Throughout his nearly four-decade career, Lenny Kravitz has kept with the theme of positivity in his music. Six years after releasing 2018's Raise Vibration, which saw him advocating for peace and unity with more political bite, the multiple-award-winning rock icon shows his more lighthearted side on Blue Electric Light. The conditions had to be perfect, and with a clearer mind, Kravitz returned to his home on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas to record the album (reportedly one of four albums' worth of material) with his longtime songwriting partner, guitarist Craig Ross. That feeling of escapism also flows through the album's genre-hopping style, which switches from swaggering P-funk (“It's Just Another Fine Day [In This Universe of Love]”) and robotic synth-pop (“Let It Ride”) to anthemic gospel (“Love Is My Religion”). Elsewhere, he continues to take influence from Prince on “TK421,” leaning hard into an upbeat funk jam featuring an extended outro begging for a party remix. But when the mood is more subdued, Kravitz adds plenty of sultry touches to soulful ballads (“Honey”) and slinky slow jams (“Stuck in the Middle”), another similarity he shares with the Purple One. He may encourage you to bob and dance throughout Blue Electric Light with wild abandon, but Kravitz can still crank out groovy hard rock. In fact, he can still flex his virtuoso guitar chops with gusto. Take the stomping, hypnotic “Paralyzed,” where Kravitz revisits the ’70s classic-rock sound of 1993's commercial breakthrough Are You Gonna Go My Way. Taken together, all of these playful experiments add up to a remarkably consistent statement of purpose tied together to one unifying message: Love conquers all. But when he's not spreading positivity to others, Kravitz does some thoughtful self-reflection, like on “Human,” feeling grateful to be alive and live his truth: “My heart is yearning for transformation/What is this life for? I'm gonna win.”
Music Videos
Audio Extras
- A conversation in Paris about his album Blue Electric Light.
- 2024
Featured On
- The Rolling Stones
- The Black Crowes
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Justin Timberlake