it doesn’t really resonate with me. Maybe a case of hearing it for the first time 40 years later. 6.7/10
Listenable.
Funky, bluesy, and loose, doing his best to channel the spirit of the Rolling Stones into something more modern
Lots of clean guitar tone and sparse guitar work here, reminiscent of early rock n roll like The Kinks, but decades too late. There are some good songs on here but it's mostly a lot of potential, realized in Kravitz's later work.
3/5 - pretty good album but too laid back for me
Damn this album gets a lot of hate. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really like it either.
Not Bad
Just a decent album from a good looking dude.
1989. Nice funk elements of this soul rock blues. Good themes throughout that made it meaningful
Eh
An accomplished debut album. Really well put together. On this listen I realised how many songs have religious themes running through them.
Very solid. No real stand out songs but everything pretty good. Very impressive for first album since it sounds like he wrote, produced, and played every instrument
Not necessarily Kravitz best, but still a solid album with some great guitar as expected.
I remember when this album came out back in the day and being surprised by the sound of this album seemingly looking back to the aesthetics of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s and well, just the Beatle-ness of it all. It definitely stood out amongst the pop and rock music of 1989 and 1990. Lots of varied song ideas and soulful vocals and cool that he made most of this himself. Unfortunately it’s a bit too long at just over 55 minutes and would have been served well by some edits and/or cutting some songs out. It’s a good first album but personally I like his next album, Mama Said, much more and that would have been my album of choice for this list rather than this one.
I like the Lenny Kraviz sound, this album did not really grab me tho.
Never heard the album - a treat! His first is good, he gets much better! Hey, numerologists - my 700th for those playing along at home
genericest generic of all the generics that genericed. Lot more unearned yelling than anything.
Not bad but not great either. Loved some of the vocal production towards the end and there was some cool riffs.
Nothing notable.
Kravitz is obviously a talent and was pretty big in the 90s with a string of hits. Always reminds me of a cross between Prince and Hendrix. His debut album is a solid but unspectacular psychedelic rock/soul album. It’s a confident enough start but he’d go on to make more compelling records then this one.
#126 - Lot of musicality here clearly. Just couldn't really get into it.
There were things I loved about this and things I really did not love. I love his voice and the harmonies I could listen to that all day. Some of the songwriting was a little too “classic rock” for me which is something I’m realizing can really turn me off.
Lenny.. Ja det var lidt som forventet, og så alligevel endte jeg med at være lidt skuffet over den trivielle omgang.
Raw debut with forgettable Lyrics - says a critique.
A more mellow(and disappointing side) of Lenny Kravitz. For a debut, still fairly good, but lacked those heavy hitters tracks. Favorite Track: "Does Anybody Out There Even Care?".
Good
++: Sittin' on Top of the World, Let Love Rule, My Precious Love, Fear, Does Anybody Out There Even Care, Flower Cild +: Rosemary, Be, Blues for Sister Someone, Empty Hands +-: Freedom Train, Mr. Cab Driver -: I Build This Garden for Us 6,7/10
Wasn't sure about this one. Some of it felt derivative other songs were really lovely and his voice seemed so familiar, so similar to another singer but could not place it. I will give it a three as while it didn't make me sit up and go "Whoa" in a good way it didn't hurt my ears.
No objections, but no lasting impression. 3.
More of a fan of his lower register. Not my favorite album, but a fine listen
Not bad.
Solid listen and great energy. This is basically what I think Prince sounds like. I’d give it a 3.5.
A very hot man who likes love