Lenny Kravitz can write a song no matter where he is. He composes music in his head, guitar, and drums.
The singer-songwriter has been taking control of his inspiration and converting it into hits for the past three decades. He’s won four Grammy Awards, and since 1989, he’s released a string of albums that have gone from gold to multi-platinum, spawning hits like “Fly Away,” “It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over,” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way” — songs that combine soul, rock, and everything in between. They are a reflection of his current mental state.
If Kravitz wants to convey one message through his music, it is love. He writes about heartbreak and the ups and downs of life, f Falling in love, losing loved ones, and still living a happy and free life. He’s written songs about his ex-wife Lisa Bonet, his parents, and his daughter Zoë.
Join us as we dissect Lenny Kravitz’s best and worst songs from his career.
The Greatest Lenny Kravitz Songs of All Time
Fly Away
This is a Lenny Kravitz song to rock out to, and it’s possibly his most famous. This number has everything you could want in a rock/pop song—a world-class vocal performance, along with chord progressions and catchy choruses.
Fly Away was a huge hit for Kravitz after being released on his fifth album, “5.” Despite being the album’s fourth single, its universal message of wanting to escape and be free struck a chord with audiences worldwide.
Fly Away is the perfect rock song for those not fans of the genre. It has a terrific hook and still sounds fresh after nearly 30 years.
It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
After channeling the 60s with Are You Gonna Go My Way, Kravitz moved on to a song that drew inspiration from the 1970s.
It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over is a heartfelt song from his 1991 album Mama Said. This smooth, soulful tune became Lenny’s highest-charting single, peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States in 1991.
Simply listening to this transports you to the mid-1970s, when ballads ruled the charts.
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
We’ve arrived in the land of the best-selling singles from the world of Lenny Kravitz. We all know Kravitz has been strongly influenced by 1960s music, but this song demonstrates it more than most of his other work.
This song exudes charisma, coolness, and style. Radio stations devoured this song from his third studio album of the same name from the instant it was released and persist in doing so today.
Are You Gonna Go My Way? peaked at the top of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and has gone on to be among the best classic rock tracks from the last 30 years, featuring one of the best guitar licks of all time.
Always On The Run
The more you pay heed to Lenny Kravitz, the more you’ll notice the various styles and sounds he’s created over the years. He can write sweet, mellow ballads and then slam the door in your face with a badass, hard rock n roll tune. This is where Always On The Run comes in.
The opening guitar riff of this song is gritty and epic to the core. This is no surprise given that the song features Slash, the Guns N Rose guitarist who co-wrote it with Kravitz.
This song was released in 1991 on the album Mama said and is one of Lenny’s rockiest songs, featuring a funky bass line, a great guitar solo by Slash, and a brilliantly funky horn section.
American Woman
This is among the most popular Lenny Kravitz songs, and it continues to be played on radio stations more than 20 years after its release.
American Woman is a cover version that became famous after appearing on the soundtrack of the movie Austin Powers. Guess Who wrote and performed the original in 1970.
We like both versions, but Kravtiz’s remake was flawless and didn’t deviate too much from the core of this great song. It’s still a good song to listen to when you want to let your hair down.
The Worst Lenny Kravitz Songs Ever
Dirty White Boots
Aside from the fact that the truth behind such a concept is objectionable, it does not follow that the lyrics will only appeal to those in their forties and nostalgic for the nineties who seek to fill the role of groupie. This is evident in the album cover, reminiscent of a perfume ad and in songs like this one.
American Woman
Some critics also panned this Lenny Kravitz cover.
The guitar in Guess Who’s original song was aggressive. The atmosphere was tense, and the singer appeared upset about something. Or, more precisely, someone.
Despite doing a cover, it seems that Lenny has never heard the original. The fact that Lenny is an American takes away a lot of the meaning of the song; however, Lenny isn’t even playing the main riff right. He completely disregards the original and performs it as if he wrote it.
When he croons, “American Woman… get away from me,” he doesn’t sound particularly convincing – as if he wants her to get away. Sure, his words imply that but how he says them belies their meaning. He’s like he’s having an affair with this woman while also telling her to get away. What a mess of mixed messages!
Fly Away
Yes, you read that correctly. Despite being Kravitz’s most famous song, Fly Away received positive and negative feedback. While some consider it his best work, others believe it is the singer-songwriter’s worst song ever.
Fly Away, the equivalent of getting blasted with Windex in the mouth, revived Lenny Kravitz’s career when many thought his dedication to necrophilia had come to an end. This hot number took a while to catch on.
Kravitz foregoes lightness in favor of overdubbing himself into a hundred aggravations. The arrangement of Fly Away suggests the inverse of flight: the all-chorus intensity and the dull churn leave listeners with no room to breathe. It made sense that Fly Away and American Woman were unavoidable in the summer of the new Woodstock.