Buy New

Includes FREE MP3
version
of this album.
or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Good See details
$5.17 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Sold by swordkillers.

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
Sell Us Your Item
For up to a $0.40 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
cdgiveaways Add to Cart
$9.00  & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Only by the Night

Kings of LeonAudio CD
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (252 customer reviews)

Price: $6.99 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
 : Includes FREE MP3 version of this album.
   Provided by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. Terms and Conditions. Does not apply to gift orders.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it Friday, May 24? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Complete your purchase to save the MP3 version to Cloud Player.

Amazon's Kings of Leon Store

Music

Image of album by Kings of Leon

Photos

Image of Kings of Leon

Biography

The first thing that strikes you about Kings of Leon’s fifth album, Come Around Sundown, is the sheer musical diversity of its songs, which touch on everything from gospel (spiritual, up-tempo rocker “Radioactive”), angular post-punk (“The Immortals,” “Pony Up”), bonafide country (“Back Down South”), and even ’50s-style doo-wop ... Read more in Amazon's Kings of Leon Store

Visit Amazon's Kings of Leon Store
for 26 albums, 9 photos, discussions, and more.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy a CD or a vinyl record, get a $1 Amazon MP3 Credit. Limit one promotional credit per customer. Here's how (restrictions apply)
  • Includes FREE MP3 version of this album Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Only by the Night + Come Around Sundown + Because of the Times
Price for all three: $25.90

Buy the selected items together


Product Details

  • Audio CD (September 23, 2008)
  • Original Release Date: 2008
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Rca
  • ASIN: B001C3KCSY
  • In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (252 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #778 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. Closer
2. Crawl
3. Sex On Fire
4. Use Somebody
5. Manhattan
6. Revelry
7. 17
8. Notion
9. I Want You
10. Be Somebody
11. Cold Desert

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Despite a wave of criticism asserting that Kings of Leon's fourth full-length is "too commercial," Only by the Night may be the closest thing to a pitch-perfect album to drop in 2008. Granted, Tennessee's band of brothers (and one first cousin) takes a turn for the heavily polished here, but what the album lacks in rough-edged raunch, it more than makes up for in earnestness and--yes--stunning beauty. From the opening notes of "Closer" to the listing balladry of "Cold Desert," Only by the Night hardly misses a beat. Highlights abound, particularly in the trading off of melodic lines between instruments, and in this regard, bassist Jared Followill is the album's quiet MVP. Above these gorgeous instrumentals, singer Caleb emotes with a dramatic grit that never loses its command. A model of melodic rock composition, arranged and produced with a warm, inviting veneer, and performed with aching sincerity, these 11 tracks coalesce into a sanguine whole that eclipses the band's much-discussed rock posturing and yields more with every play. A good band's great album, Only by the Night (finally) establishes Kings of Leon as a rock act that's worthy of seriously sustained attention. --Jason Kirk

Product Description

Kings of Leon return with the release of their highly anticipated fourth album 'Only By The Night' on 22nd September through Columbia Records. 'Only By The Night' is a bold and expansive sonic statement that looks set to solidify Kings of Leon's position as one of the most important international acts of 2008 and beyond. It follows rapidly in the footsteps of the bands previous albums 'Youth And Young Manhood', 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' & 'Because Of The Times', which have quickly established them as one of the most prolific and acclaimed acts around.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
108 of 119 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Getting Closer October 8, 2008
Format:Audio CD
In several recent reviews, I've read Only By the Night decried as being "too commercial" or "too polished" and "straying too far from the Kings' signature sound". After a few listens, I've got to disagree with all of the above. As for the popular commercial appeal of this record, there is perhaps only one rock radio friendly single on this album and it's already peaked. "Sex on Fire" has been the Kings' most successful single to date. It has also been their most controversial, as far as their "old" fans are concerned.

"Sex of Fire" may not be the most sophisticated song, lyrically or musically, but neither were the Stones' "Satisfaction" or Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire". It's just a darn good, darn catchy straight up rock 'n' roll song. Furthermore, it's no more commercial than their last album's first single, "On Call"- arguably more of a departure from the Kings' established, musically raw style. Why folks get upset when a nominal indie band has a successful single that gets significant airplay on corporate rock radio is something that I can't quite understand. This is not arena rock, in a pejorative sense, at least. The Kings have not become the American Coldplay.

Yes, Only By the Night is slightly more polished and perhaps more melodic, in a conventional sense, than the King's earlier albums, but it still features the King's musical trademarks: alternating rambling and cyclical song structures, non-virtuoso guitar solos (not necessarily a bad thing), and a truly unique and unaffected vocal style. The album isn't more commercial, it's more accessible. Yes, they've attempted to add a few sonic layers to several of the songs, Closer first and foremost among them. For the most part, this experiment has paid off. Closer, in particular, achieves a "spooky" atmospheric quality unprecedented in the Kings' back catalogue.

I've read Crawl described as "Zepplinesque" but it sounds nothing like a Page/Plant creation. Instead, it calls to mind the Secret Machines' debut's throbbing synth/base loops. It is a propulsive song, chugging along like a runaway freight train rolling down the tracks at a leisurely 30mph- it doesn't move too fast, but you still can't stop it.

"Use Somebody" is perhaps the most poppy tune on the album. Once again, this is not necessarily a bad thing. "Revelry" is perhaps the most melodic song on the album, if not the band's entire catalog. "Manhattan" too, is quite tuneful, if a bit more uptempo. "17" is probably the least sophisticated song on the record, lyrically at least, but it isn't unbearably so. Like most of the songs on this record, there is something strangely catchy about it. That, however, does not mean that the record is poppy. Its not.

My least favorite song on Only By The Night is "Be Somebody" which tends to ramble in a bad way. It is a Frankenstein's monster of several disparate hooks, the sum being less than its parts. However, this song is the only one of the album's 11 tracks that I'm ever tempted to skip. The last song on the album is the bleak but pretty "Cold Desert", a strong down-tempo finisher.

Adding a few keyboards and studio effects to the holy rock trinity of guitar, drums, and base is not a cardinal sin but the Kings are taking a licking from many critics and hipsterm fans for attempting to, rather modestly, broaden their sound. These attacks are unfair. I'm not comparing Only By the Night to either of these two albums but I wonder if the critics and fans complained that Sgt. Peppers or Pet Sounds were over produced or strayed too far from their respective creators' earlier works. More recently, even the rock minimalist Jack White has been experimenting with different arrangements, instruments, and overdubs on the last two White Stripes albums and, for the most part, received nothing but critical praise for it (if perhaps less commercial success than his previous releases).

Only By the Night is an attempt at musical growth. Maybe commercial success in America was a major motivator, but so what? The end result certainly justifies the means. And you've got to give these guys credit. Five strong albums in almost as many years is a rare achievement in this musical day and age. The fact that all of the Kings are under 30 years of old promises great things. Expect their next to be a musical masterpiece. In the meantime, enjoy Only By The Night for what it is- a pretty darn good album.
Was this review helpful to you?
45 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
It's only been a good year ago that Kings of Leon released their monster-sized album "Because of the Times", which ended up in my personal top 3 of the best albums of 2007. After releasing "Because of the Times", the band toured non-stop around the Americas and Europe, and so I was quite surprised to read a few months ago that a new album was already being finished for a Fall release. Here then comes the 4th studio album of Kings of Leon.

"Only By the Night" (11 tracks; 43 min.) continues the trail-blazing ways of "Because of the Times", if possible even more so. The radio singles "Crawl" and "Sex on Fire" are quite good but also a bit misleading, in the sense that there are a lot of epic "atmospheric" songs, with plenty of walls of (guitar) sounds. This band has become now more than ever an arena-sized band. The highlights for me include "Manhattan" (one of the tracks they played at their headlining show at Glastonbury earlier this summer in the UK), "17" (the days of the Beatles' innocent lines like "Well she was young and 17/Yeah you know what I mean" are long gone....), and the album closer "Cold Desert", but honestly I didn't hear any 'weak' tracks on here. The CD I bought came with a bonus live CD (7 tracks, 25 min.) from a performance of the band in April, 2007 at the Hammersmith Appolo in London, bringing 4 tracks from the then-new "Because of the Times" album, including a terrific "Fans" (a salute to the band's huge UK fan base), "My Party", and "Arizona", along with a couple of "Aha Shake Heartbreak" album tracks, just terrific. Seek it out if you can.

In all, "Only By the Night" is a great album. Is it as good as "Because of the Times"? Only time will tell: if I find myself playing this CD as much a year from now as I am still playing "Because of the Times", I will know the answer. Meanwhile, King of Leon's musical growth in just a matter of 4-5 years is simply amazing. "Youth and Young Manhood" and "Aha Shake Heartbreak" almost sound like they were made by a different band (don't ever call them the "Southern Strokes" again!). Last but not least, KoL are HUGE in Europe, particularly in the UK. I don't know whether they'll ever break as big here in the US, but certainly this album is better than 99% of the stuff released these days.
Was this review helpful to you?
48 of 54 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent September 23, 2008
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Many bands that stick around for more than 1 or 2 albums seem (IMHO) to follow a trend with two identifiable characteristics: (1) change, and (2) increasing commercial appeal. I think the complaints that "these guys aren't the Kings of Leon they used to be" are tedious and based on a ridiculous expectation. It's going to happen (if the band is any good and not Pearl Jam), so get over it. I don't really care whether 10 or 1,000,000 other people want to listen to the album, or even whether a band was explicit in attempting to target a larger audience. The proper questions, it seems to me, are: Is is it good? Do I like listening to it? Is it going to stay in my car stereo for more than a few days? My answers to the first two are: Yes! and Yes! I can't answer the third yet, but if their last album is any indication... probably so.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Only by the Night
Oh God... I'm so sorry I doubted you Kings of Leon. This album is one of the most soulful ones I've heard in a while. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Joanne
4.0 out of 5 stars Good CD
Bought this CD because I really liked one of the songs. Good CD to listen to when traveling out and about in the car.
Published 1 month ago by Marie
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific album from Kings of Leon
Only by the night was the fourth album from the kings.this album happens to be their finest.This classic album which sold over 6 million CDs. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Rohit R
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Kings of Leon
Some of my favorite Kings of Leon songs are on this album. Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, Manhattan, Be Somebody. Love it!
Published 1 month ago by Jessica
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Music
Love their sound and I dont think I have heard a bad song yet. Will be purchasing their other albums soon!
Published 1 month ago by Vincent Baker II
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Album
I'd down loaded a couple of their songs a year ago and decided to get the entire album. Some of the songs I'd say are just okay, but overall it's good music to drive long... Read more
Published 1 month ago by GGS
5.0 out of 5 stars Kings of Leon
How could you go wrong with this group, well maybe you can, but this album does have some great hits.
Published 2 months ago by Anastacio Guerrero
5.0 out of 5 stars I love this album!
I love this album from start to finish!!! This was my first kings of leon cd and so worth it. Amazon cloud made it convenient to make the purchase as usual.
Published 2 months ago by Tiera Hunter
5.0 out of 5 stars love
Songs from Fifty Shades of Grey. Wonderful CD with lots of great songs, listen to it every day now! Thanks!
Published 2 months ago by Pen Name
5.0 out of 5 stars The best Kings of Leon Album
This is the best Kings of Leon album - period. We own them all and have seen them in concert. The hipsters will point to their more raw earlier work which they liked before they... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Brian
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Forums

Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions

Topic From this Discussion
only by the night
Honestly, it's not their best album. It's their most popular, so you may end up loving it. but personally I would start with Aha Shake Heartbreak.
Jun 15, 2010 by Benjamin Malone |  See all 2 posts
2-CD Deluxe Edition of Only By The Night sold at Target
I can't find it anywhere by me. Three Target's checked. When did these get so popular, or did they just send out a couple of copies to each store.
Sep 25, 2008 by J. Votteler |  See all 3 posts
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 




So You'd Like to...


Create a guide

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?



Look for Similar Items by Category


Want to discover more products? You may find many from kings of leon shopping list.