At
the same time as releasing this latest pop opus Ben Lee has indicated
that his next album might be a change of direction, which might
be just as well because maybe after 'Rebirth Of Venus' Ben needs
to step back for a while. That's not to say it hasn't been a magnificent
journey so far. No-one I can think of knows his way around a pop
song better than Ben Lee. It's been his mission, especially with
recent albums. With this record he very cleverly starts the album
with three songs that ram home the virtues of pop music, the feel
good 'What's So Bad (About Feeling Good?', the catchy answering
backing chorus to 'Surrender', and the deliciously infectious 'Sing'.
Then when he reaches track four, with the opening lines 'I Love
pop Music' as the title, what he actually decides to tell us is
how meaningful and powerful pop music can be - philosophy you can
dance to - issues you can sing along to. Ben might resort to a 'la
la la' chorus, but it doesn't mean he's not thinking. The so very
enjoyable thing about Ben Lee is the personal journey he's taken
us through, even when he was being to prodigy prat early in his
solo career. As well as exploring his falling in love with pop music,
he's been in love with love. We heard the break-up album when he
went as far as sympathetically putting himself in the shoes of his
rival, and we've heard him wonder about 'love' compared to 'lust'.
This ought to be his "I'm so in love" album, (he's married since
making the record) but he's saved us from that. Instead of looking
at love again, after that opening dedication to pop music, generally
the songs look at femininity from different vantage points, trying
to tap into that side of the human condition, although in one song
he concedes 'loving you makes me want to write bad poetry'. Since
Crowded House no-one has lifted the bar on singalong thinking pop
music more than Ben Lee.
At
the same time as releasing this latest pop opus Ben Lee has indicated
that his next album might be a change of direction, which might
be just as well because maybe after 'Rebirth Of Venus' Ben needs
to step back for a while. That's not to say it hasn't been a magnificent
journey so far. No-one I can think of knows his way around a pop
song better than Ben Lee. It's been his mission, especially with
recent albums. With this record he very cleverly starts the album
with three songs that ram home the virtues of pop music, the feel
good 'What's So Bad (About Feeling Good?', the catchy answering
backing chorus to 'Surrender', and the deliciously infectious 'Sing'.
Then when he reaches track four, with the opening lines 'I Love
pop Music' as the title, what he actually decides to tell us is
how meaningful and powerful pop music can be - philosophy you can
dance to - issues you can sing along to. Ben might resort to a 'la
la la' chorus, but it doesn't mean he's not thinking. The so very
enjoyable thing about Ben Lee is the personal journey he's taken
us through, even when he was being to prodigy prat early in his
solo career. As well as exploring his falling in love with pop music,
he's been in love with love. We heard the break-up album when he
went as far as sympathetically putting himself in the shoes of his
rival, and we've heard him wonder about 'love' compared to 'lust'.
This ought to be his "I'm so in love" album, (he's married since
making the record) but he's saved us from that. Instead of looking
at love again, after that opening dedication to pop music, generally
the songs look at femininity from different vantage points, trying
to tap into that side of the human condition, although in one song
he concedes 'loving you makes me want to write bad poetry'. Since
Crowded House no-one has lifted the bar on singalong thinking pop
music more than Ben Lee.