Each week, SPIN digs into the catalogs of great artists and highlights songs you might not know for our Deep Cut Friday series.
Ben Stiller’s directorial debut Reality Bites spun off one of the biggest soundtrack albums of 1994, arguably overshadowing the Gen X rom com’s modest box office profits. The compilation sold more than a million copies, launching Top Ten hits by Lisa Loeb and Big Mountain, alternative radio singles by Crowded House and the Juliana Hatfield Three, and the pop culture resurgence of classics by the Knack and Squeeze. The Reality Bites soundtrack even had some great deep cuts by Dinosaur Jr. and World Party, and perhaps the greatest Lenny Kravitz song that never appeared on one of his albums, “Spinning Around Over You.”
Lenny Kravitz often records as a one-man band, writing and producing and playing every instrument. But two particular longtime collaborators, Henry Hirsch and Craig Ross, have played important roles in Kravitz’s catalog. And his creative chemistry with both is on display on “Spinning Around Over You.”
Kravitz began recording demos at Hirsch’s New Jersey studio in 1985, and together they forged Kravitz’s signature ’60s-influenced sound. Hirsch has engineered and mixed the majority of Kravitz albums, and sometimes played bass or keyboards or contributed to songwriting. Kravitz’s drums are always crisp and punchy, and in a 2006 Tape Op interview, Hirsch revealed that he uses only one overhead microphone to get that distinctive sound. “Most of my drum sounds are not standard. Very rarely were they in stereo,” Hirsch said. “I very rarely used the two overhead mics set up because it sounds weak to me.”
Ross joined Kravitz’s touring band in 1991, and has played guitar on all of his albums since 1993’s Are You Gonna Go My Way. Ross co-wrote that album’s hit title track and lead single, as well as “Spinning Around Over You.” None of the later singles from Are You Gonna Go My Way were significant hits. But “Spinning Around Over You,” which appeared on the B side of the “Heaven Help” single, probably deserved a chance to be promoted to radio with its strutting glam rock sound and catchy descending chorus melody. “Spinning Around Over You” was included on a 2013 deluxe reissue of Are You Gonna Go My Way for the album’s 20th anniversary, but Kravitz has never performed the song live.
Three more essential Lenny Kravitz deep cuts:
“Freedom Train”
The title track of Kravitz’s 1989 debut Let Love Rule flows right into the next track, “Freedom Train,” which vamps on the same tempo. But it’s less an extended outro than a monster groove in its own right, showcasing saxophonist Karl Denson (later of the Greyboy Allstars and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe).
“All I Ever Wanted”
The influence of John Lennon’s solo work looms large over Kravitz’s catalog. In 1990, Kravitz was invited to perform at a celebration of Lennon’s 50th birthday in Liverpool, and it was there that he befriended the late Beatle’s 15-year-old son. Soon after, Sean Ono Lennon co-wrote and played piano on “All I Ever Wanted” from Kravitz’s 1991 album Mama Said.
“Beyond the 7th Sky”
1995’s Circus is one of Kravitz’s heaviest albums, both musically and thematically. And the album’s hard rock riffs and spiritual lyrics converge beautifully on the standout “Beyond the 7th Sky.”
