Lenny Kravitz: Let Love Rule (2LP) [VIRGIN]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set spreads the album over four sides and adds the three songs first heard on the CD, including "Blues for Sister Someone" and "Empty Hands." The album appears in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and the title track's video earned an MTV VMA nomination for Best New Artist.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Bonus tracks

About the album

Plenty of debut albums list a dozen session players. Let Love Rule more or less lists one: Lenny Kravitz wrote and produced every song and played nearly every instrument himself. His then-wife Lisa Bonet wrote the words to "Fear" and co-wrote "Rosemary"; the rest is a one-man show steeped in 60s soul, psychedelia and rock, issued by Virgin in September 1989.

The title track is a big-hearted, slow-building anthem, "Freedom Train" rattles along on a fuzzy riff, and "Mr. Cab Driver" is a tough, funky little blast. "My Precious Love" and "I Build This Garden for Us" stretch out into dreamy, string-kissed soul, "Does Anybody Out There Even Care" gets the horns going, "Rosemary" floats on a hazy, gentle melody, and "Be" is pure warmth in under three and a half minutes.

It was Kravitz's opening statement, and it still sounds like him in a nutshell: peace, love and a vintage drum kit. The 20th anniversary edition later added a live set from Boston's Paradise, though the studio album carries its own easy, lived-in glow. Playing nearly every instrument yourself has its perks; nobody argues about the setlist.

Also at Kops: more Lenny Kravitz on vinyl · browse Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Virgin, a reissue of the 1989 album.