Lenny Kravitz "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over"

Album: Mama Said (Virgin; 1991)
Songwriters: Lenny Kravitz
R&B Peak Position: #10

"So many tears I've cried/ So much pain inside/ But baby it ain't over 'til it's over..."

Bashed for being overly fixated on his cherished '60's-hippie influences (when he wasn't being made a tabloid joke as the lesser-known half in his pairing with TV starlet Lisa Bonet), it wasn't easy being Lenny Kravitz in the early days of his career. Things began to slowly turn around for the better with the release of his sophomore album, 1991's Mama Said, if only because his borrowing from the past became a bit more polished and harder to resist.

Recorded while in a state of depression (he and Bonet had split), Mama birthed Lenny's first crossover smash with the '70's-soul drenched ballad "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over". The elegiac number traded in his Hendrix/ Lennon obsessions for a well-studied execution of the Philly soul sound, it's rich, expansive production bursting at the seams with a mix of soaring strings, lilting guitar, mournful organs, Earth, Wind & Fire horns and even some sitar accents that emerge half-way through.

Against the breathtaking instrumental, Kravitz ponders the constant up-and-down trajectory of his marriage, holding out hope that this latest strain ends up a temporary blemish like the previous ones. Not willing to give up, he tries to keep a positive mind and stay convinced in their relationship's perseverance ("How many times did we give up?/ But we always worked things out"), but the soundtrack's dimmed sparkle hints that's he's subconsciously-aware that his aspiring reconciliation wishes won't be reaching fruition this time around.

Two years later, Bonet and Kravitz' divorced.

Best Moment: It's heaven-scaling final minute. (3:15)

Lenny Kravitz it ain't over
Uploaded by nicobus

DL: "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over" (YFH)