Search - Sean Lennon :: Friendly Fire

Son of Two Legends

Steven Haarala | Mandeville, LA USA | 11/21/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"He could have spent his life in secluded, idle luxury in The Dakota, high over Central Park. Instead, Sean Lennon chose to develop the musical gifts that he inherited from his two prodigious parents. The fact that he sings these songs, produced the album, wrote the bulk of the material and plays various instruments shows that his determination paid off. And the fact that his parents were trailblazers would not, and should not, indicate that he has to be one as well.



When I began to listen to this album, my first impression was to agree with many other reviewers, who called it "light", as in, I guess, Adult Contemporary. Pretty, melodic, breezy - all these adjectives fit, but the "light" tag bothered me. I was hearing something more, but for a while, just what it was eluded me. Then I read that Sean was educated at an exclusive private boarding school in Switzerland. THEN, I saw a clip on his myspace site where he is conversing in French with a French collaborator, known simply as -M- . And it came to me: his music has a "European" flavor. It's hard to pinpoint, but, for example, "Dead Meat" begins with a piano intro that made me think "old world waltz"; and indeed, the entire track does have a waltzy feel. In "Wait For Me", he sings, "I'll be waiting for you, my dear", which, again, sounds old-worldish. Even more difficult to substantiate is my perception that many of the melodies sound European rather than American, and that "Tomorrow" has an old world instrumental background. And the album in general is on the melancholy side, in contrast to the brighter, more dynamic approach of most American music. All of this gives the album an air of sophistication that lifts it above most American Adult Contemporary, which aims to please the masses. I imagine that it comes naturally to Sean, and it is the unique expression of a young man who grew up in very unique circumstances.



Two more words are essential here: eclectic, and Beatlesque (redundant, perhaps?). At the end of "Wait For Me", we hear psychedelic guitar in an otherwise gentle arrangement. "Spectacle" features Harrison-like guitar, also heard frequently in the music of Sheryl Crow. "Parachute" uses interesting chord changes and an organ. Most of the tracks have these uncommon chord changes, as well as changes in key from major to minor; the latter is very prominent in "On Again Off Again", which reminds me of the music in "I Love Your Work", a film which features a European movie-within-a-movie. "Headlights" is the most upbeat track, with the hand-clapping you've heard in many Top 40 songs through the years. "Would I Be The One" has slick, tricky harmonies, with strings like chamber music in the middle, then a long, possibly overdone ending which redeems itself in an acoustic guitar fade-out. In the final track, "Falling Out Of Love", I believe I'm hearing a little touch of Pink Floyd, maybe?



Sean is not a strong vocalist, but when you are dealing with the singer/songwriter genre, the vocal is only one component, especially when the artist is also the producer. You have to consider the total package, and its effect. A good example is Carole King, who, even with her "thin" voice, sold millions of records and ranks as one of the world's most influential and prolific songwriters.



The DVD consists of a video for each song. They are interesting in an offbeat way, as you would expect from the son of John and Yoko, but I don't think the top actors and directors in Hollywood have anything to worry about.

"

Simply enjoyable.

greenearth_octobersky | Cummington, MA United States | 12/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"We're so used to either heavy-handed rock or flashy-overdone pop that when something even-handed and quietly inventive comes along, it takes a while for our ears to adjust. If you're not convinced by the short previews available here on Amazon, do yourself a favor and go over to YouTube to the "seanlennonofficial" channel and watch (or listen to) the videos.



This is really good stuff.

And don't read the bio here - it puts way too much emphasis on who his parents are. This guy is his own man, doing his own music. It's much more like some of the best of his contemporaries - say Elliot Smith, Kings of Convenience, even a bit of Stereolab-ish or non-manic Cornelius than anything from his dad's generation.



He definitely stands on his own as one of the more intelligent, rich, creative contributions to music in recent years."