I have a hard time ranking the first 5 albums, as they are all stellar to me. I have a soft spot for the Lenny album, and after that they blur together a bit. Going with how I feel right now, I'd say...


1. Let Love Rule
2. Circus
3. Are You Gonna Go My Way
4. 5
5. Mama Said
6. Lenny
7. Baptism
8. Black and White America
9. Strut
10. Time for a Love Revolution

1. Mama Said

2. Let Love Rule

3. Circus

4. Are You Gonna Go My Way

5. 5

-

After that, I havent paid close enough attention. I have all of the albums, but none were given the attention of those first five

1. Let Love Rule

2. Strut

3. Baptism

4. Mama Said

5. Circus

6. 5

7. Black & White America

8. Are You gonna go my way

9. Lenny

10 Time for a love revolution

UncleJam said:

1. Mama Said

2. Let Love Rule

3. Circus

4. Are You Gonna Go My Way

5. 5

-

After that, I havent paid close enough attention. I have all of the albums, but none were given the attention of those first five

1. Purple Rain

2. Are You Experienced

3. All 'n All

4. Led Zeppelin II

Lost interest in him after that.

MattyJam said:

1. Purple Rain

2. Are You Experienced

3. All 'n All

4. Led Zeppelin II

Lost interest in him after that.

Robert Christgau cannot stand him. lol 3 bomb reviews, one b, no a's.

What Kidsgirl said. Diss Lenny when Prince ripped off people too.

..

[Edited 12/29/16 23:53pm]

Romeoblu said:

Mama said
Let love rule
Are you gonna go my way
Circus 5

Only albums, I have. I really enjoy all of them.

Considering your name, I had you pegged as a Lenny Kravitz megafan

you'd think huh?

thekidsgirl said:

Romeoblu said:

Mama said
Let love rule
Are you gonna go my way
Circus 5

Only albums, I have. I really enjoy all of them.

Considering your name, I had you pegged as a Lenny Kravitz megafan

Hmmm, i never really gave the "Circus" album much of a chance. But listening now, it sounds pretty good, i quite like the rawness of it, underrated.

[Edited 12/30/16 15:15pm]

Toofunkyinhere said:

Hmmm, i never really gave the "Circus" album much of a chance. But listening now, it sounds pretty good, i quite like the rawness of it, underrated.

[Edited 12/30/16 15:15pm]

Everyone was down on it when it was released, even Lenny has made some remarks about his state of mind when he recorded it...but that album is RAW, I loved it from the first listen. Mama Said and Let Love Rule have a special place in my heart (high school memories), but Circus is definitely one of Lenny's best.

I think Lenny is one of the few artists that doesn't really have any one album that stands out above all the others. He doesn't have a Purple Rain, Appetite for Destruction, Thriller, Raising Hell, etc.

So it's not easy rating Lenny's albums, but here's my list:

5 (Black Velveteen is extremely underrated)

Black and White America (love the diversity of songs)

Lenny (solid bunch of songs)

Are You Gonna Go My Way (title song is probably my all-time favorite of his, not much else on the album)
Mama Said (great to see Lenny & Slash collaborating on Always On The Run)

Let Love Rule (other than the breakthrough title song and Lisa Bonet's contribution, it's just okay)
Circus (is this really a Lenny album? less than half the songs were just Lenny)
Baptism (wish he had kept the MJ version of Storm instead of the Jay-Z version)
Love Revolution (again, less than half the songs were Lenny's and I don't care for most of the others)
Strut (even Smokey Robinson couldn't save this album from being on the bottom)

[Edited 12/31/16 4:54am]

Mama Said

Are You Gonna Go My Way?

Let Love Rule

. . . everything else is awful.

Pokeno4Money said:

Love Revolution (again, less than half the songs were Lenny's and I don't care for most of the others)

What do you mean less than half the songs were Lenny's? Outside songwriters?

MattyJam said:

Pokeno4Money said:

Love Revolution (again, less than half the songs were Lenny's and I don't care for most of the others)

What do you mean less than half the songs were Lenny's? Outside songwriters?

Craig Ross co-wrote the lyrics & music for the title track and also co-wrote the music for six of the other songs on the album. He also provided much of the electric and acoustic guitar on the album.

And one of Prince's associates, Paisley Park recording artist Tony LeMans, co-wrote the music for "Good Morning". Tony was heavily involved in the Purple World, having co-produced (with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis) Vanity's 3rd solo album. Tony died after spending part of the day with Rick James. The day after he died, he was supposed to marry Deborah Matthews (Vanity's sister).

[Edited 12/31/16 11:53am]

Pokeno4Money said:

MattyJam said:

What do you mean less than half the songs were Lenny's? Outside songwriters?

Craig Ross co-wrote the lyrics & music for the title track and also co-wrote the music for six of the other songs on the album. He also provided much of the electric and acoustic guitar on the album.

And one of Prince's associates, Paisley Park recording artist Tony LeMans, co-wrote the music for "Good Morning". Tony was heavily involved in the Purple World, having co-produced (with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis) Vanity's 3rd solo album. Tony died after spending part of the day with Rick James. The day after he died, he was supposed to marry Deborah Matthews (Vanity's sister).

[Edited 12/31/16 11:53am]

Co-write doesn't mean Lenny didn't also contribute.

MattyJam said:

Pokeno4Money said:

Craig Ross co-wrote the lyrics & music for the title track and also co-wrote the music for six of the other songs on the album. He also provided much of the electric and acoustic guitar on the album.

And one of Prince's associates, Paisley Park recording artist Tony LeMans, co-wrote the music for "Good Morning". Tony was heavily involved in the Purple World, having co-produced (with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis) Vanity's 3rd solo album. Tony died after spending part of the day with Rick James. The day after he died, he was supposed to marry Deborah Matthews (Vanity's sister).

[Edited 12/31/16 11:53am]

Co-write doesn't mean Lenny didn't also contribute.

Of course, I never said he didn't. Just pointing out the impact Craig Ross had on the album, which was noticeable. It's not a coincidence that his earlier albums were better, when it was all him. 5 was completely written and produced by Lenny, with a little writing help on just two of the fourteen original songs.

Circus
Mama Said

Are You Gonna Go My Way

5
Black And White America

Let Love Rule
Strut
It's Time For A Love Revolution

I haven't listened to "Lenny" and "Baptism" in ages and won't list them. They'd be probably at the bottom in any case.

I just think Circus is one of the rawest-sounding albums any mainstream act put out in the 1990s. It's funny some people think Lenny's just "a radio rock" artist when an album he put out during his heyday had songs like "Beyond the 7th Sky", "God Is Love", "Don't Put A Bullet In Your Head" and "Resurrection" on it. I have a soft spot for the album also because when I was a teenager and played the guitar a lot that album had the type of stuff on it that was far more interesting to try to learn how to play than most of the stuff that what was "hot" at the time (like Oasis).

[Edited 1/1/17 23:12pm]

All jokes aside, I like some of Lenny's stuff. I thought Baptism and Love Revolution were both underrated albums. I didn't care for "Lenny" much, sounded a bit try-hard for my taste. Haven't heard any of his stuff since Love Revolution so can't really comment.

Is Strut really that bad???

MattyJam said:

Is Strut really that bad???

Yes. It's like all he wanted to do was sex up the album for the ladies.

Lenny was the man 1989-1995 after that its just been the same ol' shit

(done well) but the same ol' shit...

1. 5

2. Time for a Love Revolution

3. Strut

Only albums I have by him

paisleypark4 said:

1. 5

2. Time for a Love Revolution

3. Strut

Only albums I have by him

For a time 5 was my favorite from him too.. After a couple years of listening to the earlier albums more though, I can say that his sound on those albums is something really special, and a whole lot bettter than Time For a Love Revolution

MD431Madcat said:

you'd think huh?

thekidsgirl said:

Considering your name, I had you pegged as a Lenny Kravitz megafan

I thought so, too...

1 Mama Said

2 Let Love Rule

3 5

4 Are You Gonna Go My Way

5 Circus

6 Black And White America

7 It's Time For A Love Revolution

8 Strut

9 Baptism

10 Lenny

Non-Album tracks I love:

If Six Was Nine (Hendrix cover)
Deuce (Kiss cover)

B Side Blues

We Want Peace

God Gave Me Everything (with Mick Jagger)

Curious White Boy (with Cree Summer)

The Good Ol' Days...