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Let Love Rule (Lenny Kravitz album)

Let Love Rule is the debut studio album of American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on September 6, 1989, by Virgin Records. Then-wife Lisa Bonet wrote the lyrics to "Fear" and co-wrote the lyrics on the song "Rosemary"; other than that the album is virtually a one-man Kravitz show, as he wrote and produced all the songs and played nearly all the instruments.

Let Love Rule reached number 61 on the Billboard 200, while it peaked at number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. The album is also featured in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The video for the lead single "Let Love Rule" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist.

Critical reception

The Globe and Mail concluded that Kravitz is "still a little raw and the lyrics ... are forgettable, but there are enough good ideas here—even if a few of them were borrowed wholesale from the Beatles—to make Let Love Rule a satisfying debut."

Track listing

All tracks written by Lenny Kravitz, except "Fear" lyrics by Lisa Bonet, and "Rosemary" lyrics by Kravitz and Bonet.

  1. "Sittin' on Top of the World" – 3:16
  2. "Let Love Rule" – 5:42
  3. "Freedom Train" – 2:50
  4. "My Precious Love" – 5:15
  5. "I Build This Garden for Us" – 6:16
  6. "Fear" – 5:20
  7. "Does Anybody Out There Even Care" – 3:42
  8. "Mr. Cab Driver" – 3:49
  9. "Rosemary" – 5:27
  10. "Be" – 3:16

CD bonus tracks

  1. <li value=11> "Blues for Sister Someone" – 2:51
  2. "Empty Hands" – 4:42
  3. "Flower Child" – 2:56

American version

  1. <li value=14> "What The&nbsp;... Are We Saying? – Live"
  2. "Stop Draggin' Around – Live"
  3. "Always on the Run – Live"
  4. "I'll Be Around – Live"

20th anniversary edition bonus tracks

All tracks written by Lenny Kravitz, except where noted.

  1. <li value=14> "Let Love Rule" (Basic Rough Mix)
  2. "Cold Turkey" (John Lennon)
  3. "Light Skin Girl from London"
  4. "Fear" (1987 demo)
  5. "Mr. Cab Driver" (home demo)
  6. "Let Love Rule" (home demo)
  • Track 16 first appeared on the single "Always on the Run", but was originally recorded on tour with "Let Love Rule".

Disc 2 (Let Love Rule Live)

  1. "Flower Child"
  2. "Blues for Sister Someone"
  3. "Mr. Cab Driver"
  4. "Freedom Train"
  5. "Be"
  6. "My Precious Love"
  7. "Does Anybody Out There Even Care"
  8. "Let Love Rule"
  9. "Rosemary" (lyrics by Kravitz and Bonet)
  10. "Fear" (lyrics by Bonet)
  11. "My Flash on You" (Arthur Lee)
  12. "If 6 Was 9" (Jimi Hendrix)
  • Tracks 1–10 recorded at The Paradise, Boston, Mass. – 3/28/90
  • Tracks 11–12 recorded at The Paradiso, Amsterdam – 12/20/89

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes from the 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition.

Musicians

  • Lenny Kravitz – lead and backing vocals, all other instruments
  • Alfred Brown – viola (tracks 6, 10)
  • Tisha Campbell – additional background vocals (track 5)
  • Eric Delente – violin (tracks 5, 12)
  • Karl Denson – saxophone (tracks 2–4, 7, 8, 11, 13)
  • Lou Elex – violin (track 6)
  • Henry Hirsch – bass (tracks 5, 12), Fender Rhodes (tracks 5–7), harmonium (track 12), organ (tracks 2, 4, 5, 9), piano (tracks 4, 10, 13)
  • Nancy Ives – cello (tracks 5, 12)
  • Lee Jaffe – harmonica (tracks 9, 12)
  • Jean McClain – additional background vocals (track 5)
  • Kermit Moore – cello (tracks 6, 10)
  • Gene Orloff – violin (track 6)
  • Yolanda Pittman – additional background vocals (track 5)
  • Matthew Raimondi – violin (tracks 6, 10)
  • Maxine Roach – viola (track 6)
  • Mark Shuman – cello (tracks 6, 10)
  • John Tintaualle – violin (track 6)
  • Adam Widoff – 2nd guitar (track 6)
  • Winterton Yarvey – violin (track 6)

Production

  • Lenny Kravitz – producer, mixing (tracks 15, 16)
  • Henry Hirsch – recording engineer (tracks 2–13, 16), mixing (tracks 1–13, 16)
  • David Domanich – recording engineer (tracks 2–13)
  • Jeff Goodman – recording engineer (track 1), mixing (track 14)
  • Greg Calbi – mastering
  • Mathieu Bitton – producer (20th anniversary deluxe edition)
  • Gavin Lurssen – remastering (20th anniversary deluxe edition)
  • Ruben Cohen – remastering assistant (20th anniversary deluxe edition)

Let Love Rule Live

  • Lenny Kravitz – vocals, guitar
  • Kenneth Crouch – keyboards
  • Zoro – drums
  • Adam Widoff – guitar
  • Lebron Scott – bass
  • Karl Denson – saxophone
  • Steven Remote – recording engineer and mixing engineer
  • Tom "Bone" Edmonds – recording engineer and mixing engineer , original mixing
  • Mathieu Bitton – editing
  • Gabriel Wallach – editing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links