BEN LEE - RIPE

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BEN LEE RIPE "RIPE finds Ben Lee emerging as a bona fide pop star."	Review by Mike Bond

Track Listing > > Love Me Like The World Is Ending / American Television / Birds And Bees / Is This How Love's Supposed To Feel? / Blush / Numb / What Would Jay-Z Do? / Sex Without Love / Home / Hungry / Just Say Yes / Ripe COOKING VINYL Following up his 2005 breakthrough record AWAKE IS THE NEW SLEEP, Australian singer/songwriter Ben Lee is back with his latest collection of big hearted love songs in RIPE. Famously penning the song I WISH I WAS HIM; an ode to the Lemonheads Evan Dando back when he was 14 in cult band Noise Addict, the 28 year old Ben Lee sounds more in tune with the likes of Elton John or in places Jon Bon Jovi these days; RIPE, a record that glimmers with shiningly polished pop tunes and arena rocking chest beating. This is obviously the make or break moment for Lee, the radio friendly sheen and sun drenched harmonies glinting like mirrored sunglasses in the blazing sun, the bold ambition of songs like openers LOVE ME LIKE THE WORLD IS ENDING and AMERICAN TELEVISION thrusting Ben Lee forward as a bona fide pop star for perhaps the first time; if AWAKE IS THE NEW SLEEP was the dry run, the middle ground between the underground and the mainstream; RIPE is definitely the real deal, Ben Folds and Dave Matthews Band producer John Alagia providing the gleaming poptastic touch needed to propel Lee to hitsville. Dueting with US pop princess Mandy Moore on the upbeat slushy love song, BIRDS AND BEES; Ben Lee sounds effortlessly ready for the transition to pop star, his easy going charm and winning way with an infectious melody pushed to the forefront. The anthemic piano rock of IS THIS HOW LOVE'S SUPPOSED TO FEEL? is another radio friendly homing missile, one that finds Lee on superb form, the more restrained but none the less effective BLUSH continuing the winning streak. The less impressive NUMB feels like a step too far in the upfront pop stakes, jaunty piano chords and chirpy brass blasts giving the impression of a cheap Britpop knockoff, the ugly step child of Oasis and Blur. WHAT WOULD JAY-Z DO? is another misstep; Lee stepping over into embarrassing comedic affectations and delivering uninspiring lyrical couplets. The arena rocking anthemics of SEX WITHOUT LOVE recall the power ballad excess of Journey or Bon Jovi; all crunching guitar riffs and big choruses whilst on the slinky pop of HOME, sugar coated harmonies share space with distorted keyboard sounds. Closing number and title track, RIPE lets Ben Lee return briefly to his lo-fi roots; gentle acoustic guitar strums sidling up against his heart on the sleeve vocals, the record ending on a subdued but sublime finish. His most radio friendly and accessible record to date; RIPE finds Ben Lee emerging as a bona fide pop star on a collection of songs destined to catapult the Australian singer/songwriter well and truly into mainstream pop acceptance. BIOGRAPHY Turn to Webster's Dictionary and you'll find that "ripe" has a number of definitions, most of which revolve around the concept of being ready for use: "brought to perfection or the best state; completely matured." No surprise, then, that Ben Lee has named his sixth album Ripe. Having spent fully half of his 28 years crafting some of the catchiest tunes to be heard at discriminating radio everywhere, Lee is now poised to reap the same kind of mass appeal that he's already established in his native Australia - where he's taken home four ARIA Awards (Australia's version of the Grammys®). "I think this record will connect with anyone who has a genuine love of pop music," Lee says of his second effort for New West Records (US)/Inertia Records (Australia). "This isn't about using 'pop' as a means to a fast buck, or in a condescending way - it's about how things used to be, when quality pop records won out, and the best selling records were, simply, the best records." Produced by John Alagia (John Mayer, Dave Matthews Band, Ben Folds), Ripe represents a new pinnacle for Lee, whether it's the on the album's first single, "Love Me Like The World Is Ending," the piano-led march against apathy that is "Numb," the joyously charming tribute to "American Television" (replete with exultant "woo-hoo-hoo"s on the chorus) or the catchy duet with Mandy Moore, "Birds and Bees," inspired by the Grease classic "Summer Lovin'." "That fell together pretty easily," Lee says of the Moore connection. "I'd been thinking a lot about how innate the search for love is for people, and after I wrote it I went to a Mandy Moore show. Backstage she told me she was a fan, and it just came to me that she'd be the perfect voice on the track. I really had no Plan B - Mandy was just so perfect! Ripe also benefits from guest appearances by members of pop band Rooney on "American Television," "Birds And Bees," and "Is This How Love's Supposed To Feel?" and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte on "Sex Without Love". Both bands have long been "good mates" of the melodious master. "That's one of the joys of being in the music game for a long time," Lee enthuses. "You meet the occasional young band who are still learning how to change their guitar strings, and the next thing you know - bang! They've sold a gazillion records." Even for an industry that sometimes cherishes youth above all else, Lee's career is something of a surprise: the singer/songwriter headed the well-regarded teen-pop act Noise Addict when he was 14, drawing the attention of such well-respected names as Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the Beastie Boys' Mike D., who released Lee's first two solo albums on their Grand Royal label. "It was a slow and steady, but ridiculously early start," Lee laughs. "But overall I'd say it gave me an advantage. I've learned what to do, and what not to do. Ben Folds said I have the best of both worlds: I'm a veteran and a late bloomer at the same time!" Lee's first New West/Inertia release, 2005's Awake is the New Sleep, was the one to put him over the top: that was the album that won him the four ARIAs and contained the worldwide smash "Catch My Disease," as heard on everything from TV shows Grey's Anatomy and Hidden Palms to a massive Dell computer TV ad campaign. "That song was like a fungal virus; it just kept growing and growing over two-and-a-half years," he says. "I wrote it at a time when I was looking very seriously at my music career and wondering if maybe I should try something else. It seemed like everyone had a cause - Bono with Africa, that sort of thing - and it became clear to me that what I could do was simply bring people joy through pop songs. I realized that people came to my shows for comfort and release, and I started to really believe that I had something to give them. "It was," he concludes, "a classic instance of the right song at the right time." Such an event has become a theme for Lee, not only on Ripe but also for his life in general. "It's all about timing," he says. "The longer I make music, the longer I exist, I see that everything is timing. I've ripened as a human being, and now I have a sense of readiness, that I can contribute something I don't see anyone else doing." Lee is also readying himself for the completion of Ben Lee: Catch My Disease, a seven-years-in-the-making documentary by his friend Amiel Courtin-Wilson, "who's interviewed everyone I've ever known, played with, and slept with," he laughs. "It's quite jarring to let someone in like that, but the results should be pretty interesting." Now based in Los Angeles, Lee still maintains an ever-widening group of friends and fans around the globe, a sure testament to the universal appeal of his music. "I hope this album opens people's hearts," he says. "I don't push a particular thing to believe in or political point of view; I'm interested in helping people discover their own feelings. I hope that Ripe touches people and gives them hope and courage." "Personally, of course, I hope it sells a truckload of copies and makes me the international pop superstar I was destined to be," he laughs. LINE UP Ben Lee DISCOGRAPHY MEET THE REAL YOU (1995) Body Scrabs & Bizzos Blemish 16 Boyfriendship Bezerk At Cirumbin Poison 1080 Contractual Obligation The Frail Girl Brinsley My Pathetic Friend March Ate Me Alive Glerp Was A Boy Jerk Exorcism Baby GRANDPAW WOULD (1995) Pop Queen How Can That Be? Sprawl I'm With The Star Don't Leave Away With The Pixies Bolt Side View Pathetic Song 4 You Trying To Sneeze The Loft Frigid Stumbling Block Ductile Love Song Green Hearts My Guitar SOMETHING TO REMEMBER ME BY (1997) How To Survive A Broken Heart Deep Talk In The Shallow End New Song 8 Years Old Career Choice Ketchum Daisy My Drifting Nature 2 Sisters A Month Today Household Name Grammercy Park Hotel End Of The World Long Train Ride BREATHING TORNADOS (1998) Cigarettes Will Kill You Nothing Much Happens I Am A Sunflower Tornados The Finger and the Moon Birthday Song Nighttime Burn To Shine Sandpaperback Ten Feet Tall Ship My Body Home Sleepwalking HEY YOU. YES YOU. (2002/2003) Running With Scissors Aftertaste Dirty Mind Something Borrowed, Something Blue Run Chills Music 4 the Young & Foolish No Room To Bleed On & On Shine In The Morning Still On The Line AWAKE IS THE NEW SLEEP (2005) Whatever It Is Gamble Everything For Love Begin Catch My Disease Apple Candy Ache For You Into The Dark No Right Angles Get Gotten Close I've Come The Debt Collectors We're All In This Together Light I'm Willing RIPE (Cooking Vinyl>2007) Love Me Like The World Is Ending American Television Birds And Bees Is This How Love's Supposed To Feel? Blush Numb What Would Jay-Z Do? Sex Without Love Home Hungry Just Say Yes Ripe LINKS Ben Lee>www.ben-lee.com FURTHER LISTENING Ben Folds Journey Elton John Add this page to your - del.icio.us Digg reddit Facebook StumbleUpon Review date: September 2007