Biography/History of
Lenny Kravitz
In the 18 years that have
transpired since Lenny Kravitz first entered the public consciousness,
much has happened in the world of music. Yet, through it all, Lenny
Kravitz, has persevered, flourishing as one of the great rock musicians
of our time. He proves exactly why with his eighth studio album, It Is
Time For A Love Revolution, a thunderous and elegant rock 'n roll
call-to-arms.
These accolades are not hyperbole. All of Kravitz's albums have been
certified gold or better, with three of them certified multi-platinum.
He has scored multiple number 1 singles on the Billboard Top Singles
charts, and has won four GRAMMY awards (setting a record for most wins
in the "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" category, from 1999 - 2002),
while being nominated for several more. In fact, when it comes to
awards, Kravitz has earned an unparalleled collection of them throughout
his career, across a variety of artistic institutions, including the
American Music Awards (2002, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist), the MTV
Video Music Awards (1993, Best Male Video), Radio Music Awards (2001,
Artist of the Year), VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards (1998, Most Fashionable
Male), and the Billboard Awards. Kravitz is also widely regarded as a
creative vanguard, both in the innovative music videos that have spanned
his career and in his early recognition of music's role in our lives
outside traditional avenues like albums and radio.
The root of all his success, though, is the music. Kravitz's sound has
always carried the echoes of past eras - classic rock, old-school soul,
gritty funk and confectionary '60s pop - yet it always boasts an urgency
and craftsmanship reflective of modern times. It Is Time For A Love
Revolution, is a bold, contemporary rock album, and its largess
underscores the idea that, over the course of his nearly
two-decades-long career, perhaps the most remarkable of Kravitz's
achievements is how he's managed to maintain the immeasurable
consistency of being a quality singer, songwriter and performer.
"I'm a person who is always trying to experience new things and
constantly change my perspective," he says. "I really try to keep things
alive, to be around different people and different influences. I'll go
live someplace I've never been, where I don't know anybody, and I'll
gain the experience of it. I guess that reflects on the music I make."
In many ways, It Is Time For A Love Revolution, is a new start
for Kravitz. With his last album, Baptism (which contained the
hit singles, “Where Are We Runnin’,” and "Lady,"), Kravitz completed a
15-year career cycle that saw him evolve from the humble beginnings of a
struggling musician. "I had seen and done just about everything I could
have ever done," he explains. "Especially after (Baptism),
musically, I felt like I had been able to do a lot of what I'd always
dreamt I could do, and so after that record and tour, it really felt
like the end of something."
And then a funny thing happened when he started to write songs for the
new album. "I just felt free. I can't explain it, it felt like I was
starting from scratch and the energy and excitement that comes from that
just took over."
That freedom is the fire inside It Is Time For A Love Revolution,
which sonically - and more importantly, spiritually - is as vibrant as
Kravitz's debut album, Let Love Rule. "It's true, I hadn't felt
that free since before I was in the business," he says. "For Let Love
Rule, there was no agenda, no business people, no pressure to 'deliver'
a certain vision of me. And that's how I felt recording this album. It
feels like the beginning of a new chapter for me."
It Is Time For A Love Revolution was written and recorded over
the course of the last year and it once again finds Kravitz playing most
of the instruments himself. What will be most striking to listeners is
the boldness of the sound. Heavy drums, tight, hip-shaking grooves,
frenetic guitars and Kravitz's unmistakable croon mix to create big,
raucous rock 'n roll jams.
Thematically, as its album title would indicate, Kravitz sings many
songs of love and emotional and spiritual revolution. He sings songs of
optimism calling on people to open up and let love in their hearts. As
he explains, "I know people who are incredibly rich and have everything
but are some of the most miserable people in the world. And you can have
two dollars in the bank and be the happiest person on the planet.
there's nothing I could buy that could make me happy as long as I have
love and God in my heart.
That much his music aspires to inspire is a product of how he was
raised, he says. "It might be naïve but it's how I've always been. I
wasn't raised in a cynical environment, but one that was always positive
and productive. You watch the news and things in the world are not
getting better," he says. "To me, it's time for people to really
question this. It's time to get radical with it and combat the evil in
this world with love."
Kravitz’s personal belief in love and peace finds its way on this album
in a variety of ways, including songs that draw parallels between the
current US war in Iraq and the Vietnam era. "I've never been one to shy
away from saying what I feel," he explains. Indeed, Kravitz has a
history with protest songs. His first-ever officially released song, in
1989, was for Spirit of the Forest, a compilation benefiting the
fight for Brazilian rainforests. Earlier this year, he contributed a
cover of John Lennon's "Cold Turkey"
to the benefit album, Instant Karma: The Amnesty International
Campaign To Save Darfur. In 2003 as a form of protesting war as a
solution for Iraq, Lenny released the download-only track, “We Want
Peace.” “The song caused controversy because it featured Kazem Al Sahir,
Iraq’s leading pop star at the time, but it still managed to reach
number 1 on the world download charts. In July 2007, he headlined Live
Earth Brazil, drawing a crowd of 750,000 people, as part of the concerts
organized by former Vice President Al Gore in the fight against global
warming.
But the anthemic, classic rock tunes of It Is Time For A Love
Revolution are matched by just as intense, but quieter and more
personal songs. Kravitz uses this album as an opportunity to address his
father, Sy Kravitz, who passed away in 2005, laying naked the
up-and-down relationship they had with each other. "We never saw
eye-to-eye and I moved out when I was 15," he elaborates. “I had issues
with him as a father figure. I was a mama's boy - and his infidelities
were things I took personally. As we both got older, we just moved
farther and farther apart from understanding each other and so it was
like a long and sad goodbye to this father/son relationship that used to
exist. We made peace, though, so in that sense, it's not that sad for me
anymore."
Addressing that particular subject on It Is Time For A Love
Revolution was its own form of catharsis for Kravitz, and it only
adds to the album's depth and range - the same characteristics that
marked his foray into music on Let Love Rule and the same ones that has
made him a vital musician for 18 years. "I love this record and the feel
of the record," he says. "I felt like a kid playing in my bedroom, and
that's the most important thing you can tap into, that feeling of being
free."
Biography courtesy
TotalAssault.com
Lenny Kravitz Videos
"Dancin’ Til Dawn" (Youtube)
"Dancin’ Til Dawn" (Quicktime - high)
"Dancin’ Til Dawn" (Quicktime - low) |
Listen to Music
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|
"Sittin' On Top of the World" - 3:16 (Kravitz)
"Let Love Rule" - 5:42 (Kravitz)
"Freedom Train" - 2:50 (Kravitz)
"My Precious Love" - 5:15 (Kravitz)
"I Build This Garden For Us" - 6:16 (Kravitz)
"Fear" - 5:25 (Kravitz, Bonet)
"Does Anybody Out There Even Care" - 3:42 (Kravitz)
"Mr. Cab Driver" - 3:49 (Kravitz)
"Rosemary" - 5:27 (Kravitz, Bonet)
"Be" - 3:16 (Kravitz)
"Blues for Sister Someone" - 2:51 (Kravitz)
"Empty Hands" - 4:42 (Kravitz)
"Flower Child" - 2:56 (Kravitz) |
"Fields of Joy" - 4:03 (Kamen, Fredricks,
arr. Neslund, Kravitz)
"Always on the Run" - 3:57 (Kravitz, Slash)
"Stand by My Woman" - 4:16 (Kravitz, Hirsch, Pasch, Krizan)
"It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" - 3:55
"More Than Anything In This World" - 3:43
"What Goes Around Comes Around" - 4:40
"The Difference Is Why" - 4:48
"Stop Draggin' Around" - 2:37
"Flowers for Zoë" - 2:45
"Fields of Joy (Reprise)" - 3:57 (Kamen, Fredricks, arr. Kravitz)
"All I Ever Wanted" - 4:04 (Kravitz, Sean Ono Lennon)
"When the Morning Turns to Night" - 2:58
"What the Fuck Are We Saying?" - 5:13
"Butterfly" - 1:50 |
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" (Kravitz,
Craig Ross) - 3:31
"Believe" (Kravitz, Hirsch) - 4:50
"Come On and Love Me" (Kravitz) - 3:52
"Heaven Help" (DeVeaux, Britten) - 3:10
"Just Be a Woman" (Kravitz) - 3:50
"Is There Any Love in Your Heart?" (Kravitz, Ross) - 3:39
"Black Girl" (Kravitz) - 3:42
"My Love" (Kravitz, Ross) - 3:50
"Sugar" (Kravitz) - 4:00
"Sister" (Kravitz) - 7:02
"Eleutheria" (Kravitz) - 4:48
|
"Rock and Roll Is Dead" (Kravitz) - 3:23
"Circus" (DeVeaux, Britten) - 4:48
"Beyond the 7th Sky" (Ross, Kravitz) - 4:54
"Tunnel Vision" (Kravitz) - 4:19
"Can't Get You Off My Mind" (Kravitz) - 4:34
"Magdalene" (Kravitz) - 3:48
"God Is Love" (Kravitz, Kirsch) - 4:26
"Thin Ice" (Ross, Kravitz) - 5:33
"Don't Go And Put A Bullet In Your Head" (Kravitz) - 4:22
"In My Life Today" (Ross, Kravitz) - 6:29
"The Resurrection" (Ross, Kravitz) - 4:28 |
