So why is Lenny Kravitz’ Let Love Rule on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
For a long time, I had mentally catalogued Let Love Rule as “that early Kravitz album with the title track song ‘Let Love Rule’ on it,” and mostly left it that. But upon further investigation, Let Love Rule is a fabulous album – with its 1960s-influenced rock updated for the alt rock era – that shows all of Lenny’s raw talent being put to good use and, further, its relative restraint overall works in its favor.
“I Build This Garden For Us” is the song that stands out most for me upon recent listens. It leverages a really pleasurable mix of psychedelic yet soulful rock, adding in an accompaniment of strings, keyboards, and a catchy and sing-alongable chorus.
The title track is certainly one to come back for as well. I’ll use the word “restraint” here again as a positive thing as Lenny does his thing on a chilled out, hippie flavored and perfectly executed entreaty for the peace and the love.
“Mr. Cab Driver” is a really fun blues-flavored rocker that has some of the intimacy of a singer-songwriter piece. Its lyrics are also biting and on point.
Mr. Cab Driver don’t like the way I look
He don’t like dreads, he thinks we’re all crooks
Mr. Cab Driver reads too many story books
Some stats & info about Lenny Kravitz – Let Love Rule
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Album Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Contemporary Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Let Love Rule released? 1989
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #516 out of 1,000
Lenny Kravitz’ Let Love Rule on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Lenny Kravitz’ Let Love Rule that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Love is gentle as a rose, and love can conquer any war. It’s time to take a stand, brothers and sisters join hands.
What’s something interesting thing about Lenny Kravitz’ Let Love Rule that most people don’t know?
Lenny Kravitz played almost all the instruments on Let Love Rule himself. His multi-instrumental talent included playing guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards.
Also, the title track, “Let Love Rule,” was written by Kravitz for his then-wife, actress Lisa Bonet. The song’s lyrics express a message of unity and love, which Kravitz has said was inspired by his own experiences with racism and prejudice.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.