Tuesday, February 14, 2023

#61 Lenny Kravitz (+ Slash bonus)

If the 1991 MusiCards set designated certain cards of promising new acts along the lines of Future Stars or Rated Rookies, #61 Lenny Kravitz would be very likely to receive such designation as an up-and-comer at the time.


"Let Love Rule"

He had gotten his foot in the door with "Let Love Rule" seeing decent airplay in 1990. His second album, Mama Said, followed in April 1991-- about the same time these cards were hitting shelves-- with the singles "Always on the Run" and "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" helping propel Lenny on his way to stardom.

Lenny also has a card in the UK edition of the set featuring the same front photo.

I consider myself a casual fan of his. Like.. I taped multiple Lenny Kravitz songs off the radio back in the early 90s, though I never got around to buying any of his albums.

"Mr. Cab Driver" is a lesser-known tune of his I like from his early days. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" is undeniably catchy. "Fly Away" is another banger (and if you have a silly sense of humor, check out this hilarious reimagining). Throw in "Again" and his cover of "American Woman" and I think that's about all of his songs that I'm familiar with. Let me know in the comments if you've got any favorites of his or know of any deeper cuts that are worth checking out.

CUSTOM CORNER


"Always on the Run"

A favorite Lenny Kravitz fun fact of mine is-- no, not that his mom was an actress on The Jeffersons-- but that the basis for "Always on the Run" was originally an idea Slash came up with as a potential Guns N' Roses song, but drummer Steven Adler had trouble playing it. So the tune ended up getting finished as a collaboration with Lenny instead.


When looking for Slash pictures to make a custom, this seemed like a fun one to work into the '91 MusiCards design. Turned out pretty cool.

Love me some classic GNR and will have to cover the band more in depth in a future Custom Corner, but keeping it brief this time. Up next is Patti LaBelle.

10 comments:

  1. Fly Away is my favorite song from him, although my favorite performance was his guest appearance on Simpsons.

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  2. I liked "Are You Gonna Go My Way" when it came out. Other than that, just a passing interest.

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  3. Yeah, I've never been much into Kravitz either. He's fine, I don't dislike his music, but I don't seek it out either. One memory is that when "It Ain't Over Til It's Over" came out the top 40 station I was working at immediately put it in fairly heavy rotation, and I thought they were overrating it and it wouldn't really be a hit. I was quite wrong.

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  4. Are you gonna go my way ,i just love that song

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  5. I got to see Lenny play back in the early 90's. He was phenomenal, easily one of the best live performances I ever witnessed. He turned me into a fan with that performance.

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  6. I love how Slash breaks through the top border on your custom!

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  7. It Ain't Over Til It's Over kinda ruined Kravitz for me. I didn't like that song... and they played it a lot. But I did like Fly Away and Again.

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  8. I've worked a lot of concerts as a food & beverage supervisor at several SoCal venues and the Oct. 8, 1999 Lenny Kravitz concert at the Great Western Forum was one of the most memorable. He had the house rockin! Like Matt said above, he was phenomenal.

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  9. His music hasn't really ever don anything for me, and as a person, I find him to be even less interesting. The Slash custom is really great though. That photo was perfect for this design.

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