Lenny Kravitz

While the barriers between mainstream and indie music have long been crumbling, Lenny Kravitz remains, despite himself, one of those "divisive" artists, able to keep alive an ideal frontier between two universes that are only seemingly opposed. Indeed, while his stellar career has made him one of the darlings of the charts and the mainstream audience, the more alternative (or indie-snob) critics have struggled for at least 35 years to grant him the credibility he deserves. Almost as if his undying fame as a sex symbol undermined his credibility, turning him into the glossy, harmless version of Prince, with whom, incidentally, he also had the chance to perform live during the Minneapolis genius's tour for the album "Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic".

No great loss for him, all things considered, given his more than 40 million albums sold worldwide and his record for the most Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance - four in a row, with the tracks: "Fly Away" (1999), "American Woman" (2000), "Again" (2001) and "Dig In" (2002). The real issue, rather, is for those who missed the best moments of his brazen crossover, which over the years has blended Black influences (funk, soul, blues, R&B) with deep rock contamination of a psychedelic, electronic and hard stripe. A multifaceted universe, in which the soul and funk of guiding lights like Sly & The Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield and James Brown coexist with the rock of Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, all tempered by a shrewd pop sensibility. Nothing revolutionary, mind you, but effectiveness and sheer listenability have almost never been in short supply in the output of good old Leonard Albert Kravitz - Lenny to his friends - a New Yorker born in 1964, who besides always being a top-notch performer also plays guitar, electric bass, drums, piano, harmonica and sitar. And that's no small feat.

Digital turn

Among the aforementioned most inspired moments of his nearly forty-year career, one that stands out clearly is the bestseller from 1998, the fifth chapter of a discography that up to that point had alternated flashes of brilliance with the occasional misstep.

When "5" hit stores in May 1998, Lenny Kravitz was searching for a new direction. After a decade of success (most notably his 1989 debut "Let Love Rule" and the follow-up "Mama Said" in 1991) alternating with uncertainty, the New York musician found himself at a crossroads: his previous album, "Circus" (1995), had marked a commercial misstep, and the death of his mother, actress Roxie Roker, had plunged him into despair, opening a phase of deep personal reflection while, at the same time, spurring him toward new creativity. "When I stopped thinking and calmed down, I started waking up in the middle of the night with songs in my head... It was as if they were being given to me," he recalled.

"5" thus emerged from this phase of transition and personal growth, delving into themes of pain, love and self-discovery.

The album was recorded between October 1997 and February 1998, initially at Kravitz's own studio, the Ghetto Lounge Studios, housed in a former New York carriage house. A distinctive location that drew visits from artists such as Madonna, Chris Rock, Bobby Brown, Marilyn Manson and Gwen Stefani during the sessions. The second phase was overseen by Kravitz at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, alongside sound engineer Terry Manning.

Backed by a crew of skilled musicians and session players, the New York artist crafted a bold sonic experiment that sought to bridge past and future: the vintage legacy of rock and soul with the incursion of digital technology and sampling. This was, in fact, Kravitz's first album recorded entirely in digital, via Pro Tools. A choice that didn't stop the New York multi-instrumentalist from keeping up his habit of playing most of the instruments himself. It's precisely this balance between technological innovation and authenticity that defines the success of a new, contemporary sound, unlike anything Kravitz had ever conceived before. "Guitarist Craig Ross and I would start with him on guitar and me on drums... then I'd add bass, vocals, keyboards and orchestration," Lenny recalled, noting that he often preferred to rely on the raw energy of first takes, recording vocals and instrumental parts spontaneously to preserve the instinctive feel of the performance.

A lifelong multi-instrumentalist and self-producer, Kravitz continued to play most of the parts himself - guitars, bass, keyboards, drums - but for the first time opened up to a sonic dimension built on loops, synthesizers and samples. "We recorded the whole album on ProTools," Manning would later reveal, "we never switched to tape, we just stayed in the digital domain."

The goal, then, wasn't to abandon the past but to carry it into the language of the present: "I used more synthesizers on this record than on any other," Kravitz himself would state, well aware he was treading new ground.

A bestseller in 13 chapters

The opener, "Live," is already a statement of intent in the vein of a vintage-futurist sound, suspended between 1970s Blaxploitation-style funk grooves and electronics, with guitar riffs, Jack Daley's syncopated bass and a horn section (featuring a powerful sax solo from Harold Todd) setting the pace. Racing down these vibrant funky highways come "Supersoulfighter," with Angie Stone on backing vocals, bursts of clavinet and drum-machine sequences; "Take Time," a flamboyant Prince-style number steeped in psychedelic keyboard textures over a thick rhythm; and the instrumental "Straight Cold Player," featuring Cindy Blackman on drums and a nod to Eddie Harris's "Freedom Jazz Dance" (along with scattered echoes of James Brown's showmanship).

Veering toward more classic soul-r'n'b territory are the alluring "I Belong To You," which unfolds melodically amid electronic percussion, a pulsing bass and the original touch of a toy piano, and the intense ballad "Thinking Of You," dedicated to his late mother, which reflects all the pain and personal growth of its author. It's the emotional peak of the record, alongside the other poignant soul immersion of "Little Girl's Eyes" (for his daughter Zoë), gently laid over layers of atmospheric synths and liquid guitars, in service of lyrics of disarming tenderness.

On the more experimental side sits the pounding electronic novelty of "Black Velveteen," with its filtered vocals, hammering beats and industrial-rock jolts, powered by a forceful performance from Kravitz. No less daring is the D'Angelo-style electronic soul of "If You Can't Say No," where the New York singer's sensuality comes through in full force, locked in a tight dialogue with piano and clavinet, punctuated by the pulse of the drum-machine.

A perfect distillation of the Kravitz-style soul-rock hybrid, "Fly Away" would storm the charts with its relentless guitar riff and infectious melody, amplified by vocal effects. Originally written as a ballad, it was transformed into a tight funk number that earned Kravitz the 1999 Grammy for Best Male Rock Performance. In the same vein is the Blaxploitation-tinged funk-rock of "It's Your Life," with synthetic horns, wah-wah guitar and a hypnotic bass line.

The closing tracks of the original edition, "You're My Flavor" and "Can We Find A Reason?," capture the record's dual nature: on one side, its more physical, instinctive rock energy; on the other, a more intimate, spiritual dimension that harks back to the acoustic roots of his early work, complete with Hammond organ and gospel harmonies.

The 1999 reissue added two more pieces to the album's success: a cover of the Guess Who's "American Woman," also made famous by its inclusion in the "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" soundtrack, and the ballad "Without You." Both helped give "5" a second wind, pushing it into the Top 40 and paving the way for the commercial triumph of the following "Greatest Hits."

Met with suspicion at the time for its sleeker, more inviting sound, as if it were some kind of sacrilege against the sacred gods of rhythm'n'blues, "5" remains the perfect kaleidoscope of Lenny Kravitz's colorful, multifaceted universe, as well as a flawless collection of songs, carefully crafted and magnificently performed by their author. Two well-deserved Grammy Awards would go some way toward doing justice to these 65 minutes of excellent music and to the New York artist's ability to reinvent himself without betraying his own identity. He wouldn't always manage to pull it off again, but more than the unevenness of his output, what remains truly inexplicable is the wariness toward him that still lingers among large swathes of critics to this day. It's never too late to reconsider: If you can't say no, just think about.

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13/04/2026