Going His Own Way

He's "ripped off" countless musicians over and over, from his Jimi Hendrix look, to his borrowed sounds of the 1960's, 1970's and beyond using instruments we all love to hear, the electric guitar, heavy bass and beating drums that don't quit. We could say this young man has "ripped off" plenty, but haven't all artists today "ripped off" everybody who had come before them? No guitar note or chord is ever an original,new, never-been-heard epiphany. Everyone does it, so why can't Lenny?

One of the first songs Lenny Kravitz ever recorded that actually spoke to me was "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" A repeating guitar lick that you think would be so tiring to hear over and over actually makes the song worthwhile til the very end.The drums, knowing they are being hit, and hit hard, by a beautiful female drummer(who has as much energy or more as Lenny himself). The bass thumps on and on and you'd think you'd hear screams, but we don't.

"Are You Gonna Go My Way" was a song I always had the guilty pleasure of hearing when I would go out with my friends to a bar in downtown Oshkosh called Mabel's. The drinks were cheap, the waitresses beautiful(always) the lounge atmosphere was comfortable enough where you could actually relax and hear the person next to you instead of having to scream(as in the "meat market" bars where you had to wait in line for a beer and the bathroom!). But they still played heavy hitting stuff, like Lenny Kravitz's "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" And it ROCKED!

One of my favorite lines, though simple is this:

"We've got to love

And Rub-a-dub

We've got to dance and

Be in love"

Lenny then sings, channeling Hendrix specifically, "But what I really wanna know is...Are you gonna go my way?"

While it's not rocket science, it rocks and while it's simple, it works. If it's too complicated, it will sound complicated and not be attractive to anyone.

While Mr. Kravitz doesn't have the reputation of trailblazing new sounds, it's nice to hear the sounds other bands of today have forgotten that we all enjoy.