Let Love Rule

Thirty-one years later, Lenny Kravitz would name a memoir after this late-’80s debut because it remains one of his most admired works. The album’s demo prompted a record exec to scribble “Prince meets John Lennon” somewhere, and soon the 25-year-old Black hippie would be hanging out publicly with Yoko Ono, promoting a title track single that cynics compared to The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” No matter. On the strength of songs like “Mr. Cab Driver” and “I Build This Garden for Us,” Kravitz’s winning streak of exciting albums (lasting at least up through 2004’s Baptism) begins here.