Lenny Kravitz, Yay or Nay?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by stonesfcr, Aug 1, 2016.

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  1. DownInAHole

    DownInAHole Forum Resident

    I'm not a huge fan of Lenny but I think he's a very solid album artist and his last few albums (It Is Time for a Love Revolution, Black and White America and Strut) are some of his best.
     
  2. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Florida
    He's not terrible, but I would never consider buying his greatest hits, so "nay." Not sure which poll option to pick, though.
     
    stonesfcr likes this.
  3. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

  4. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    That's one way to frame it, I guess.

    Another way might be, "How many black artists are trying to break into rock in any given generation?"
     
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  5. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Actually, a comp is the only thing I have by him.
     
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  6. hurple

    hurple Forum Resident

    Location:
    Clinton, IL, USA
    I would lump him in at about the same level as John Mellencamp. A few truly great songs on most every album, but no one album that is truly stellar from start to finish.
     
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  7. Carl Swanson

    Carl Swanson Senior Member

    Which is true of about 95% of all albums.
     
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  8. Terry

    Terry Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee
    I have never won an Oscar or a Tony. Gosh. Guess I'm a lousy actor. Auditions? Why bother?
     
  9. Pennywise

    Pennywise Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Sewers
    About as interesting as string cheese.
     
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  10. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    I believe you.
     
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  11. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    I don't know about that, but he was cast as Marvin Gaye in an up coming biopic and they had to recast the part after seeing Lenny's acting.

    Anyway, musically he had a good run of 3 or 4 albums and then went into a slow decline. I liked him when he came on the scene because he was rootsy and a nice break from synth pop. I've never found his obvious posing, fashion and image awareness offensive. After all he is a rock star, and rock is a trendy image driven game. Some people dog him terribly for playing the game, I just dog him for letting the music slide.
     
    PDK likes this.
  12. Bowieboy

    Bowieboy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Louisville
    I'm on "he's okay". I like some songs but not a big fan by any stretch. I do think he still comes back with decent music ever few years though, I really liked The Chamber and one or two other songs I heard off his latest album.
     
  13. notesofachord

    notesofachord Riding down the river in an old canoe

    Location:
    Mojave Desert
    I think a lot of the flak he gets stems from the fact that he grew up a rich, Beverley Hills kid who hobnobbed with celebrities. The Strokes have a similar problem. Well, and he doesn't really disguise the fact either, since he is as famous for his "glamour/GQ/trendy fashion" thing as he is for his music.

    On the other hand, the dude's got talent. His first five albums are solid. He was on the leading edge of the "retro" movement (well him and The Black Crowes), which in the past 15 years has become quite common, since it's harder and harder to come up with something completely new in the rock field.
     
    PDK likes this.
  14. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    Bad Brains, Mick Collins, 24/7-Spyz, Fishbone, Sound Barrier, the Bus Boys, Living Colour; aside from them? Death, Black Merda, the Isley Brothers, Funkadelic

     
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  15. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
     
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  16. thekid87

    thekid87 Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Netherlands
    I like his first two albums a lot. After that I like a couple of songs per album. His best song is Are You Gonna Go My Way, actually. So expectations for the album were very high. But there were just too many bland ballads to compete with his previous albums. Circus is nice and 5 has a couple of hit songs, but nothing compared to the great stuff on his first albums... After that I still bought his albums, but never gave it too many spins to dig into it.
     
  17. Nick Drake fan

    Nick Drake fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Orleans
    This is a great LK tune that few seem to talk about:

     
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  18. pantofis

    pantofis Senior Member

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    I love the sound of his one man band. Very earthy and with just the right amount of groove for my taste. Also impeccable on backing vocals. He does have his own sound based on that alone.

    Obviously he is not a genius, but has written a lot more catchy fun tunes than some real geniuses.

    His albums have always had stinkers though. The earlier ones less so, though Circus is a low point.
    5 sounded like a traitor to me, finally giving in to digital. But soon I realised it was actually fresher than anything he had ever done.
    The latest one Strut is a new low point. Completely autopilot. He needs to reinvent himself again. I really believe in him!
     
  19. smokeverbs

    smokeverbs Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit, MI, USA
    I dig pretty much everything up to Strut. That was a disappointment. But it's not like he hadn't had missteps before. "American Woman", "Lady" for example. But I'm definitely a fan. Gotta agree that he couldn't have chosen a better right hand man than Craig Ross. Shoutout to Henry Hirsch as well. Great b-sides too! "All My Life" is a wonderful, slow burner.
     
  20. egebamyasi

    egebamyasi Forum Resident

    Location:
    Worcester, MA
    Nay. I could put all the songs I like on a single.
     
  21. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Sort of a Anerican Oasis,
    I like him.
     
  22. southamorican

    southamorican Forum Resident

    Location:
    São Paulo
    That one is not by the same Craig Ross.
     
  23. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    Never liked a single thing he did. Didn't hate it either, just sounded derivative and mediocre. Hey you asked...
     
  24. jwjeffrey

    jwjeffrey Hard working and Honest!

    Rock and Roll is dead
     
  25. Rasputin

    Rasputin Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Imagine if he spent the same amount of time learning music, as he spends choosing pants & sunglasses?
     
    DHamilton likes this.
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