Into the Sun (Sean Lennon album)

Into the Sun is the debut studio album by musician Sean Lennon. It was released by the Beastie Boys' label Grand Royal (distributed by Capitol Records, a division of EMI which had been the longtime home of Sean's father John Lennon) on May 8, 1998, in Japan^[2] and on May 19, 1998, in the United States.^[3]

Into the Sun
Studio album by Sean Lennon
Released	May 8, 1998 (1998-05-08)
Studio	Sear Sound, New York City Magic Shop, New York City
Genre	Alternative rock experimental rock
Length	48:50
Label	Grand Royal
Producer	Yuka Honda
Sean Lennon chronology
Into the Sun (1998) Half Horse, Half Musician (1999)
Singles from Into the Sun
"Home" Released: April 13, 1998[1]

Background

Into the Sun was recorded during Lennon's time performing with Timo Ellis alongside Yuka Honda, who was Lennon's girlfriend at the time and also produced and performed on the album. Lennon has said it was "inspired by my girlfriend". Into the Sun was recorded at Sear Sound in New York, with the exception of the track "Queue", which was recorded at another New York studio, The Magic Shop.^[4] The album was engineered and mixed by Tom Schick at Sear Sound and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios.^[4]

A voice on the final track, "Sean's Theme", which softly speaks "Goodnight, Sean", is sometimes mistakenly attributed to father John Lennon; however, it is, in fact, that of Walter Sear, an owner of Sear Sound. Sean has said it is in tribute to his father, whose tribute to Sean, "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)" closes with "Goodnight, Sean. See you in the morning, bright and early."

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B[6]
The Guardian	[7]
Los Angeles Times	[8]
NME	1/10[9]
Pitchfork	7.5/10[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Spin	7/10[12]
The Times	7/10[13]
USA Today	[14]

The Chicago Tribune wrote that "Lennon displays a fine grasp of pop conventions and delivers shimmering examples with the bossa nova-flavored title track and the breezy summer companion 'Two Fine Lovers'."^[15]

Track listing

All songs written by Sean Lennon, except where noted.

1. "Mystery Juice" – 5:26
2. "Into the Sun" – 3:22
3. "Home" – 3:05
4. "Bathtub" (Lennon, Yuka Honda) – 4:00
5. "One Night" – 2:06
6. "Spaceship" (Lennon, Timo Ellis) – 4:17
7. "Photosynthesis" – 6:46
8. "Queue" (Lennon, Honda) – 3:45
9. "Two Fine Lovers" – 3:17
10. "Part One of the Cowboy Trilogy" – 1:48
11. "Wasted" – 1:31
12. "Breeze" – 3:57
13. "Sean's Theme" – 5:52
14. "Intermission" (Japanese bonus track) – 5:36
15. "5/8" (Japanese bonus track) – 4:48

Personnel

Credits for Into the Sun adapted from liner notes.^[4]

• Sean Lennon – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboards, Omnichord, harmonica, percussion, Mellotron, artwork
• Miho Hatori – vocals, percussion on "Into the Sun"
• Timo Ellis – drums on "Mystery Juice", "Home" and "Spaceship", electric guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals on "Spaceship"
• John Medeski – Hammond C3 organ on "Queue"
• Dave Douglas – trumpet on "Photosynthesis" and "Sean's Theme", horn arrangement on "Sean's Theme"
• Josh Roseman – trombone on "Photosynthesis"
• Greg Ribot – flute on "Photosynthesis"
• EJ Rodriguez – percussion on "Photosynthesis"
• Brad Jones – upright bass on "Photosynthesis"
• Kenny Wollesen – drums, shaker on "Photosynthesis", marimba, timpani on "Queue"
• Little Eric Wood – Intergalactic-Tape-Machine on "Spaceship"
• Chaki – cymbal on "Bathtub", engineering (assistant)
• Walter Sear – vocals on "Sean's Theme"
• Fred Kevorkian – digital editing
• Tom Schick – engineering
• John Reigart – engineering (assistant)
• Bob Ludwig – mastering

Charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[16]	50
UK Albums (OCC)[17]	90
US Billboard 200[18]	153
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[19]	4