Product Description

On MAMA SAID, Lenny Kravitz builds on the edgy soul-rock ofhis debut, streamlining his sound in both songcraft and production. The opener, "Fields of Joy", moves from ethereal verses that evoke a bucolic summer's day to power-chord-heavy refrains and screaming guitar solos. The Stax/Volt-esque soul of "Stand By My Woman", the bossa nova groove of "What Goes Around Comes Around" (which finds Kravitz mining a clear Curtis Mayfield influence), and the heavily phased rocker "Stop Draggin' Around" are all finely honed tributes to classic'60s and '70s sounds.
That Kravitz is an unabashed fan of the old school is what, ultimately, makes his music so enjoyable, and he manages to synthesize his influences with style and economy. MAMA SAID's two standout tracks, "Always on the Run" and "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over", are cases in point. The former is a lean, riff-driven rock song that recalls both Jimi Hendrix and early Funkadelic; the latter a string-sweetened ballad that could have been pulled straight fromthe Philly Soul catalogue. Kravitz's flair for re-imaginingrock, pop, and soul, topped by his fine production sense, keeps it all appealing. The buttons he pushes are no less pleasurable for being so familiar.

Track Listing

1. Fields Of Joy
2. Always On The Run
3. Stand By My Woman
4. It Ain't Over 'til It's Over
5. More Than Anything In This World
6. What Goes Around Comes Around
7. Difference Is Why
8. Stop Draggin' Around
9. Flowers For Zoe
10. Fields Of Joy (1)
11. All I Ever Wanted
12. When The Morning Turns To Night
13. What The Fuck Are We Saying
14. Butterfly

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23653 in Music
• Released on: 1991-04-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
The second and undoubtedly breakthrough album for psychedelic soul rocker Lenny Kravitz is an eclectic mix of styles, all tinged with his inimitable sound. On the slinky, rocking "Always On The Run" he teams up with school chum Slash (the former Guns 'N' Roses guitarist) and the result is an explosion of hard-edged guitar funk. Removed from the image of posturing sex symbol are the warming love songs which spread a soulful bliss across the whole album. The Curtis Mayfield-inspired "It Ain't Over 'Till It's Over" and "All I Ever Wanted" are two gentler tunes with an array of soothing strings and whispered romance. With his life as a songwriter and lyricist often shadowed by his immense presence as a performer, Mama Said dispels any uncertainty as to where his true talent lies. --David Trueman

Customer Reviews

Lenny's finest album
'Mama Said', Lenny Kravitz's second album, propelled him to the status of international rock stardom, partly helped by a sensational performance of 'Cold Turkey' at a John Lennon tribute concert in 1990 which led to media comparisons of Kravitz's style to the legendary Jimi Hendrix. Although Lenny's performance style possibly owes a little to Jimi, the influences on this album are a lot more eclectic and, fittingly, the songs breeze from rock to soul and funk while always maintaining a certain feel of the performer's personality throughout the album.

Most of the songs on this album are excellent. 'Fields Of Joy', the album's opener (mostly written by the late, great Michael Kamen) is an absolute gem. It starts with a bare acoustic guitar line and then Lenny's falsetto voice joins it to delicately introduce the song which gradually adds layers until it builds to a dramatic rock climax, featuring the first of two Slash guitar solos and some really gorgeous singing from Kravitz. Slash's second contribution is the brilliant, rock classic 'Always On The Run', which he and Lenny wrote together and boasts a very memorable guitar riff and powerful vocals. 'Stand By My Woman' is a tender piano-driven, Lennonesque ballad which probably owes more than a passing nod to 'Imagine', musically. Probably the greatest moment of 'Mama Said' is the sensational, yearning 'It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over' which has to be one of the best songs written in the 1990s and is one of my personal favourites. My last pick of the album, 'All I Ever Wanted' is co-written with and features a piano line by a young Sean Ono Lennon and is a very listenable, catchy song.

Other highlights include the stomping 'Stop Draggin' Around', the breezy 'When The Morning Turns To Night' and the dark, searching 'What The **** Are We Saying'. The album's tender conclusion is the very pretty 'Butterfly'. In fact, over half of this album is brilliant and the moments which aren't quite gold range from listenable to very enjoyable - it's all interesting, thoughtful music. Although not every song concentrates on the subject, 'Mama Said' is mostly a break-up album as it was written after and dedicated to Lisa Bonet after their split - the passion, longing, depression and wistfulness contained within the music are all very genuine and you can really hear his pain and heartache throughout.

In my opinion, 'Mama Said' is Lenny's finest album. I bought it when it was released in 1991 and it has been a record I have enjoyed coming back to time and time again. It has a timeless, vintage texture and contains some of the best songs he has written alongside some of his best, most affecting, performances. Although I can't say that every single track is consistently brilliant, when it shines, it truly dazzles. I would recommend this album to lovers of soulful, romantic rock music everywhere.

'Mama Said' Album
Mama said....'Lenny, go out in2 the world and write great albums that feed the people's hunger 4 funk!' And So he did...one of his top albums not to be messed wid...so I recommend it not coz my mama said...but coz i said! =]

Mish mash of styles, but it works.......!!!!!!!!!
This is a fantastic album, make no mistake. On paper, mixing together funk, r'n'b, rock and soul should not work, but is does, and perfectly. This album has a great 'feel' about it, and there's not a bad track to be had; one or two are definitely only album track level, but even they complement the others. Kravitz can deliver all styles, be it balladeer or rock god. This, for me, was his best album, and one I would heartily recommend.