Genre |
Pop Rock |
Artist |
Lenny Kravitz |
11th Studio Album On Double LP Picture Disc!
Raise Vibration, Kravitz's 11th studio album, promises to be one of his most eclectic. "Low", the song that got the whole process started, developed into a smooth funk showcase; what Kravitz calls "my Quincy Jones school" complete with horns and a string arrangement. The title track is lean power-trio rock, while the ballad "Here to Love" features Kravitz backed only by his piano and a string section. "Johnny Cash", inspired by an encounter with the late legend, is what Kravitz jokingly calls "psychedelic funk meets country". As usual, Kravitz plays most of the instruments himself, with longtime guitarist Craig Ross. Lenny Kravitz has transcended genre, style, race and class into a 20-year musical career, one which revels in the rich influences of '60s and '70s soul, rock and funk. Kravitz's talents as a writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist have resonated now through eleven studio albums into a timeless catalog. He has also won four consecutive GRAMMY Awards, setting a record for the most wins in the "Best Male Rock Vocal Performance" category.
"After wrapping up his world tour three years ago, Lenny Kravitz found himself in a place he'd never been the dreaded land of uncertainty. "I really wasn't sure where I was going musically," he tells Rolling Stone. "After doing this for 30 years, I wasn't feeling it. I'd never felt that confused about what to do. And it was kind of a scary place. You don't know when it's going to come."
"People around Kravitz tried jump-starting his process by suggesting he collaborate with hit-savvy current producers and songwriters, but Kravitz wasn't feeling that either. "I've never really worked that way, following trends or doing what people think you should do," he says. "I've always made music that came naturally out of me. What am I going to do, make a trap record? Not that I don't like that stuff, but I've got to be me."
"Holing up in his house in the Bahamas, Kravitz chilled and considered his options, never venturing into the home studio he assembled there. "I know it's there, but I'm not going in," he recalls. Then one night, Kravitz woke up at four in the morning with a song in his head. Feeling inspired, he roused himself out of bed, went into the studio and recorded a rough version of it. Over subsequent nights, the experience repeated itself: Kravitz would awaken with a song on his brain and scramble to either write it down, go to the studio or at least hum the melody into his nearby phone before he forgot it.
"With that, the roots of Kravitz's 11th studio album took shape. "I realized, 'This is it,'" he says. "This is what I'd been waiting for. And once I started that process, the floodgates opened and it all started coming out me. I dreamt the whole record.'" - Rollingstone.com, April 17, 2018
Features:
• Double LP
• Picture Disc
• Gatefold jacket
• Limited time digital download
Selections:
Side A:
1. We Can Get It All Together
2. Low
3. Who Really Are The Monsters?
Side B:
1. Raise Vibration
2. Johnny Cash
3. Here To Love
Side C:
1. It's Enough!
2. 5 More Days 'Til Summer
3. The Majesty Of Love
Side D:
1. Gold Dust
2. Ride
3. I'll Always Be Inside Your Soul