Review of Lenny Kravitz's "Let Love Rule"

Let Love Rule (1989) is the debut album from American singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz. A combination of good songs and bad songs it also has a collection of horribly self-indulgent and preachy lyrics.

'Does Anybody Out There Even Care', a Kravitz peace anthem, is a good example. A decent song is just made very boring by his professor like words and obsession with rhetorical questioning: "Does anybody know how many lives we've lost/Can anybody ever pay the cost/What will it take for us to join in peace my friends/Does anybody out there even care." While some would certainly see these sentiments as positive, when most of the album is so inclined it can become very tedious very quickly.

Equally disappointing is some of the songs on Let Love Rule. While Kravitz showcases his trademark musical variety- usually an impressive attitude- it doesn't come off. In this particular case a bit of everything does not equal much of anything. 'Freedom Train' is a poorly thought out jamming type of song, 'Mr Cab Driver', with its jazz structures, is obviously contrived, while some of the other tracks, like 'Fear', are just plain boring.

Nonetheless the news isn't all bad. Kravitz can write good songs too. 'Be' is very smooth and similar to some of the (better) material he was to write on future albums. The opener 'Sitting on Top of the World' demonstrates Kravitz's ability to write catchy pop songs, while the title track, even if it does drag on unnecessarily towards the finish, shows this musician's ear for a good melody.

If only the whole of Let Love Rule lived up to these impressive standards. Unfortunately, though, what starts out as a good album soon becomes bogged down in mediocrity. Kravitz is talented, but he can do much better.

RATING: 4.5/10

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