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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: 1998

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 and on May 19, 1998, in the United States.

Background

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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. The album was engineered and mixed by Tom Schick at Sear Sound and mastered by Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios.

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
Entertainment Weekly	B
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
NME	1/10
Pitchfork	7.5/10
Rolling Stone
Spin	7/10
The Times	7/10
USA Today

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'."

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.

• 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

References

1. "イントゥ・ザ・サン | ショーン・レノン" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
2. Bessman, Jim (April 18, 1998). "'Sun' Illuminates Lennon's Influences". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 16. pp. 11–12. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
3. ^ Into the Sun (liner notes). Sean Lennon. Grand Royal. 1998. 7243 4 94551 2 2.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
4. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Into the Sun – Sean Lennon". AllMusic. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
5. Browne, David (May 22, 1998). "Sean Lennon: Into the Sun / Rufus Wainwright: Rufus Wainwright". Entertainment Weekly. pp. 68–69.
6. Sullivan, Caroline (May 22, 1998). "Rain and shine". The Guardian.
7. Hochman, Steve (May 18, 1998). "The Sweet Sounds of Mellow Confidence and Contentment". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
8. Cigarettes, Johnny (May 16, 1998). "Sean Lennon – Into The Sun". NME. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
9. DiCrescenzo, Brent. "Sean Lennon: Into The Sun". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on July 7, 2001. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
10. Hunter, James (May 28, 1998). "Sean Lennon: Into The Sun". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 9, 2007. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
11. Smith, RJ (June 1998). "Sean Lennon: Into the Sun (Grand Royal/Capitol)". Spin. Vol. 14, no. 6. pp. 132, 134. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
12. Pattenden, Mike (May 16, 1998). "Sean Lennon". The Times.
13. Gundersen, Edna (May 27, 1998). "Sean Lennon, Into the Sun". USA Today.
14. Hedblade, Jay (24 May 1998). "Sean Lennon". Arts & Entertainment. Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
15. "イントゥ・ザ・サン ショーン・レノンのプ" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on November 30, 2010. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
16. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
17. "Sean Lennon Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
18. "Sean Lennon Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2020.

• Sean Lennon albums
• Albums produced by Yuka Honda
• 1998 debut albums
• Grand Royal albums