LENNY KRAVITZ – Blue Electric Light (2024)
The first LENNY KRAVITZ albums are very good pieces of classic rock, then he explored a more commercial pop side, and since a few years the musician has returned to his first love: rock n’ roll.
On his upcoming “Blue Electric Light” the bass is banging, the guitars are shrieking and Lenny is howling all over these new songs, the rocker’s best stuff in years, offering a welcome blast of heavy funk in 2024.
There’s joy and swagger in almost every track, with Kravitz showing his knack for adding cool things to songs — a blistering guitar part here, a sax solo there or a touch of Wurlitzer. Bongos? Sure. A talk box? Whatever, baby.
It all kicks off with a lush, arena-ready trademark Kravitz rocker in “It’s Just Another Fine Day (In This Universe of Love)” and then he channels the late Prince in the addictive “TK421,” which sounds like it could have been on “Purple Rain.”
What is “TK421”? It’s in the movie “Boogie Nights” as a term for a stereo upgrade and in “Star Wars” as the designation for a Stormtrooper. In Kravitz’ NSFW video for the song, he strongly implies TK421 is his, ahem, personal stormtrooper. Whatever it is, you’ll have a hard time finding a more pleasing song this summer.
“Honey” is a sweet seduction ballad and “Paralyzed” sees Kravitz thrillingly go full ’80s hard rock, while “Let It Ride” is more late Prince, with Kravitz pulling out a Moog and some Rollands for a synth-laden fest, making his voice almost menacing in the computer blue.
“Bundle of Joy” sounds initially like it must be about a baby, but Kravitz is back in the bedroom, admiring a lover’s “savoir-faire to her silky thighs” before letting loose a very Purple One-like scream. He quivers with passion in the soulful “Stuck in the Middle” and “Human” has terrific percussions and a Depeche Mode vibe.
He gets some scolding in on our social divisions on “Love Is My Religion,” a foot-stomper with hot piano and the lyrics: “Warring and shaking our planet is baking in front of your nose/And the conclusion’s coming fast so stay on your toes.” Kravitz channels Rick James for another funky plea for us to all get along in “Heaven.”
The album ends with the title track, which fittingly sounds like it should play over the end credits of a high-octane movie franchise with cool robots and slinky models. “I just want to make love/Under blue electric light,” he sings. We are putty in his hands.
Highly Recommended
01 – It’s Just Another Fine Day (In This Universe of Love)
02 – TK421
03 – Honey
04 – Paralyzed
05 – Human
06 – Let It Ride
07 – Stuck in the Middle
08 – Bundle of Joy
09 – Love Is My Religion
10 – Heaven
11 – Spirit in My Heart
12 – Blue Electric Light
Lenny Kravitz – vocals, bass, keys, drums, rhythm guitar
Alex Alvarez – programming (tracks 1, 3–11), synthesizer (2)
Harold Todd – saxophone (tracks 2, 3)
Michael Sherman – saxophone (track 3)
Trombone Shorty – trombone, trumpet (track 10)
Pre order:
www.amazon.com/Blue-Electric-Light-Lenny-Kravitz/dp/B0CKRZVPZL
