Let Love Rule

2/5. I have never really liked the music of Lenny Kravitz, and upon listening to this debut I have still not been won over, though I’ll at least give it credit that it’s better than any of the other stuff of his I’ve heard so it avoids a 1/5. He produced all of the songs himself and played most of the instruments which is commendable, but the songs themselves range from boring rock to soul-less soul. He tries to tackle political/societal issues on a few of the tracks here like “Does anybody out there even care?” But he’s not a good enough lyricist to really push beyond the surface level of these topics. An album that left me feeling pretty empty by the end.

Lenny Kravitz seems to be one of those artists who was "about to be the biggest act in the world" then went straight from that to "he used to be the biggest act in the world" without ever actually having been the biggest act in the world.

This first album is about as dull and generic as it gets for someone who seemed to want to take on the James Brown/Hendrix/Prince mantle.

Meh....

'But have I forsaken you by / Telling you what you must do.' I have no idea what the fuck that means. 'It's time to take a stand / Brothers and sisters, join hands.' I know what that means but it's flat, faux, & uninspired. I don't need Lenny to make up his mind - to choose between Prince, The Beatles, & Marvin Gaye - but opting for a boring hybridity to prove that you have the chops to both rock out & be soulful leaves a whole lot to be desired. It isn't even bullshit. It's just so poorly executed & unimaginatively effected that it collapses into inevitable bullshittiness. I want to think that there are certain standout moments, like 'Does Anybody Out There Really Care' or 'Mr. Cab Driver,' but they're just not good enuf. Like, I want good songs. They not.

Lenny Kravitz noch vor dem Stadion‑Bombast: warm, retro‑soulige Grooves, ein bisschen Hippie‑Pathos, viel Charme. Das Debüt klingt wie ein lässiger Jam, der mehr Gefühl als Perfektion sucht – und genau dadurch überzeugt.

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

It was a meh. Some songs sounded like Prince rip offs, all songs were forgettable though. I like some of Lenny Kravitz's songs, but really none from this album stood out to me.

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.

Hard to believe Lenny had already formed his sound back in the late 80s. Bluesy rock features here, with highlights being the title track, Mr Cab Driver and Flower Child. Recommended

why do these dudes insist on releasing hour long chorefests? you cannot tell me i needed to listen to this over weezer's debut or neutral milk hotel before i died. 1.5

2.46

Lenny rocks, he souls, he funks, and he even rips off the Beatles much better than most. Is there anything this guy can't do musically? I might not love it all, but it's a pretty solid album and always a good listen.

Not a groundbreaking album but still a cool listen. Sort of expected to like it a bit more.

7/10 [KEEP]

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.

Lenny Kravitz has like 2 good songs and neither of them are on this album. No idea why this is even on the list tbh because you really wouldn't be missing out on anything if you never listened to this. There's two OK songs here but a majority of this was impressively boring.

Yeah that was not good. Mostly annoying, sometimes boring and sometimes very unpleasant. I don't think it deserves a 1, but it's not far from it. It wasn't offensive to my ears. Just was not good.

pleasant

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.

I have a certain degree of antipathy for Slash's high school roommate Lenny.

His songs dominated the airwaves. Particularly his worst songs.

After listening to this album I will give him his due that he does in fact have better songs. They are not for me but they are well executed and his lyrics, while sometimes a bit dopey, are decent enough.

My antipathy has waned.

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.

i had a great time it was some nice generic rock but not generic in a bad way