Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Cream Calendar Lenny Kravitz to 'Let Love Rule' at The Ryman, Oct. 26
Posted by Adam Gold on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 1:06 PM
Virtually every song is a classic.... They're all a testament to how much talent young Lenny possessed beneath his dreaded main [sic]. All Kravitz ever wanted to do was make good music and pay homage to the greats who inspired him; he did his heroes proud on this one.Man, that statement is riddled with all kinds of failure. First of all, I think it's pretty damn presumptuous to speak on behalf the dead and just assume that--were they alive today--Jimi Hendrix and Curtis Mayfield would be jammin' out to the cover of "American Woman" that Kravitz contributed to the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me OST. Also, if there's one thing I know, it's being a Jew. Jews do not keep anything--let alone something as coveted as talent--underneath a dreaded anything. Since Kravitz is the most predictable artist since Pat Boone--pre-metal album, of course--I can only assume this 20th anniversary celebration of Let Love Rule means that he'll perform the record in its entirety. (At least he didn't get confused, convince himself he's Jimi Hendrix, and choose Axis: Bold as Love to tour in support of.) This tour coincides with the release of a deluxe edition of the album, and supposedly it's his best one, so if you love this shit and think I'm an utter twat for writing this, then go out and pick up a copy ASAP. As you can probably tell, I'm about as big a fan of Lenny Kravitz as Eric Crafton is of Mexicans. But as they say, different strokes for different folks. And I'm a different folk indeed. Like driving down West End at 2 a.m. on a Saturday, pawning off mono copies of Beatles records, mainlining crystal meth, planning a murder/suicide, harboring a terrorist or watching MTV's The Hills, listening to Lenny Kravitz is just one of those things that I'm not into. It probably has something to do with lyrics like, "I wish that I could fly / Into the sky / So very high / Just like a dragonfly." To me, Kravitz has always been similar to Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee, in that they both come off more like guys who play rock stars on TV than real rock stars--as if they are both creations of the same incredibly lazy, cliché-prone screenwriter. It used to blow my mind that they were, in fact, real, but then Fred Durst came along and all bets were off. Tickets for the Oct. 26 Ryman appearance go on sale at noon this Friday. They can be purchased here. Presale is tomorrow, Sept. 24, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., password "love."
Comments (25)
Showing 1-25 of 25
confession: Are You Gonna Go My Way? is a guilty pleasure of my pre-teen youth. I mean... come on... "Black Girl" rules in all its psyche soul harmonic cheesiness! But yeah... what a schill!
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Remember when Lenny Kravitz kept getting sued because of his overflowing toilet?
Dear Mr. Gold:
What kind of "know nothing" rock critic are you? Maybe you should stick to C&W. From the very beginning, LK has received plenty of love from other rock gods, AND (RIP) Curtis Mayfield. They even collaborated on SuperFly II. Tom Petty, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Bob Dylan are just a few of him many certified rock star fans who frequently show up in his audience. Also he is the ONLY artist to receive 4 Grammy's for Best Rock Vocal. I could go on and on . . . But why don't you fill us in on your illustrious credits and why we should care what you think.
Loser!
BTW - LK is a Christian, his mother was Roxie Roker. You should know that your Mother must be Jewish to be a Jew, if this should even matter. Get a LIfe!
Elvis, while you're understanding of Jewish law is correct, you are forgetting the Beverly Hills-by-proxy rule. If your dad's a Jew, your mom's an actress and you grow up in Beverly Hills, then you are indeed a Jew through and through.
Elvis, it's a question of ideas. Lenny Kravitz has no interesting or new ideas. I bet he would be a really good producer for someone who does. He's like a living breathing juke box of sounds and riffs from the late 60's/early 70's. He's a bedroom musician* that got a record deal.
And fuck the Grammy's. Yeah it's cool that they recognize excellence in music but do you know who votes on that shit? I can tell you it includes a lot of people who have no idea what's going in music. Sometimes they get it right and sometimes their heads are positioned right up their own asses. Bob Dylan has won some Grammy's, but so has Creed. I rest my case.
Musicians have egos Elvis, of course Mick Jagger is going to be okay being around the hot selling act that sounds the same way he did 40 years ago.
All that to say, I was very much into Are You Gonna Go My Way when I was young. Then I discovered hundreds of albums homeboy was ripping and lost interest fast.
*Bedroom Musician (n.): a person who plays an instrument, usually guitar or piano, in the privacy of their bedroom. They don't write music, rather, they learn, note for note, every song you will find on a classic rock radio station. This gives them the false feeling of being an actual musician who should have opinions about music.
Oh I get it, you just like to twist the facts on everything, to fit your vision of the world. Thank you Rabbi.
MBH
That is a tired argument. Shall we start with the Rolling Stones or Beatles or Elvis for that matter and track their influences. I'm afraid this boils down to a racist view that Black people shouldn't play rock and roll. Sad! : (
Some artists who have NEVER won a Grammy:
Jimi Hendrix
Neil Young
Diana Ross
Curtis Mayfield
Bob Marley
The Who
The Kinks
The Grateful Dead
Queen
Led Zeppelin
The Beach Boys
Some artists who HAVE won a Grammy:
Sheena Easton
The Captain and Tenille
Michael Bolton
Irene Cara
Milli Vanilli
Evanescence
John Mayer
Ne-Yo
Pink
Stop your bullshit fact-checking Gold and go write a country and western review since that's what you do all the time and what you love the most.
Adam Gold
Graduate of Crossroads School for the rich and spoiled of west Los Angeles
Graduate of Santa Monica City College (Tuition $295.00)
Berklee School of music (business degree)
Grammy's - None
Hit Songs - None
Importance to the music industry - none
Gold's a piece of work fo sho but there's no need to get so personal (and might I add- ineffective) with
your insults Elvis. The music industry is dying a slow death on it's own. Lenny is derivative shlock and representative of the same inward looking self aggrandizing regurg that got the industry in trouble in the first place. Grammys are captalist shite. Lenny brings nothing new to the table so he's perfect for that set. Boring as hell unit mover.
if we want to get personal about eric golds credits, it wouldn't be hard, but his decision to write a nasty personal attack on one of the few defenders of rock warrants a calling out of his lack of credentials to speak on the subject. c'mon nashville, can't you do better than this schmuck.
@Elvis Smith, I see you know how to navigate the Myspace search field. I figured my lack of importance in the music industry would keep people such as managers (or former managers) of artists the likes of Lenny Kravitz from looking up my deets and getting sand in their v-jays over my posts. Guess not. Thanks for reading!
To Gold:
Bruce Springsteen has won 19 Grammy Awards.
So, what's your point again?
My point is that having or having not won Grammy's is by no means a barometer for which to gauge an artist's merit. I think it's great that Bruce has won 19 Grammy's, but it really has nothing to do with why I like his music. If you're taking your cues on what to listen to based on who wins the industry circle jerk that is the Grammy's, then God help you.
Lenny Kravitz is the most gifted musician in the last 20 years. The A. Gold article is essentially useless. You must follow Rolling Stone and think Beck is soooo original (I have seen Beck 5 or 6 times live, I am big fan...but he sucks live). Not only are Petty, Mick Jaggar, Steve Wonder, Jayz, Dylan, Aerosmith, Prince, in his audience, he has recorded and produced with them. Tip: I agree with the aforementioned muscians taste and opinion, they are rock stars and record with Lenny...let's say they have more street cred than you. If you boss reads your throw-up plagiarized crap he/she will fire you.
Lenny rocks live I think you should see him live so you can tell your friends you have been to a concert...see him once and you will understand Rock and Roll.
P.S. We agree Curtis Mayfield was sensational..tip: Curtus Mayfield was a big fan of Lenny....there are differnent taste's in music but the legends prove your wrong.
Black Girl is a great song, so is Believe and Sister and the reggae song at the end of are ya gonna go my way that GoldieLox never listened too.
Uh Oh! Now you've done it, Adam Gold. You'll never write another snarky blog article in this town again! ;)
DC, I'm absolutely mortified that you haven't listened to anything I've given you besides Lenny Kravitz.
Lenny has banged some of the elite hotties in Hollywood. I can respect that way more than I can respect his music.
Gold definetly got it right. Awards and platinums don't mean shit in terms of quality music.
This is because there is more stupid than there is smart. It's just the way of nature.
Lenny Kravitz is a marginal rocker for marginal masses, and there are LOTS of marginal people willing to spend their marginal money on this marginal garbage.
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