Sean LennonFriendly FireGrade: B+
When it comes to second-generation musicians, sometimes, we, the public, find ourselves sadly disappointed to discover the apple has indeed fallen far from the tree. As such a second-generation singer-songwriter, Sean Lennon gets an overabundance of stress and pressure, the source of which is the shadow of his famous father, John.
Luckily, Sean, as a musician and artist, allows the listener to conclude that he lies pretty close to the roots of his dad. The album, Friendly Fire, offers a number of sincere and beautiful pop gems, some of which owe more than just a little inspiration to John’s background. For instance, “Wait for Me” sounds as Beatles-esque as it gets right down to the guitar solo imitative of the vocal melody.
Lyrically, Lennon contents himself with love and hate, life and death. On “Parachute,” he compares love to an airplane from which “you jump and then you pray.” In the same verse, he invokes Shakespeare in claiming that life is a stage, which is not exactly the most original metaphor. But it’s hard to stay mad at Sean when he reaches the chorus.
“If I have to die, I’d rather be with you.”
Only then do we realize that the song characterizes the complications of life and love, both of which are essentially leaps of faith. In the end though, all you need is love, or at least someone to hold.
On the waltz-like “Dead Meat,” Lennon documents in rather playful language the politics of a bitter betrayal.
“You just messed with the wrong team. Better not try and fall asleep now.”
The swaying sensation the song simulates is enough to soothe the listener yet is still lively enough that the listener doesn’t fall asleep. After all, “Dead Meat” kicks off the album, so there’s plenty to come.
Something quintessentially lullaby-like permeates Friendly Fire. This is especially evident on the sugar “Tomorrow.” It’s one of those last chance, last dance serenades that conjures up images of high school romance in a more innocent era.
“Today, can we pretend it’s not too late?”
The song is filled with promises to stop thinking about the one that got away, but that line is the perfect “Let’s give it one more try” moment.
The listener gets transported into the 1960’s with a simple trippy number, “Headlights,” worthy of bands like The Byrds, The Beatles, or even the Grateful Dead.
“Let’s hide all the diamonds and cocaine for a rainy day, and never forget to pray. Before you go to bed tonight, you must turn off all your headlights.”
It’s this kind of flashbacking that gives Friendly Fire a timeless quality: a musical history lesson for the Information Age. The music is great enough to appeal to different types of audiences.
And just to prove that Lennon is a consummate artist, he illustrated his own CD booklet, as well as starred in and executive-produced the accompanying cinematic features included with the CD.