Lenny Kravitz
Mama Said
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Lenny Kravitz
Mama Said
Virgin, 1991
RiYL: John Lennon, Ben Harper, Jimi Hendrix, Terence Trent D'Arby |
The record was the fruit of a tough period for Kravitz, following his much-publicized divorce from actress Lisa Bonet, the mother of their two-year old daughter, Zoë. His personal trials apparently pushed Kravitz deeper into his art, as evidenced by the tight grooves, meditative ballads, and powerful rockers that populate Mama Said.
Most of Mama Said's lyrics deal with Kravitz's failed relationship, but he began writing the songs before things turned completely sour, and consequently a lot of the sentiment on the album is uplifting. The album's hit single "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over," is a beautifully realized soul tune, replete with horns and string arrangements framing the lyric that illustrates Kravitz's final efforts at saving his marriage. The preceding song is the melancholy piano ballad "Stand By My Woman", whose lyrics are given a different bent when one realizes it was sung with the knowledge that the woman is not going to stand by the singer.
A drummer then guitarist by trade, Kravitz plays most of the instruments on the album, but his few collaborators do add a great deal to the songs they appear on. The first two songs on the record feature Slash tearing into two essential, fiery guitar solos, but he isn't heard from again. Veteran journeyman Henry Hirsch plays bass on many of the album's tracks and a young Sean Lennon even stops by to carry the delicate progression of "All I Ever Wanted" on piano.
Mama Said climaxes with "What The Fuck Are We Saying?", a sparse piano-and-drums-driven track, on which Kravitz's voice reaches its most inspirational. The choral bursts of electric guitar give way to Karl Denson's fitting saxophone solo, and then the modular fade-out seems to be what Kravitz has been going for -- a sound almost all his own.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.