walking upstream…
Lenny Kravitz
photo: nuță lucian · cc by-sa 2.0 ↗Lenny Kravitz
sourcesLouder — "The story of Lenny Kravitz's early solo career" (Dogtown/Zeppelin quote, Mayfield as hero/collaborator) · uDiscoverMusic — "How Lenny Kravitz Led The Rock-Soul Revival" (track-by-track influence breakdown · The FADER — "Follow The Purple Guitar" (critics on Kravitz's Hendrix/Mayfield/Lennon influences)
Born in New York and raised between Bedford-Stuyvesant church pews and Laurel Canyon rock royalty, Lenny Kravitz became the 1990s' great synthesist — an artist who played nearly every instrument himself to resurrect the fuzzed-out guitar heroics and orchestral soul of the late '60s and '70s for a generation raised on drum machines. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" turned that revivalism into an anthem, its wah-drenched riff announcing an artist unashamed of wearing his influences on his sleeve. Decades on, Kravitz remains rock's most unrepentant retro-futurist, still chasing the analog tones of the records he grew up on.
the sound in question
1993
Are You Gonna Go My WayLenny Kravitz
walk the tributaries ↓
Jimi Hendrix1960s · Rock / Blues rock / Psychedelic rock
Kravitz's signature phase-shifted, fuzz-drenched guitar tone is a direct descendant of Hendrix's wah-wah psychedelic blues-rock — as a Black rock guitarist emerging in the early '90s, Kravitz drew immediate Hendrix comparisons and never shied from them, calling Hendrix an artist who "took it all the way" and remains unmatched in expressiveness.
listen: upstream & here
1968
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)Jimi Hendrix
1993
Are You Gonna Go My WayLenny Kravitz
listen forSet Hendrix's wah-pedal solo on "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" against the fuzz-and-wah riff that opens "Are You Gonna Go My Way" — the same searing, vocal-like string bends and the idea of the guitar as a scream rather than an accompaniment.
Led Zeppelin1970s · Hard rock / Blues rock
Kravitz has traced his rock education straight back to Led Zeppelin, discovered as a teenager through LA's Dogtown skate scene ("that's where I learnt about Led Zeppelin and The Who and Queen and Jimi — that electric guitar side of it"); their bombastic, orchestrated hard rock shows up in the cathedral-organ intro and titanic drum sound of Kravitz's own "Believe."
listen: upstream & here
1969
Whole Lotta LoveLed Zeppelin
1993
BelieveLenny Kravitz
listen forCompare the titanic riff-and-groove of "Whole Lotta Love" to the swelling organ that opens Kravitz's "Believe" — the same widescreen, cathedral-sized rock production and guitar-as-sledgehammer instinct.
Curtis Mayfield1960s–70s · Soul / Funk / R&B
Mayfield's falsetto-led, string-and-horn-draped soul was one of Kravitz's earliest heroes — critics needled Kravitz specifically over his debt to Mayfield alongside Hendrix and Lennon — and its fingerprints run through Kravitz's own falsetto balladry and orchestral soul arrangements, down to the strings that "evoke Curtis Mayfield" on "Sugar" and "Sister."
listen: upstream & here
1970
Move On UpCurtis Mayfield
1991
It Ain't Over 'Til It's OverLenny Kravitz
listen forSet Mayfield's soaring falsetto and string-swept optimism on "Move On Up" beside Kravitz's own falsetto-carried "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" — the same high, church-soul register riding over a warm, string-laced groove.