Cause I just don't get it. I am not saying he is not without merit, but in the wider scheme of things, I'm not getting it.

LOL he's very talented.

Forget about Lenny Kravitz and focus on Romeo Blue, that guy is talented as hell!

He's talented, considering

I'd say he re-introduced Curtis Mayfield/EW&F to the 90s, he has some moments here & there that I like,,,but the man is a poser more than a musician IMO.

However, I truly enjoyed this from him...

I'm back and forth with him, but overall, I just never think about him much. There's about 4 or 5 songs that I can listen to from him, and the rest is just .....meh.

I'd have to guess that most of the people who claim he isn't that talented can't play a note otherwise they would have to give the nod to someone who plays many instruments at a very high level. Kravitz is an amazingly funky drummer. Prince himself said that. Kravitz is a very good guitarist and bass player. He plays piano and keys . NEWS FLASH to non players : PLAYING A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT WELL IS F$#KING hard . It takes talent to do it well. Kravitz is also an accomplished singer with a pretty nice range . And, the guy knows how to write good songs. If you believe that you can judge a man by the company he keeps and the quality of his friends, well, Kravitz hangs with Prince, Slash, and Page, all great players. They wouldn't waste there time hanging and jamming with people who they didnt consider to be their peers. The guy has style and he wears his influences on his sleeve so it's easy to label him a poser . But it's off the mark. He's a musicians musician.
[Edited 1/13/10 22:46pm]
[Edited 1/13/10 22:48pm]

It just seems like he was never able to carve out a distinct identity for himself. He's very talented but he never held my interest for more than a few songs.

I'd pay to see him though. I think I would enjoy a live performance.

chrisslope9 said:

Woah, settle down.

babynoz said:

Exactly!

I've yet to hear a "Lenny Kravitz" record...99% of his music is a series of odes/tributes to other artists of the past.

The man is talented, but individuality is not one of his strengths.

Harlepolis said:

Individuality and talent are two different things . The question was, is the guy talented. Not everyone is meant to blaze new trails like James Brown, Prince, or the Beatles. Kravitz is a top notch musician and he has studied the craft of song writing well. The man has written very good, solid songs. I'd even go as far as to say that some of his songs like It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over, Let Love Rule, Fly Away , Again, etc have aged better over the years than a lot of Princes hits have.
[Edited 1/13/10 23:02pm]

chrisslope9 said:

As that supposed to get me riled up?

I already said that he's talented but to me, its not enough if there's no substance to back it up.

You certainly don't have to be a James Brown, Prince or Bob Dylan in order to have some individuality,,,,,but hey, I guess some people have it, others don't

He pretty though!

Sorry, I know y'all are trying to have a serious discussion about his music, but I do enjoy looking at him.

It's late where I am, OK!

His first album did it for me and im always hoping the next one can capture some of the rawness/ magic for me but i live in high hopes. Did see him live back in the day at Wembley and I think I saw him at Brixton as well not quite to sure on that one (Did see Seal there and Prince at Brixton) blinding shows, those where the days.


and to your question is he talented I think he is might be misguided a bit.

even if he weren't mega talented, I'd still smash!

I'm always mad at my aunt because she said she knew his mother and I'm like, "so where's Lenny then?"

BklynBabe said:

Roxie Roker was the epitome of a diva

Ummm yes. Silly question.

Harlepolis said:

About what you said about the album. That's when I fell in love with him.
[Edited 1/14/10 5:05am]

chrisslope9 said:

Exactly... Regardless of what you think of his originality or whether or not he is a great artist, he is definitely very talented to play all those instruments well and sing and write music. The guy has been very successful and had many albums, writing and producing most of the stuff on those albums. It's okay if you don't think much of him as an artist, that is subjective, but I don't see how anyone can say the guy is not extremely talented to play so many instruments well.

chrisslope9 said:

I agree with all this.
It doesn't make me mad that Lenny needs to be defended here, but when people call him talentless, I'm just like, come on, seriously?

chrisslope9 said:

Totally agree with everything you said.

Of course he's talented. Whether you like his music or not is something else.

JackieBlue said:

Exactly! Nothing more needs to be said.

Yes that Vanessa Paradis album he did is excellent

He is very talented and his music came at a time when pop culture needed a blast from the past.. I see nothing wrong with paying homage to your heroes especially when you have good taste. He has a good sense of melody, knowing which melody to roll with as a songwriting requires a special talent in itself. He has made some great albums and like any artist there are a few that don't sound as inspired, but he is very talented no question about it.

He is very talented, I just feel like he has seldom used his talents to their full degree.

The Vanessa Paradis record is one of his best works. He is definitely at his element when he is doing the retro -thing, although I do feel like he had some serious trouble getting back into that with the more recent releases. But when he was using the old stuff for everything, yeah. he had a pretty good ear for production values and what works in what type of songs. He received a lot of shit during the 90s for his "backwards-thinking" attitude, whereas during the last decade most everyone else in rock got into the retro game anyway. I just think he was always right about those things when he complained about the overall sound of the rock music of the 90s sucking.

He's never been a good lyricist, though.

Lenny is a great guitar player as a fellow guitar player i HIGHLY envy him!


Sadly i noticed people do respect him as a musician but i see some music critics do criticize him harshly cause he borrows heavy on old music but i mean that's his point he is basically paying tribute to the music he loves some people think that is silly but i like it


He's had some great albums Let Love Rule is his first and best many of his fans will agree it's very raw and emotional

Are You gonna Go my Way is very funky and bluesy alot of softer hard rock on it i love it

Circus was a biut of a letdown but it has some good stuff on it but i don't blame lenny on this one his Mom was very ill and he was tired of the music business

5 Is my least favorite from him it does have some of his biggest hits like I Belong To You, American Woman Remake & Fly Away but a very bland album

His new album Time For A Love Revolution is one of his best works!

All in All Lenny is very talented i can sadly see where the ''Poser'' mark comes in but give him a chance he is a kickass musician i'm glad he's still around(:

scriptgirl said:

Lenny would not even be famous if both of his parents weren't rich.
U can find his level of talent in every city in the U.S. playing local bars.

Graycap23 said:

There are lots of people with rich parents who don't have successful music careers.

You can use the "more talented people playing in bars and singing in churches" argument with anyone.

NewPowerSista said:

Lenny is definitely nice eye candy. And I do think he's talented.

Harlepolis said:

She was very pretty.