In the 18 years that have transpired since Lenny Kravitz first entered
the public consciousness, much has happened in the world of music.
Yet, through it all, Lenny Kravitz, has persevered, flourishing as
one of the great rock musicians of our time. He proves exactly why
with his eighth studio album, 'It Is Time For A Love Revolution',
a thunderous and elegant rock 'n roll call-to-arms.
These accolades are not hyperbole. All of Kravitz's albums have been
certified gold or better, with three of them certified multi-platinum.
He has scored multiple number 1 singles on the Billboard Top Singles
charts, and has won four Grammy awards (setting a record for most
wins in the "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" category,
from 1999 - 2002), while being nominated for several more. In fact,
when it comes to awards, Kravitz has earned an unparalleled collection
of them throughout his career, across a variety of artistic institutions,
including the American Music Awards (2002, Favorite Pop/Rock Male
Artist), the MTV Video Music Awards (1993, Best Male Video), Radio
Music Awards (2001, Artist of the Year), VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards
(1998, Most Fashionable Male), and the Billboard Awards. Kravitz is
also widely regarded as a creative vanguard, both in the innovative
music videos that have spanned his career and in his early recognition
of music's role in our lives outside traditional avenues like albums
and radio.
The root of all his success, though, is the music. Kravitz's sound
has always carried the echoes of past eras - classic rock, old-school
soul, gritty funk and confectionary '60s pop - yet it always boasts
an urgency and craftsmanship reflective of modern times. 'It Is Time
For A Love Revolution', is a bold, contemporary rock album, and its
largess underscores the idea that, over the course of his nearly two-decades-long
career, perhaps the most remarkable of Kravitz's achievements is how
he's managed to maintain the immeasurable consistency of being a quality
singer, songwriter and performer.
"I'm a person who is always trying to experience new things
and constantly change my perspective," he says. "I really
try to keep things alive, to be around different people and different
influences. I'll go live someplace I've never been, where I don't
know anybody, and I'll gain the experience of it. I guess that reflects
on the music I make."
In many ways, 'It Is Time For A Love Revolution', is a new start
for Kravitz. With his last album, 'Baptism' (which contained the hit
singles, "Where Are We Runnin'," and "Lady,"),
Kravitz completed a 15-year career cycle that saw him evolve from
the humble beginnings of a struggling musician. "I had seen and
done just about everything I could have ever done," he explains.
"Especially after ('Baptism'), musically, I felt like I had been
able to do a lot of what I'd always dreamt I could do, and so after
that record and tour, it really felt like the end of something."
And then a funny thing happened when he started to write songs for
the new album. "I just felt free. I can't explain it, it felt
like I was starting from scratch and the energy and excitement that
comes from that just took over."
That freedom is the fire inside 'It Is Time For A Love Revolution',
which sonically - and more importantly, spiritually - is as vibrant
as Kravitz's debut album, 'Let Love Rule'. "It's true, I hadn't
felt that free since before I was in the business," he says.
"For 'Let Love Rule', there was no agenda, no business people,
no pressure to 'deliver' a certain vision of me. And that's how I
felt recording this album. It feels like the beginning of a new chapter
for me."
'It Is Time For A Love Revolution' was written and recorded over
the course of the last year, in New York, Miami, Paris, the Bahamas
and Brazil. It once again finds Kravitz playing most of the instruments
himself. What will be most striking to listeners is the boldness of
the sound. Heavy drums, tight, hip-shaking grooves, frenetic guitars
and Kravitz's unmistakable croon mix to create big, raucous rock 'n
roll jams.
Thematically, as its album title would indicate, Kravitz sings many
songs of love and emotional and spiritual revolution. He sings songs
of optimism calling on people to open up and let love in their hearts.
As he explains, "I know people who are incredibly rich and have
everything but are some of the most miserable people in the world.
And you can have two dollars in the bank and be the happiest person
on the planet. there's nothing I could buy that could make me happy
as long as I have love and God in my heart.
That much his music aspires to inspire is a product of how he was
raised, he says. "It might be naïve but it's how I've always
been. I wasn't raised in a cynical environment, but one that was always
positive and productive. You watch the news and things in the world
are not getting better," he says. "To me, it's time for
people to really question this. It's time to get radical with it and
combat the evil in this world with love."
Kravitz's personal belief in love and peace finds its way on this
album in a variety of ways, including songs that draw parallels between
the current US war in Iraq and the Vietnam era. "I've never been
one to shy away from saying what I feel," he explains. Indeed,
Kravitz has a history with protest songs. His first-ever officially
released song, in 1989, was for 'Spirit of the Forest', a compilation
benefiting the fight for Brazilian rainforests. Earlier this year,
he contributed a cover of John Lennon's 'Cold Turkey' to the benefit
album, 'Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign To Save
Darfur'. In 2003 as a form of protesting war as a solution for Iraq,
Lenny released the download-only track, 'We Want Peace'. "The
song caused controversy because it featured Kazem Al Sahir, Iraq's
leading pop star at the time, but it still managed to reach number
1 on the world download charts. In July 2007, he headlined Live Earth
Brazil, drawing a crowd of 750,000 people, as part of the concerts
organized by former Vice President Al Gore in the fight against global
warming.
But the anthemic, classic rock tunes of 'It Is Time For A Love Revolution'
are matched by just as intense, but quieter and more personal songs.
Kravitz uses this album as an opportunity to address his father, Sy
Kravitz, who passed away in 2005, laying naked the up-and-down relationship
they had with each other. "We never saw eye-to-eye and I moved
out when I was 15," he elaborates. "I had issues with him
as a father figure. I was a mama's boy - and his infidelities were
things I took personally. As we both got older, we just moved farther
and farther apart from understanding each other and so it was like
a long and sad goodbye to this father/son relationship that used to
exist. We made peace, though, so in that sense, it's not that sad
for me anymore."
Addressing that particular subject on 'It Is Time For A Love Revolution'
was its own form of catharsis for Kravitz, and it only adds to the
album's depth and range - the same characteristics that marked his
foray into music on 'Let Love Rule' and the same ones that has made
him a vital musician for 18 years. "I love this record and the
feel of the record," he says. "I felt like a kid playing
in my bedroom, and that's the most important thing you can tap into,
that feeling of being free."
Much of that freedom will extend to his fans around the world, as
Kravitz plans to tour behind 'It Is Time For A Love Revolution' for
two years after its release. Prior to that, Kravitz will help bring
in 2008 with an exciting live performance from Times Square performing
two songs during NBC's world famous New Years Eve with Carson Daly.
'It Is Time For A Love Revolution' is out now.
