Lenny Kravitz is 51 years old Tuesday. He’s been making music for 25 years now, so obviously he has his fans. But many people write him off as derivative, an off-brand Hendrix, but he’s far more talented than his most rabid detractors are willing to admit.
The defense of Kravitz would start with “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” Not necessarily the album (although it’s quite good), or even the song, but just that riff. It’s one of the most memorable, authoritative opening riffs of the ’90s. When you hear it, you immediately know a great jam is about to come.
But it would be wrong to just remember Kravitz for one great song. In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Kravitz gave us a lot of them. The title track from his 1989 debut Let Love Rule doesn’t get the same kind of airplay that “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” still does, but it’s a fine introduction to his music, a perfect combination of the guitar-driven heaviness and hippie headiness that have defined Kravitz over his career.
To a certain extent, Kravitz is a victim of radio overplay, specifically with his 1998 single “Fly Away.” Now, this really isn’t his best song to begin with, but alt-rock radio stations played it approximately 7 trillion times a day. We all got sick to death of hearing that chorus, and naturally we started to take it out on Lenny himself. It’s a good thing Kravitz was already an established artist at this point. For a younger musician, “Fly Away” would have had the too-much-too-soon type of success that leads to one-hit wonderdom (see Semisonic’s “Closing Time”). A year later, Kravitz was ubiquitous again, this time with his limp cover of “American Woman.”
Shortly after, though, came one of the best songs Kravitz has ever written — the power ballad “Again,” tucked away as a bonus track on a greatest hits album. On the list of Best Bonus Tracks on Greatest Hits Albums, “Again” would be right up there with Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” It was the perfect antidote for the endless overplay of “Fly Away.”
Unfortunately, what happened in 2004 would further fuel Kravitz’s haters. Namely, he released Baptism, one of his most-hated works (it has just a 43 out of 100 on Metacritic, which is Nickelback-level bad), but it wouldn’t have been so bad if not for a Gap commercial featuring Sarah Jessica Parker dancing while Kravitz played “Lady.” As with “Fly Away” six years earlier, a song that was far below what Kravitz was capable of had become inescapable. It’s easy for an artist not to become underrated when his or her worst material is what the public hears the most.
Thankfully, Kravitz has been on something of a hot streak lately. 2008’s It Is Time For A Love Revolution brought back the hippie aesthetic of Let Love Rule, which had been lost as Kravitz more blatantly courted mainstream audiences. The album that really proved what he was still capable of, however, was 2011’s Black And White America, which was both uncompromising and funky as hell. As the title suggests, Kravitz was not afraid to discuss race relations on this record — if the album’s title didn’t make that perfectly clear, consider that its working title was Negrophilia. Kravitz stated that the album was partially inspired by a documentary in which people stated their anger and frustration over the election of President Obama, and that the racism on display there inspired him to make an album that tackled racism directly while also offering a rebuttal. By making his best — and most explicitly political — album in years, Kravitz certainly succeeded on that front.
His hot streak continued with 2014’s Strut which felt romantic and funky, while also carrying a distinct classic rock vibe. If you’ve watched ESPN’s NBA coverage this year, you’re probably familiar with “I’m A Believer,” which is as immediate as “Are You Gonna Go My Way” was 21 years earlier. Looking at Kravitz’s recent work, it’s quite clear he’s gotten his groove back.
Lenny Kravitz’s career hasn’t been flawless, but anyone who writes him off is missing out on some great music. Lenny Kravitz has more than justified his 25-years-and-counting music career, and by giving us his more inspired albums like Black And White America and Strut, he leaves us wondering what else might be left in store.
