Let Love Rule

“We have Prince at home.” The Prince at home:

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. 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

This is shit, but I'm going to rank it above Lennon just for bantz.

Kravshitz

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

For me, Kravitz has always dwelled in that area between “modern iteration of Sam Cooke“ and “yoga instructor your wife/girlfriend is a little too excited to see.“ I liked this album, but it didn’t do much to move him one way or the other on that spectrum.

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!

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.

I may have cried when he died in The Hunger Games but I was not crying when this album ended that's for sure

It's 1001 albums. They're not all going to be winners.

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.

I remember this guy being forced down the record-buying public's throat back in the late '80s, and was very confused as to why anyone wanted a 3rd-rate Prince/Hendrix/Stevie wedding singer/elementary school lyricist. Music for people who hate music. I've done greater crowd-pleasing farts than "Freedom Train" or "Fear". "Be" and the subsequent tracks are almost crimes against humanity. Obviously a dumb rich kid who just needed a hard slap at the appropriate moment; unfortunately we're stuck with the consequences of bad parenting. I hesitate to give this a 1* as it distinguishes it from just another boring effort, but this is *passively terrible* (compared to e.g. Radiohead which are more interesting through being actively awful) and I wish it never existed. Fuck off Lenny

Track 1 is boring. Track 2, is what we all came for but, after collecting dust for 30+ years, it's boring too. A little Hey Jude vibe that goes absolutely fucking nowhere. Speaking of going nowhere, track 3 careens straight into a dead end and the driver just walks away pretending like repeating the song's title over and over again is something. Track 4 is a half-baked soul slow jam with stupid fucking lyrics that are just a half-step above gibberish, but hey, there are horns! This song should have been done at the 3 minute mark. Track 5 is a half-assed fusion between funk and late-era Beatles with more idiotic rhyming ("we'll make love in the shade / and in the ocean we will bathe"). Speaking of idiotic lyrics, "teached" is not a word and, no you cannot take poetic license for using it to fit the meter and rhyme. Fuck you Lenny, you haven't earned that right. Track 6 starts out a little funky but is just all over the place with its message, (fear is.... Bad?) pick a more focused topic for chrissakes. Track 7 is called "Does Anybody Out There Even Care?" I'm going to employ Betteridge's law of headlines here and say "no." Track 8 - Lenny couldn't catch a cab once because he's black so he wrote a song about it. 5 stars. Track 9 - again with the middle school first draft lyrics. Jesus is this record almost over yet? Track 10 contains the lyric "Am I rapist who needs release?" which he sings in a weird overdriven way which just draws attention to the horribleness of the question. Did I accidentally listen to the CD bonus tracks? Yes I did and I am fucking furious about it.

I fucking love this shit - went to check the reviews and fuck me why is this so hated? I enjoyed it a lot

Yes. Everyone must witness the beginnings of this mediocre musician before they die.

Oh no, it's like being stuck in the mind of a horny 55 year old woman with poor taste.

Might be the worst one yet. Lenny Kravitz is absolutely horseshit

This album really gave me empathy for my husband. I feel like this is what it’s like to try to have a conversation with me when I’m hyperfixated on something. I say the same shit, the conversation moves along, then I go back to the same shit over and over. I actually kinda liked it tho

I thought I would like this a bit, but… it’s aggressively boring. It’s as if someone made a paint-by-numbers Thomas Kinkade piece.

Lenny’s got one good song and it’s not on this album

Fantastic record - never heard it before. Highlights are Fear and Let Love Rule, but there are no skips

I loved this album when it came out. I think because it was a retro sound to start with, it still holds up now.

Forgotten how wonderful this is

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.

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.

Puts the "me" in "mediocre"

Best thing Lenny Kravitz made was Zoe.

https://youtu.be/UPw-3e_pzqU?si=nM3ve12h0N1E5DlZ lenny kravitz sucks. been thinking about the kravitz bowl. been thinking about dave chapelles racial draft. been thinking about a lot of things. i thought kravitz's whole thing was that hes black jewish? the after like three songs whole fucking album is about christ christ christ. my god. happy easter by the way. this album is so platitudinous its like a giant big plateau of platitudes. the great plateau nation of tibet with all of its yaks and lamas could sit comfortably inside this i mean just marvel at such visionary lyrics as: \"It's on the freedom train Come on dance on the freedom train It's on the freedom train Come on dance on the freedom train (yeah)\" repeat x4 times (varying on the \"yeah\"s) and thats freedom train. read the lyrics for \"fear\" and tell me david brent didnt write it what is it with these rock'n'roll narcissists and talking about "let the children play" or "and the children gathered round" etc? leave the fucking children alone! im looking at you cat stevens. and bowie. and lenny kravitz. "or am i a rapist who needs a release?" EEHHHHHHHwwwweeewewwwwwewewewew yikessss this album is bad, and it gives me a new lease on life

Can't decide if he wants to be Lennon or Prince, sucks at both.

one of my earliest CD's. Love this album front to back. 5 *

Classic w great songs.

What a pleasant surprise! I didn't think I liked Lenny Kravitz and his yelly style of singing. I was wrong. I thoroughly enjoyed this album from start to finish and even found I enjoyed his voice. A surprise 5.

Combined soul and rock. Has a nice feel and emotion to it. The instruments are really good. I like the songs and the vocals.

Just an all time album for me.

Didn't know what to expect with this but man, I really liked this album. The whole thing had a good energy and really kept me interested.

lenny kravitz's music is typical stoner music. it's great as is but it's even better when you're high. of course i don't wanna resort to stereotypes, as this guy's psychedelic tracks are a step above a lot of other artists. lush, smooth, and mildly smarmy, this album is FULL of the slow and soulful sound that one expects of the genre, but kravitz does it in a way that really speaks to... well... the soul. the mind, the body... it's music that impacts you, especially the more you listen to it. it's clever and very funky soul.

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

3.5 rounded up lenny kravitz is one of the coolest mfers on the planet but this didnt need to be this long. still rlly fucking good for a debut tho highlights: sitting on top of the world, i build this garden for us, empty hands, flower child (sep 25 2024)

I guess the key to letting love rule is ignoring the lyrics. In fact, when I reflect on my 20+ years of marriage, I do think that my wife ignoring half of the s*** I say has been a key to our success. 😅 This album and its publicity including w Lisa Bonet did more for nose rings than any pirate movie ever did. Please Lord let it be that they marked their marriage by placing matching nose rings on each other?🙏 More seriously, the word is Derivative. Kravitz is supremely talented, perhaps even moreso than his The Jeffersons-starring mom, but not particularly original. Listening to this record is like playing music trivia: which 60s-70s rock n soul tunes is he borrowing from? His tunes can be expressed like an algebraic formula. This album might be (2(Beatles-Everley Brothers) + 3(Isley Brothers) + 1.5 (Delphonics) )/(Prince - George Clinton).

#654. Step 1: Find an artist that people know one [or more] of their songs. Step 2: Pick one of their albums that have none of these songs on it [and surely do not need to be heard before you die] and put it in the book. Step 3: ??? Step 4: Profit. 3/5: fine

So, this album was on regular rotation in my share house c. 1991. It was funky and fun, with a 60s throwback vibe and production that was uncommon at the time which makes it a fun listen. The lyrics are twee and often beyond cliched; Lenny goes hard on his highly controversial "anti-hate, pro-love" message. While Lenny's singing is good at hitting a dramatic peak (sometimes emoting a bit more than the material really warrants), the music often does not get there. I always felt his songs needed to hit a dramatic highpoint or demonstrate more dynamic range. Sometimes he achieved this with collaborators (such as Slash's solo in Always On The Run) or kitchen sink production or by simply avoiding the issue (70s funk emphasizes the groove, and so big dramatic moments are less required). All that said, I enjoyed revisiting this record, and really like his vocal style. It's a fun pastiche.

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.

There's something to be said about an entirely self-contained, self-produced debut like this one. This an authentic and enthusiastic album throughout this album, which really lets its human element (its imperfection) shine through. The funk influences are abound on this and really lend an excitable energy to a rock album that came out in an era where the genre was becoming increasingly dour and introverted. That said, Kravitz's performance leaves something to be desired throughout this album; his voice almost struggles to get to where he wants to go on certain songs, and the whole album being so strongly rooted in the rock and soul funk mix makes it come off as a derivative of its ancestors, namely Sly Stone. Prince and Jimi Hendrix. This album is SO CLOSE to being a rock-solid debut but it fails to reach the necessary highs more often than not, which makes it somewhat hard to sit with for its 55 minutes. Overall, it's a fine, albeit inessential, debut album from an artist who would do far better just a short time later. Key Tracks: Let Love Rule, Fear, Be

This shows how hard it is to be Prince. Was an ok listen, but wouldn't come back to it. My Precious Love stood out. 2/5

You’re right Lenny, music is just style.

OK, I get the Photocopy-of-a-photocopy-of-Prince comparisons. But hear me out... This album is a gritless but slightly funky Lou Reed album. Simplistic messaging about good and bad. Appallingly bad rhymes. Criticism of the conditions that cause urban washout. Feels like counter-culture but it's being narrated from the sidelines. But middle America thinks he's a prophet. And I hate Lou Reed. Bonus point because Let Love Rule is pretty good.

I was not surprised to hear him screaming about gardening and then I was even less surprised to hear the lyrics to his corny ass song “Does Anybody Out There Even Care.”

I really don't like Lenny Kravitz. It's all style and posturing and no substance. It is listenable though. It resembles music. 1.75/5

Yeesh... enough with all the shouting, already... This has always been my problem with Lenny... I could dig his music... I could dig his vibe... but I just can't get past his propensity for screaming... I'd have probably given this a 1, but as I've had a long string of 1s lately, and this isn't quite as 1y (though very close), I'll give it a 2 and hope we're on an upward trajectory...

Trite sentiments yelped to hi-fi busker blues, this is how a genre sounds when abandoned to interlopers in awe of its gestures but not its intent. Maybe I’m cruel: good faith, craft and time have been poured into this set. “Mr Cab Driver” is a fine and bitterly funny song that makes me wish he wrote more about life beyond the soft rock tropes. This is the softest of rock for those who find the Stones or Hendrix or any of the other obvious ones just too intense, catchy and distracting.

Far from the most original album in the world, but it’s funky enough to be enjoyable and not overly cloying or derivative…at first. Lyrically, the longer this record goes on, the more annoying I find it - especially when he makes sort of overt references to the artists he’s paying homage to…like how the first line of “Flower Child”, a clear Lou Reed/VU homage, is “Dressed in purple *velvets*” - thanks for spelling it out, Lenny.

It was ok to me, but didn’t stand out as anything spectacular that must enter my ears frequently in the future.

Bloat is a big issue here, honestly liked most songs, but too many on the same record methinks.

Tiresome stuff. Full of platitudes and heartfelt grunting and groaning. The production is good but thats about the sum of it all.

I don’t want to live in a world where a Lenny Kravitz album is considered essential.

Wouldn't listen again

He’s the male version of what I expected Taylor swift to be

I don’t think I enjoyed a single song on this album

.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

Cheesy soft soul r&b/funk. It's just so dull. "Best" Tracks: Let Love Rule, Fear, Mr Cab Driver

A soulless Pound Shop Prince.

Boring berk

Was this supposed to be a rock or pop album? If so, it’s very good. 5 stars for Lenny Kravitz

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Amen!

Lenny kicks ass. Solid psychedelic soul music. I've always been impressed/jealous of musicians who can do everything and this album is no different. Much better than the reviews would have you believe.

Lenny, as every, plays music that resides in the soul of America. Just listening to his music makes you cooler.

Pretty great

Me encantó. Guardé todas y cada una de las canciones del álbum.Un discazo. Lenny sos un fenómeno. Esa voz, esa guitarra, ese bajo y esa batería hacen arte. La portada del álbum también está muy buena.

Go on then.

haven’t heard any of these songs before so good

Otimo album

Très très cool je pense que j'irai découvrir un peu plus la discographie !

Je connaissais que quelques pistes de cet album, et j’aime bcp cet artiste de manière générale. Je suis contente qu’on puisse écouter ça Voix singulière

the lenny man!

The album i didn't know i needed

released in 1989. his debut album mixing multiple genres. inspired by led zeppelin songs i already knew: none songs i liked: mr cab driver, rosemary fun facts: he self produced and played most of the instruments in the album. he played cinna in hunger games, and his daughter is actress zoe kravitz

what a great debut!

No me terminó de enganchar por cosa de gustos, pero tiene temas destacables. Bastantes elementos del blues utilizados de una forma precisa

This is great. Has the sort of homemade, keyboard-heavy texture that you might find on a 70s Stevie Wonder record. A lot of these tracks are laid-back and jammy, reflecting a sort of return to normalcy after the overly synth-happy 80s and a tendency towards overwhelming, roaring textures by Kravitz's contemporaries. To be sure, Lenny Kravitz's style is more accessible (to, say, proto-soul (à la Marvin Gaye) fans) than someone like Prince, who tends to be weird and sexual for the sake of being weird and sexual. This material is definitely more rocky, more bluesy, and arguably more carefree than any of Prince's famous material. I also appreciate how Kravitz isn't taking the direction of LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and others from around the same period. They didn't know it at the time, but they were pioneering a pretty hit-or-miss (mostly miss) genre. Props to Kravitz, I guess, for recognising the value of more old-fashioned funk/soul at the same time. The sheer number of negative reviews here almost reads like a bot trying to bring the average rating down. It's kind of shocking. Let Love Rule isn't perfect, but it's sure as heck better than most other late-80s material. 1989 was a rough year for even the strongest bands at the time (Storm Front, The Miracle, Hot In The Shade, Built To Last...) and this stands out from the crowd in terms of both quality and genre. Great guitars, consistently excellent basswork, a strong vocal that's projected to the forefront of the music (as it should be!). An incredible sax solo on the title track too. The guitar sound reminds me of Mick Ronson (who played with David Bowie on his Ziggy Stardust record). It's especially apparent in I Build This Garden For Us, which is also a great (albeit brashly mixed) song in its own right. Mr. Cab Driver sounds like early Lou Reed over a funk beat – a combination I never would've expected to work. Rosemary is essentially an acoustic ballad with a clichéd chord progression, but it sounds so darn great that I can't find any reason to complain. 5/5 Key tracks: Let Love Rule, Mr. Cab Driver, Rosemary

Una joya de Lenny, es increible lo moderno que suena este disco a pesar de haber sido grabado en 1989.

I fw this so heavy

Really enjoyed this!!

Excellent!

Kedvenc/Favourite: Flower Child Minden számban volt valami új, nagyon élveztem az egész albumot is. Jó értelemben volt zajos néha, tetszett benne hogy ennyi féle hangszert, hatást lehetett kihallani. Szeretném még jó párszor odafigyeléssel végighallgatni, hogy minden nüanszot észrevegyek benne. Every song had something new, I really enjoyed the whole album as well. It was noisy in a good way at times, I liked the fact that you could hear so many different instruments and influences. I'd like to listen to it carefully a few more times, to truly get all the nuances.

Innovative and fresh

psychedelic rock revival album

Solid album

“Free Bird” Lenny was the best.

I always liked the singles. The album was even better!

5/5 Cohesive tracklist full of funk and soul, which changes up well and is never boring. I slightly prefer the rockier, poppier second half. Lenny's vocals and lyrics are fantastic. Sitting On Top Of The World 5/5 Let Love Rule 5/5 Freedom Train 3/5 (LEAST FAV) My Precious Love 4.5/5 I Build This Garden For Us 4.5/5 Fear 4.5/5 Does Anybody Out There Even Care 5/5 Mr. Cab Driver 5/5 Rosemary 5/5 (FAV) Be 5/5

Sensational. Lenny rocks.

4-5 Let Love Rule!

I think this is the first album we’ve had that I actually own. This is really good, and forgot how much I enjoyed it. Love Sitting on Top of the World, Let Love Rule and My Precious Love.

I know this album very well I remember one of my friends playing it all the time not my kind of music but definitely tell him to the artist and awesome debut album

Great music across the board. Some sounds like Hendrix, some sounds like the Beatles. Music style changes. Vocal style changes.

Big like

cool

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