Lenny Kravitz "Lady (Single & Video)"

"Lady" is a song by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released as the final single from his seventh studio album, Baptism (2004), in August 2004. In an interview with Hello!, Kravitz revealed that it was inspired by his then-girlfriend, Nicole Kidman. The song reached number 27 in the United States and number 99 in the Netherlands.

"Lady" was the most successful song from Baptism on the US Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 27. It also charted briefly in the Netherlands, reaching number 99 in July 2005.

The video was directed by Philip Andelman. It consists of Lenny Kravitz playing guitar and singing in a circular stage, while women are dancing around him. There are lights that change depending on the intensity of the sound of the song.

Track listings

European CD single

1. "Lady"
2. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" (live at WXRK, New York City)

European maxi-CD single

1. "Lady"
2. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" (live at WXRK, New York City)
3. "Always on the Run" (live at WXRK, New York City)

Lenny Kravitz "Baptism (USA, Virgin Records, 7243 5 84145 2 3)"

Baptism is the seventh studio album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on May 17, 2004, by Virgin Records. The album produced five singles and reached number 14 on the Billboard 200 and number 74 on the UK Albums Chart.

Lenny Kravitz originally intended this album to be a 1970s style funk album, simply titled The Funk Album. However, he changed his mind when he picked up an acoustic guitar to write the songs for the album. Having stated that songs started pouring out of him, Kravitz decided that his special project could wait. Instead, Kravitz recorded a more straightforward rock album similar to his 1989 album Let Love Rule. The album was recorded at Hotel Edison studios in Miami, Florida, and also features a contribution from rapper Jay-Z on the song "Storm". "Storm" was originally titled "(I Can't Make It) Another Day" and was originally recorded with Michael Jackson. Kravitz had previously played guitar on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint²: The Gift & the Curse. Kravitz had mentioned in an interview that at the time of the album's production, he was in dispute with his record label, who did not agree with his decisions to alter his project, saying that the album featured some darker material representing his stage of depression and other problems he was going through at that time.

For the promotion of the album, Kravitz kicked off the Baptism tour in April of that year across North America. In 2005, Kravitz embarked on yet another tour called The Electric Church Tour: One Night Only in select cities. Kravitz also had a prominent role in the Gap campaign of 2004–2005 as he modelled for the brand and his image was used in stores across North America as a major celebrity seal. Kravitz's single "Lady" was used very heavily in the company's "How Do You Wear It?" campaign and also filmed two commercials with Gap spokesmodel Sarah Jessica Parker playing the song to and dancing with Parker.

Initial critical response to Baptism ranged from average to negative. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 43, based on 10 reviews.

Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote "His highly stylized brand of retro rock has always been a guilty pleasure, even though it's been largely hit or miss, but with Baptism, Kravitz's seventh album, it's become sad and limp, like a wet, leftover noodle or a stash gone bad. He should just do a cover album and be done with it". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "While these are fine individual moments, they wind up being a bit dispiriting since they're surrounded by lazy, exhausted retreads where it sounds as if the act of making music is a chore to Kravitz—something that he nearly admits in his lyrics. It's a shame and embarrassment, and hopefully it will be a temporary slump like Circus—unless he really does want to quit this business called show, since it would be better for him to stop making records than to crank out depressing sludge like this."

Ryan Lenz of Today added "Some have speculated that Kravitz is intent on cementing a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the fans, Baptism seems more intent on giving them something to worship." Kevin Forest Moreau of ShakingThrough.net wrote "Lenny Kravitz became a star by peddling familiar wares in a flashy package: If there was always an element of "Been there, heard that" in his rock, soul and funk classicism, Kravitz's craftsmanship and charisma were usually enough to carry the day. But those elements are critically missing from Baptism." Caroline Bansal of musicOMH added "The production is in fact what lets this album down. The mix is all wrong, with the drums far too high and the guitars way too low.

Track listing

1. "Minister of Rock 'n Roll" Lenny Kravitz/Craig Ross  3:34
2. "I Don't Want to Be a Star" Kravitz 4:25
3. "Lady" Kravitz/Ross   4:15
4. "Calling All Angels" Kravitz 5:12
5. "California" Kravitz 2:36
6. "Sistamamalover" Kravitz 4:29
7. "Where Are We Runnin'?" Kravitz/Ross   2:41
8. "Baptized" Terry Britten/Gerry DeVeaux/Kravitz   4:48
9. "Flash" Kravitz 4:12
10. "What Did I Do with My Life?" Kravitz 4:04
11. "Storm" (featuring Jay-Z) Kravitz/Shawn Carter  3:58
12. "The Other Side" Kravitz 4:50
13. "Destiny" Kravitz/Lionel Richie  4:55

Total length: 54:00

Recording information:

Lenny Kravitz – producer, mixing

Henry Hirsch – engineer, mixing

Cyrille Taillandier – assistant engineer, Pro Tools engineer

Ted Jensen – mastering

Chicago "The Heart of Chicago 1967–1997"

The Heart of Chicago 1967–1997 is the fifth greatest hits album, and twenty-third album overall, by the American band Chicago, released in 1997. It was compiled to commemorate the group's 30th anniversary of their formation.

The idea was to bridge their two eras on one CD: the James William Guercio and Columbia Records period of the 1970s, and the David Foster and Warner Bros. Records period of the 1980s. In addition, the band added two new songs, "The Only One" produced by Lenny Kravitz and "Here in My Heart" by James Newton Howard. Both of these new tracks were successful in the adult contemporary market; "Here in My Heart" topped the AC charts, and "The Only One" was a top 20 AC hit.

Though the album was certified gold following its April 1997 release, many critics and fans disapproved of the concept, due to the clashing styles of both decades, and the lack of many significant hits such as "25 or 6 to 4", "Call on Me", and "What Kind of Man Would I Be?". To balance this out, a second album, The Heart of Chicago 1967–1998 Volume II was released the following year to fill in the missing gaps that were left in the first one. Rhino Records' 2002 two-CD release The Very Best of Chicago: Only the Beginning, with chronological sequencing, is generally considered to supersede both volumes of The Heart of Chicago.

Track listing

1. "You're the Inspiration" (Peter Cetera/David Foster) – 3:49 from Chicago 17
2. "If You Leave Me Now" (Cetera) – 3:55 from Chicago X
3. "Make Me Smile" (Single version) (James Pankow) – 2:59 from Chicago II
4. "Hard Habit to Break" (Steve Kipner/Jon Parker) – 4:44 from Chicago 17
5. "Saturday in the Park" (Robert Lamm) – 3:55 from Chicago V
6. "Wishing You Were Here" (Cetera) – 4:35 from Chicago VII
7. "The Only One" (Pankow/Greg O'Connor) – 5:59 Previously unreleased
8. "Colour My World" (Pankow) – 2:59 from Chicago II
9. "Look Away" (Diane Warren) – 4:00 from Chicago 19
10. "Here in My Heart" (Glen Ballard/James Newton Howard) – 4:15 Previously unreleased
11. "Just You 'n' Me" (Pankow) – 3:42 from Chicago VI
12. "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" (Single version) (Lamm) – 3:19 from Chicago Transit Authority
13. "Will You Still Love Me?" (Foster/Tom Keane/Richard Baskin) – 5:41 from Chicago 18
14. "Beginnings" (Lamm) – 7:54 from Chicago Transit Authority
15. "Hard to Say I'm Sorry/Get Away" (Cetera/Foster/Lamm) – 5:05 from Chicago 16

The Heart of Chicago 1967-1997 (Reprise 46554) reached No. 55 in the US and peaked at No. 21 in the UK.

Lenny Kravitz "Greatest Hits (Mexico, Virgin Records, 7243 8 50316 2 5)"

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by American rock musician Lenny Kravitz, released on October 24, 2000.

The album features an unreleased track for promotion called "Again" which became a hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, following a very successful string of hits from the album 5. "Again" propelled the compilation to commercial success greater than any of his studio efforts.

Kravitz reported in an interview for VivaMusic.com that the selection of the songs were led by his record company, Virgin Records, which only chose the songs that were successful on the charts. The tracks were sequenced by Kravitz's engineer, Henry Hirsch.

The album reached number 2 on the Billboard 200 and number 12 on the UK Albums Chart.

This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.

"Again" was released as the promotional single for this compilation, along with a music video. The single reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Kravitz's highest-charting song since "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over".

Track listing

Original edition

1. "Are You Gonna Go My Way"   3:30
2. "Fly Away" 3:41
3. "Rock and Roll Is Dead"  3:22
4. "Again" 3:49
5. "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over" 3:55
6. "Can't Get You Off My Mind" 4:33
7. "Mr. Cab Driver" 3:49
8. "American Woman" 4:21
9. "Stand by My Woman" 4:16
10. "Always on the Run" 3:57
11. "Heaven Help" 3:10
12. "I Belong to You" 4:17
13. "Believe" 4:50
14. "Let Love Rule" 5:42
15. "Black Velveteen" 4:48

The Japan release has the song "Is There Any Love In Your Heart" appended as track 12. The tracks otherwise remained the same.

Aerosmith "Get A Grip"

Get a Grip is the eleventh studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on April 20, 1993 by Geffen Records. Get a Grip was the band's last studio album to be released by Geffen before they returned to Columbia Records.

Get a Grip featured guests including Don Henley, who sang backup on "Amazing", and Lenny Kravitz, who offered backup vocals and collaboration to "Line Up". As on Permanent Vacation and Pump, this album featured numerous song collaborators from outside the band including: Desmond Child, Jim Vallance, Mark Hudson, Richie Supa, Taylor Rhodes, Jack Blades, and Tommy Shaw.

Get a Grip became Aerosmith's best-selling studio album worldwide, achieving sales of over 20 million copies, and is tied with Pump for their second best-selling album in the United States, selling over 7 million copies as of 1995. (Toys in the Attic leads with eight million). This also made it their third consecutive album with US sales of at least five million. Two songs from the album won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, in 1993 and 1994. The album was voted Album of the Year by Metal Edge readers in the magazine's 1993 Readers' Choice Awards, while "Livin' on the Edge" was voted Best Video.

The album originally had 12 songs and was scheduled to be released in the third quarter of 1992, but Geffen A&R executive John Kalodner listened to what had been recorded and thought it lacked variety and a radio-friendly song. So the band went back to write more songs with collaborators such as Child.

Regarding songs that reflect on the band's history with drug abuse such as "Get a Grip" and "Amazing", Steven Tyler declared: "We were saying you can point it back to some of those old beliefs about the crossroads and signing up with the devil, that you can look at the drugs as that: It can be fun in the beginning but then it comes time to pay your debt, and if you're not sharp enough to see that it's taking you down, then it really will get you."

Many songs were written and recorded for the album that were either used as B-sides or never released. "Don't Stop" and "Head First" were released as B-sides, as well as "Can't Stop Messin'", which also appears on several special editions of the album as an addition in the track list. Other songs were listed on the official Aerosmith website in the late 1990s. "Black Cherry", "Devil's Got A New Disguise", "Dime Store Lover", "Legendary Child", "Lizard Love", "Meltdown", "Rocket 88", "Wham Bam", and "Yo Momma" were listed on the lyrics page of the website.

In 2005, Kalodner confirmed the existence of several of the songs above, as well as "Trouble", "Strange", "13", and "Keep On Movin'". "Deuces Are Wild" was possibly recorded again during these sessions. Several songs are also listed on copyright repertoires, including "Ain't Gonna Break My Heart", "Good Thang", and "Jake". These songs can be traced to the year 1991. Reworked versions of "Devil's Got A New Disguise", "Deuces Are Wild", "Lizard Love", and "Legendary Child" have since been released on various albums and soundtracks.

Mark Coleman, for his Rolling Stone magazine review of Get a Grip, said he liked the title track and he compared the album's introduction, titled "Intro", to Steven Tyler and Joe Perry's collaboration with Run–D.M.C. on "Walk This Way", but feels that most of the album lacks "adventure" and is too "somber". In his interview he compared "Livin' on the Edge" to a Bon Jovi song and feels that a problem with the album comes from the outside songwriters/collaborators. However, Robert Christgau gave the album a positive review, stating that it was their best since Rocks.

An animal rights group objected to the cover of a cow's pierced teat, but it was confirmed by the band to have been computer-generated.

Track listing

Side one

1. "Intro" Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jim Vallance 0:24
2. "Eat the Rich" Tyler, Perry, Vallance 4:11
3. "Get a Grip" Tyler, Perry, Vallance 3:59
4. "Fever" Tyler, Perry 4:15
5. "Livin' on the Edge" Tyler, Perry, Mark Hudson 6:07

Side two

1. "Flesh" Tyler, Perry, Desmond Child 5:57
2. "Walk On Down" Perry 3:39
3. "Shut Up and Dance" Tyler, Perry, Jack Blades, Tommy Shaw 4:56

Side three

1. "Cryin'" Tyler, Perry, Taylor Rhodes 5:09
2. "Gotta Love It" Tyler, Perry, Hudson 5:58
3. "Crazy" Tyler, Perry, Child 5:14

Side four

1. "Line Up" (featuring Lenny Kravitz) Tyler, Perry, Lenny Kravitz 4:03
2. "Amazing" Tyler, Richard Supa 5:57
3. "Boogie Man" (Instrumental) Tyler, Perry, Vallance 2:17

Total length: 1:02:17

Immediately after "Amazing," a snippet of "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well," by Lucky Millinder, is heard as if being tuned in on an old radio. Tyler says, "So from all of us at Aerosmith to all of you out there, wherever you are, remember: the light at the end of the tunnel may be you. Good night." The music then fades out.