Are You Gonna Go My Way (song)


"Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the first single to be released by Lenny Kravitz from the album Are You Gonna Go My Way. It was written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross. The single has been covered by numerous artists, such as Metallica, in a medley for "MTV Hits" at the 2003 MTV Music Video Awards, Tom Jones for the Jerky Boys OST, Robbie Williams on Jones' 1999 album Reload and Melanie Brown in her solo section, on the Spice Girls Reunion Tour. Serbian hard rock band Cactus Jack recorded a version on their live cover album DisCover in 2002. A remixed version is played as the opening theme song in Gran Turismo 3. Adam Lambert covered the song in November 2012 in his swing through South Africa.

Critical reception

editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the song as "roaring" in his review of Are You Gonna Go My Way. Rolf Edmund Lund from Altaposten stated that it is "really good with sharp guitars and a vocal that really shakes the material". Billboard said it is Kravitz's "hardest and fastest to date". Tony Harris from The Corsair called it a "throwaway hit single". David Browne from Entertainment Weekly wrote that it "opens with a blast of phase-shifter electric guitar that could have been lifted directly off an old Jimi Hendrix or Isley Brothers album. And the lyrics are prime Kravitz." Music & Media commented in their review, "A special warning before you fasten your headphones. Kravitz cracks your nut with his hardest rocking single to date. A delicious earache." John Kilgo from The Network Forty wrote that "shades of Hendrix-a nice grungy-driven guitar with a crunchy rhythm beat highlights this funked Rock release." Rick de Yampert from The News Journal noted the song as "feverish Hendrix". Rick Marin from The New York Times said that the music video "is a frenzied, orgiatic performance exhuming the spirit of Jimi Hendrix, complete with phase-shifter guitar and sexily slurred lyrics." Jamie Parmenter from Renowned for Sound picked the track as a "stand out" track of the album, noting it as "being an anthem of the early 90s, a rollicking fast-paced rock masterpiece that shows Lenny's eye for a chart-topping tune and mastery at a catchy riff."

Music video

The music video was directed by Mark Romanek. It consisted of Kravitz and his band playing, surrounded by people dancing. Above the band and the dancers, there was a chandelier of 983 cylindrical incandescent light bulbs which were brightened and dimmed to create patterns of light. Cindy Blackman appears on drums in the music video, although she did not perform on the studio recording that plays in the video's audio track.

Chart performance

"Are You Gonna Go My Way" was released as an airplay-only single in the US and thus was not eligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but reached number one on the Album Rock Tracks and number 2 on the Modern Rock Tracks. It also reached the top 5 in the UK, peaking at number 4. It is still Kravitz's most successful single in Australia, where it peaked at number-one for 6 weeks through April and May 1993. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" is the only Diamond certified single in Brazil, with over 500,000 downloads.

Awards

The success of the song and the music video led to Kravitz being nominated for and winning several awards:
  1. "Are You Gonna Go My Way"
  2. "It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over"
  3. "Always on the Run"
  4. "Let Love Rule"
  1. "Are You Gonna Go My Way" – 3:32
  2. "My Love" – 3:52
  3. "All My Life" – 6:16
  4. "Someone Like You" – 4:14

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales