Mama Said

Lenny Kravitz

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 1992)
• Original Release Date: April 2, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B000000WHP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #32,453 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Sometimes it's fun to take the albums of latter-day rockers and play spot-the-influence, and on Mama Said, it's like shooting fish in a barrel. "Always on the Run," with its punchy horns and emphatic vocals, is cribbed from Sly Stone. "What Goes Around Comes Around," with its understated arrangement and Kravitz's falsetto, is straight out of Superfly-era Curtis Mayfield. "Stand By My Woman" and "All I Ever Wanted," meanwhile, are so directly copped from John Lennon--lyrically, sonically, attitudinally--that it ought to be actionable. Younger fans might not care about any of this, of course, because in and of themselves, Kravitz's songs are tuneful, and they do rock. --Daniel Durchholz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lenny's only complete album., June 9, 2003

By	J. Anderson "freak" (Lincoln, NE United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There aren't many reviews on this page that do justice to "Mama Said," including the rather pompous view of the Amazon staffer at the top.

I would venture to say that this is not only Lenny Kravitz' best album, but his ONLY album that holds up from beginning to end; I find all of Lenny's music this side of "Are You Gonna Go My Way" to be mere shadows of the greatness he exhibited here. I guess I liked him a lot better sounding like Sly Stone and John Lennon and Curtis Mayfield, than I do now, sounding like Jeff Lynne. He perhaps should have gone blacker rather that whiter.

That brings me to one other point.../everyone/ in music cops their schtick from somewhere. Why don't we look back and bag on Sly for copping from James Brown, or rip into Miles Davis for copping from both of them? Or the Beatles and Stones, for ripping off Buddy Holly? Or blah blah blah. You could trace musical theft back to a caveman beating on a tree-trunk drum, if you had enough time to research your bitter little record review.

You're not going to be disappointed if you buy "Mama Said." In fact, I give you my personal guarantee as an Essentially Anonymous Poster that you'll probably like it a lot better than "LENNY."

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mellow collection for the Lenmeister, September 14, 1999

By A Customer

A totally different CD than Are You Gonna Go My Way. I recommend listening to this one when you are relaxing and just hanging out. Don't expect to get up and dance to these songs.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeously Produced Album, September 6, 1999

By A Customer

I have been a Kravitz fan for about two years now, and I can safely say this is him at his best. I would say that all but 3-4 songs on this album are phenomenol tracks. The best yet most under rated track would have to be "What Goes Around, Comes Around" which (to the tune of a bossa-nova beat) is great to listen to, and its lyrics are also quite impressive. In light of Lenny Kravitz' most recent album (5) this show's Kravitz' undesputable talet when it was freshest.