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Sean Lennon

Friendly Fire  Hear it Now

RS: 4of 5 Stars Average User Rating: 4of 5 Stars

2006

Play View Sean Lennon's page on Rhapsody

Into the Sun, Sean Lennon's 1998 debut, was the casually jazzy album of a young New York celebrity with the talents and the means to explore any sort of music that piqued his wide-ranging twenty-two-year-old curiosities. Then he split with his longtime girlfriend after she cheated on him with his best friend; a year and a half later, Lennon's best friend died in a motorcycle accident, without Lennon reconciling with him. These events have yielded an album of angry, guilty, sad - and often stunningly pretty - songs. Relying on a four-piece rock band instead of parts he overdubbed himself, Lennon maintains an ornamented, deliberate style as persuasively as his debut album jumped around. Songs like "Dead Meat" are strong meshes of smooth lyrics and melody that are based in the great tradition of Beatlesque pop tunes. Even more pronounced than the influence of Lennon's dad's band is the shadow of Fiona Apple: Like her music, Lennon's songs, with their rocked-up theater and easy cerebral nature, make complex emotions sing.



James Hunter

(Posted: Sep 26, 2006)

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Review 1 of 13

scottudell writes:

4of 5 Stars


This album is, in my opinion, one of the best albums that has been released in the last 7 years. The band is extremely well put together, the songs are very well together, and it just creates the mood to just sit and listen to the entire album. The DVD that comes with it makes it that much better.

Aug 27, 2007 16:11:38

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Review 2 of 13

artgrrl writes:

4of 5 Stars


Great, mellow CD. His vvoice is beautiful and his songs have
great texture. I think they're what you could call "deceptively
simple." Yes, he sounds like John, and the beginning of "Wait for
Me' sounds oddly like The Beatles' "I'm Only Sleeping" (or am I
the only one that thinks son?), but there is plenty of originality
here, too.

May 11, 2007 16:20:20

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Review 3 of 13

DJRnold writes:

3of 5 Stars


His Voice is a cross between his father's voice and his
mother's voice. I hope nobody finds that insulting!

Mar 10, 2007 09:30:24

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Review 4 of 13

staffino writes:

4of 5 Stars


A stunning album!

Ten seconds into the first cut it hit me like a ton of bricks. Instant classic! Yeah, he sounds a little like (okay, a lot) John, but that's to be expected.

Wonderful album. Highly recommended.

Feb 19, 2007 17:20:02

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Review 5 of 13

Threedeehoo writes:

4of 5 Stars


I love it. The music, the videos, even the design of the package.

The songs are better than the ones on the 1998's Into the Sun. Not necessarily because of the songwriting, but because of things like the vocals, that have improved very much, and the lyrics aswell.
Friendly Fire is very beautiful, an artwork, and I find myself wanting to listen to it all the time. Every song is lyrically and melodically strong.

It's too bad it hasn't got more public attention.

Jan 9, 2007 12:00:08

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Review 6 of 13

sonicers writes:

5of 5 Stars


good,relaxing, nice, thinker, pop mixed with jazzand rock. Could be compared to Lennon(Beatles) sound. Sound closly to Elliott Smith, too.
Enjoy it.

Oct 28, 2006 13:21:16

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Review 7 of 13

mbuttich77 writes:

4of 5 Stars


Well I'm sure many of you were just as disappointed with Sean's 1998 release "Into the Sun" as I was. Just because a Beastie produces the album doesn't always equal greatness. I'm not even sure as to why I purchased this CD yesterday but I'm so happy I did. Friendly Fire is a complete 180 from Into The Sun. The songs are lyrically superior and I love his string arrangements. The accompanying DVD is a little disturbing considering in two videos he is shown dead (considering his dad's tragic fate) and in the movie theatre scene his characters name is "Julian" an odd pick considering its his half brothers name. But you can obviously tell both his parents were into Avante Garde film making. Great DVD and even Greater Album.

Oct 25, 2006 12:57:04

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Review 8 of 13

AcidStar5150 writes:

5of 5 Stars


I am sorry to those who feel this album is not that great. I'm 20 years old, I love the Beatles, they were very significant in my life. As far as this Friendly Fire album, Sean Lennon has given our generation what John gave to the hippie generation. I can relate to his words, and the music. I am glad he put his words together for us to listen to and enjoy. The sounds are reminiscent to the Beatles at times, but he brought it back for the newcomers who will soon discover the Beatles.

Oct 20, 2006 21:44:14

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