Sunday, July 10, 2016

Lenny Kravitz - Mama Said - 1991

Always a fan of Kravitz, I think that Mama Said is his best work ever, followed shortly by Are You Going to Go My Way.  The power behind the lyrics and the performance make this collection of tunes essential to any true Rock and Roll Aficionado.  Lenny's talent shines brightly in Fields of Joy, Always On the Run and Stand By My Woman, right up front.  Closing with What the Fuck Are We Saying, the album is not shy on style and panache.  I love it.

I never got Lenny's first album, don't know why.  This was the first one I purchased.  When I originally got it, I got it on vinyl, and it blew my mind.  It was tough switching to digital, as it lost some of it's strength during the translation.  But, it's still a killer disc.

I made the collection a little more cohesive and inclusive, eliminating the demos and live tracks.  I strictly wanted an album of material that you could listen to without having to pull out the liner notes and figure out what was going on.

As for the cover, the original cover is an absolute classic.  It's perfect.  So, I just popped the single sleeves on the back and we're done.

2 comments:

  1. Lenny's first two albums are equally phenomenal. If you don't have the first album, you MUST get it. It is more raw than the second album (with Jimi Hendryx-like qualities) but the song-writing is EXCELLENT!!!

    Thank you yet again for your wonderful, expanded edition!

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  2. WOW! I must have somehow missed this post before -- glad I went back through the blog and found it! I have all of Lenny's albums on cd, but I love your expanded editions!

    This is an INCREDIBLE album. Along with "5," I think it's his best work. And I agree with the previous comment -- if you don't have "Let Love Rule" yet, you MUST get that one. It's more raw than his other work, but I think that some of his most powerful songwriting is on that one. Then again, I pretty much think ANYTHING Lenny does is amazing.

    Except for his fashion faux pas onstage when his pants ripped and the world got a view of little Lenny. That was .... unfortunate.

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