Friendly Fire (CD+DVD)

Sean Lennon

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 3, 2006)
• Original Release Date: October 3, 2006
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000HIP4I8
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,968 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Nowadays, no one anywhere is expecting the Beatles progeny to produce material approaching the greatness of their pops. This means they can finally relax and just make some music, which would seem to suit the younger Lennon boy just fine. Fire is a piano- and guitar-driven collection of likeable, melancholic, Elliott Smith-y, Rufus Wainwright-ish pop music. The brief, sing-songy, Clapton-by-numbers guitar solos are a bit of a puzzler, but it's not like they're bad by any means. The guest appearances are a strange lot. His mother's here, longtime collaborator Yuka Honda as well, and Beastie Boy DJ Money Mark, too (which makes sense as Sean used to be on Grand Royal and the whole album has a mid '90s vibe to it). All these sleazy Hollywood types creep in here, too: Vincent Gallo, Lindsay Lohan, "superstar" DJ Steve Aoki. Thankfully, it sounds a lot better than any MisShapes party. Lennon sings "Let's hide the diamonds and cocaine for another day/But don't forget to pray," so maybe the dude isn't the best lyricist around. But Friendly Fire is really very good throughout. It's easily the finest music made by a Lennon since, well, you know. --Mike McGonigal

Product Description

MUSIC + FILM - CD/DVD ... Sean Lennon has produced a short film for each of the album's tracks, directed by Michele Civetta. The fantastical shorts, which together comprise a conceptual film about betrayal and the failure of love, feature appearances from Lennon and friends including Lindsay Lohan, Bijou Phillips, Asia Argento, Carrie Fisher, Devon Aoki, Jordana Brewster and others.

Contributing musicians on the CD include Jon Brion, Cibo Matta's Yuka Honda and Bijou Phillips.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Your Own Way, October 11, 2006

By	Gerry O'neill (Morrisville, NC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Being the progeny of a famous, if not the most famous, rock star and an avant garde artist must be a double edged sword. It certainly opens doors which would be otherwise closed but at the same time it leads to comparisons with the parents and expectations which cannot possibly be met.

Friendly Fire has drawn praise and criticism from many quarters but it is almost as if everyone wants and expects a John Lennon album rather than a Sean Lennon original. His half-brother Julian gained a lot of praise from his first album, but to my mind the praise was pedicated on the similarity of the sounds, words and music to that of his father.

I was drawn to this, the second album, by a preview on the artist's myspace page of Dead Meat. What struck me about that particular song were the simple yet powerful lyrics describing betrayal and at once and the same time sorrowful that the betrayer was his best friend. The other aspect of the song that immediately caught my ear...the WOW factor, was a particular phrase of the string accompaniment which I feel is superb.

The album itself is primarily ballad material, unsurprising given the background to it. I find that the singer's phrasing is articulate and clever whilst the lyrics in general are not as simple as they sound. Friendly fire is a powerful title to describe an affair of the heart but the image it brings up is very telling of devastation.

It seems to me that Sean has an ear for melody which matches his lyricism and this is evident throughout. What results is an album which is a pleasure to listen to and to think about. It is emotive and Sean seems to be a nice guy who gets hurt but bounces back and does not hold grudges. In his own way he seems to want to strike out against being his father's son but he also seems to realise that he cannot quite escape that legacy yet.

I enjoyed the album. I like Sean's work and I wish him success in his quest to become the professional musician he aspires to be. I think he should be judged purely on his own merits but alas I fear that whatever he does he is going to be compared to one of the two larger than life figures in his upbringing regardless of whether or not that is justified.

Keep up the good work.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprised, April 26, 2007

By	MusicFan27 (Central PA) - See all my reviews

I am actually very surprised to see negative reviews by so many people. I admit that I was a little skeptical about this album being that it is from Sean Lennon. I didn't know whether it would sound like John Lennon or something completely strange. When I first heard it, I was kinda neutral on it. As I continued to listen to it, I found that it was a great album. I really enjoy his use of minor chords. I saw that on an album review for "Into the Sun", someone said that his voice is out of tune. I do not own, "Into the Sun" so I cannot speak for that album, but I do play three instruments and I do know what out of tune sounds like, and he certainly is not on "Friendly Fire". Yeah, there is not much fluctuation on the tracks. They do tend to have a similar sound, but I still find the album enjoyable and something to just chill to. He is definitely an artist that is a "required taste". (Just like Bob Dylan-who is someone that I do not enjoy.) Personally, I really enjoy the album from the songs to his mellow voice. I guess to each his own.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lightweight But Pretty, October 4, 2006

By	Scrappy McGowan (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews

While I agree with the assertion that the AMG review of Friendly Fire was a bit heavy-handed and unfair with its description of Lennon's career as a "rich kid's holiday", I can't disagree with reviewer Erlewine's assertion that the album is just a bit lightweight.

This is not a bad album, it's just not anything exceptional or different. The album takes no chances sonically, harmonically, melodically or lyrically- it's merely pretty. Pretty in this case is not bad, it's just not exciting.

Lennon's voice is thin, which in and of itself isn't a bad thing, but unlike Lennon's friend Rufus Wainwright who can take his similarly thin voice and make it soar with beautiful melodies and symphonic arrangements, Lennon's voice and songs tend to just sit there. To my ear it just lacks adventurousness.

The album reminds me a bit of James Iha's solo effort, "Let It Come Down", which was a nice and gentle album, but one that felt just this side of being fluffy. Nothing wrong with being fluffy, but when I'm in the mood for pretty music I'd rather listen to The Innocence Mission.