Let Love Rule

This is like a record label realized Prince is popular and said “we can do that”, but it wasn’t quite as good.

This is a good time. Not as good, in my opinion, as some of his later work, and it leans a bit to heavily on religiosity and hippie aesthetic, but Lenny is so cool he just about makes it work. 3.5 album if we had half stars, but I'll bump it to 4 stars because I'm a Lenny Kravitz fan, even if this isn't my favorite album.

this is sweet, it really is.

lenny loved prince, the beatles, jimi, and stevie so much that he self-produced this loving macaroni art tribute.

it's sweet, but it's not good.

One good classic and the rest is ok. Dude with a nose ring in 1989 was pretty far out…

Se deja escuchar, estaba aún muy verde y no había explotado. Me guardo "Mr. cab driver". Por lo que veo no hay más discos de Lenny Kravitz en esta lista y creo que su si Mama Said hubiese sido mejor elección.

1 - Just a bad Prince impression.
2 - Bad Beatles impression.
3 - wat? I’m on a bitter train? A bottle train?
4 - Bad James Brown.
5 - A second helping of Beatles but way too long, and too much Lenny trademark screeching™.
6 - Metal Stevie Wonder! (shoutout Burning Spear).
7 - Ballad of unknown provenance.
8 - NOW WE’RE TALKING! Mr. Cabdriver some throwback rockabilly spice with a little “fuck you” for the punk credibility! Extra star, best Lenny Kravitz song. Every song should be this one.
9 - aaaaaand we ruin it with the acoustic… oh no! A harmonica! What the hell. Sad child song. What is this? Bon Jovi?
10 - Prince full circle.

Alright. Generally "listenable." Definitely doesn't need a whole album, and for those whose taste aligns with Lenny, you'll enjoy this a lot, so much trademark vocal sound. Interspersed with the contrived are some good moments, sometimes his little soulfunk/rock mashups work. It's a decent effort, Let Love Rule is nice, Mr. Cabdriver is great - really the only song on here that seems heartfelt at all.

Good to be born at the right time in the right place I suppose.

It was a shock to me that I didn't enjoy this album more than 2! I like Lenny's guitar but a lot of the songs are too long and even some of the shorter songs like Freedom Train are too repetitive for me (for a rock song). A lot of the melodies are recycled - I liked Fear but didn't like how much it sounded like War Pigs. I also kind of liked the writing in Fear and was curious as to why so much of the other writing felt sophomoric and naive - that one was written by Lisa Bonet! The super Christian stuff near the end like Rosemary was so grating to listen to and felt like a high school creative writing workshop where people with little lived experience are trying to write about extreme circumstance and the sanctimonious Christ stuff on top just really left a bad taste in my mouth. Some good riffs though! I understand why this album created hype.

In een rumoerige ruimte spreken we over muziek en over Lenny. Op het moment dat onze gesprekspartner over de herrie heen "You Got To Let Love Rule" brult, valt die herrie net weg. En iedereen kijkt met een twijfelende blik naar ons. Want de muziek van Lenny is een beetje Gay lijkt het algemene oordeel te zijn.

Dat is onterecht. Zijn zang is krachtig en zijn muziek is het vaak wel waard om wat beter naar te luisteren, zelf de muziek achter die hit. Zijn album is gevarieerd (van rust naar Jamiroquai naar volle rock) En toch: na het album blijf ook ik wat van dat slijmerige gevoel overhouden. Misschien associeer ik nu te vrij. Maar ik hoor mede door wat valse lucht soms een beetje de Vieze Man. Het is een beetje een afknapper, maar ook de handtekening cq. de afwijking die een artiest nodig heeft.

I was pretty underwhelmed with this one - mostly made of forgettable tracks with eye-rolling lyrical clichés about love/peace etc. Easy going dad rock that hasn't aged too well. 2/5

Pretty average …. Needs more oomph

I have some money here for you, so reach into me and grab it

And I've never understood why anybody likes Lenny Kravitz

I see no reason for this to continue

I don't have anything else to put in you

Now go back home girl, and do whatever it is that you do

- from the song "Lenny Kravitz" by Electric Six

Its like a sonic mashup of Prince and Elvis Costello. Mr. Cab Driver sounds like a demo tape from some punk kid in his garage. Wow this is really not good. Rosemary is a big pick back up, and then it goes into a bunch of god shit. ugh this was very not good, and I'm tempted to dock a star for the diet prince approach, though its not his fault for being multi-instrumental.

Painfully mediocre…

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

There is a growing sentiment that with each album, Lenny Kravitz produces two distinct collections: one for himself and one for his ego. "Let Love Rule" and "Mama Said" were crafted for Lenny, while his later work seems to cater to his inflated sense of self. The emphasis in his music has shifted from authentic feelings to outward displays of bravado.

At the outset of his career, Lenny Kravitz created retro music that contrasted with the spirit of his times. His primary inspirations included Sly & The Family Stone, Prince, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and John Lennon. Though he occasionally received support, the majority of his records showcased Kravitz’s performances on various instruments. The charm of albums like "Let Love Rule" and "Mama Said" lies in his undeniable love for the music, which is palpable in the recordings. His guitar riffs particularly demonstrate his musical strength.

Can we classify Kravitz as a master musician? Absolutely not. His instrumental work and songwriting can often be traced back to those who inspired him—artists who executed those ideas more effectively. However, Lenny excels at blending various musical styles, creating a unique and appealing sound infused with his own touch. Personally, I think most of the songs on "Let Love Rule" are quite good, while about half of "Mama Said" resonates with me. I believe these are respectable figures.

Lenny's decline seemed to begin with the album "Are You Gonna Go My Way". In this work, Kravitz increasingly revealed less of his identity, leading to albums that felt more superficial and uninspired.

Following *Are You Gonna Go My Way*, it appeared that Kravitz prioritized convenience and profit over artistic integrity. Although he achieved commercial success and financial gain, he seemed to rest on his laurels, which caused his albums to lose their excitement. This shift also led to a focus on themes of faith and good intentions, often feeling self-indulgent. It became evident that his records were less about genuine expression and more about showcasing his perceived greatness, resulting in a decline in the quality of his music.

This is why *Let Love Rule* remains his best album; it was created during a time when he still sought to prove himself.

merry kravitzmas i guess

Very simplistic, lots of songs about love. There are a few that do stand-out, but for an album it's just 'alright'.

The Good: Mr. Lenny Kravitz!
The Bad: debut albums are rarely awesome
The Ugly: Finding out that the freshman attempt at music is like being the recipient of a girl’s first blowjob attempt; kind a nice, but nothing special…

I remember listening to Let Love Rule, the song, for the first time, and being blown away by the sax solo… and to this day, it remains one of my favorite solos on a rock song. Yet, everytime I listen to the song, I wonder what the point was to have a 1 minute lead-out that totally changes the vibe of the song, and actually makes you hit the “next song” button.

Maybe once, by accident, did I listen to the entire album back in the ‘90s, we had cassette players in our cars, so finding the next song was a bit of a pain, hence listening to an entire album was normal.
I don’t recall the album leaving me speechless… today wasn’t different.
You can hear how the Beatles influenced LK on this album, and that is a good thing. However, the Beatles knew how to time a tune and drag you in and not let you go… that’s why they are the Beatles, and Lenny is Lenny.

3* for effort ***

Not really impressed. I used to like listening to Lenmny Kravitz when I was 8 years old and hadn't heard of Nirvana yet. There's a lot of quite funky and groovy elements here but the overall album sounds like pretty forgettable rock.

This was a fine rock album, nothing too special in my opinion though. 3/5