• Record Label: New West
  • Release Date: Sep 18, 2007
Metascore
62

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 10
  2. Negative: 3 out of 10
  1. Instead of infectious innovation, on Ripe the audience is served a mostly useless platter of fluff pieces, wittiness minus the wit, and hooks that flail aimlessly through the air around them.
  2. The twelve songs here drip with coatings of sentiment and sparkly instrumentation that are saccharine and plastic.
  3. Granted, much of the blandness might well be attributed to producer John Alagia, who perfected the approach with the likes of Dave Matthews and John Mayer, but production aside, the songs here are just dull.
User Score
tbd

No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 2
  2. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. BenM.
    Oct 30, 2007
    5
    I am a huge Ben Lee fan from way back, but the songs and the hyper-slick production just don't do justice to Ben Lee's charm and I am a huge Ben Lee fan from way back, but the songs and the hyper-slick production just don't do justice to Ben Lee's charm and spirit this time around. I think "Awake is the New Sleep" was his best album since "Something to Remember Me By" - so saying "Ripe" and "Awake" are about equal seems crazy to me. Still, Ben gets a 5 because I'm certain he will bounce back - he always does - and he doesn't deserve to be panned. Full Review »