Breezy, summery, and carefree: the latest new music video for “Ride” by Lenny Kravitz is exactly what the world needs right now. Sharing a chord progression and key with his groovy 90s hit “It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over,” “Ride” hearkens back to simpler times and offers some welcome respite from chaotic current events. Kravitz and his love interest frolic through Parisian museums, cafes, and fields of yellow daisies as he croons in the background, allowing us to vicariously live through the kind of summer road trip or vacation we may have recently canceled.
In addition to Kravitz’s earlier work, “Ride” is reminiscent of 1970s records such as Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. Although more understated, it retains their funky synths and strong basslines and makes the ideal soundtrack for floating in the pool on a lazy summer Saturday. Despite Lenny Kravitz singing “Through the storm, my love, we will ride,” it sounds like the storm has already passed and now there’s only peace.
Much like “It Ain’t Over ‘til It’s Over,” the lyrics of “Ride” deal with standing by a lover’s side through thick and thin, this time nearly 30 years later. “Ride” first appeared as the penultimate track on Kravitz’s 2018 album Raise Vibration. He told Rolling Stone, “We shot this video months ago in France before we could have imagined what life would be like today. After listening to the song […], we had a vision of expressing the song through portraying the characters of the writer and the spirit.” One might wonder why now after the nearly two-year wait for “Ride”’s music video, but there couldn’t be a better time to escape into a utopian summer where peace, love, and travel all prevail.
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