Ben Lee - The Rebirth Of Venus(2009)

By Nat Salvo

Ben Lee The Rebirth Of Venus Tracks 1. What's So Bad (About Feeling Good)? 2. Surrender 3. Sing 4. I Love Pop Music 5. Rise Up 6. Yoko Ono 7. Boy With A Barbie 8. Bad Poetry 9. Blue Denim 10. I'm A Woman Too 11. Families Cheating At Boardgames 12. Song For The Divine Mother Of The Universe

It seems like a lot of men are getting in touch with their feminine side, and perhaps, this is all part and parcel with the advent of the Sensitive New Age Guy.

It's altogether quite strange as there don't seem to be too many gals getting in touch with their "inner bloke".

So it is in this environment that we have Ben Lee, with his seventh studio album "The Rebirth Of Venus", complete with a cover boasting a new take on The Birth Of Venus painting by Sandro Botticelli.

On first listen, the immediate reaction to "The Rebirth Of Venus" is to question when exactly did the once credible musician, Ben Lee, turn into Phil Collins or The Eagles.

All of them seem to peddle out inoffensive pop dirges for the masses - yet no one seems to question it?

Sure, this observation has probably already been made by several people following the release of his previous two albums ("Ripe" and "Awake Is The New Sleep") the irony, however, is that this record actually comes with a warning label to caution people about moderate impact language.

So even when Ben Lee is attempting to be lyrically edgy, musically he still is far too saccharine and easy on the ear.

In fact this album could possibly be the musical equivalent of an "adorable puppy" dressed in a pink fairy "people" outfit while lapping up "whiz fizz".

The twelve songs begin with What's So Bad (About Feeling Good) where a cutesy beat set to rival Catch My Disease is produced courtesy of some cowbells, pots and pans that (when combined) sound like sugar coated kettle drums.

Backed by a large choir on this track and a few others (a group that includes his wife, Ione Skye, among others) it is as commercially hedonistic an anthem as you are ever likely to come by.

A similar accompaniment is offered in Surrender, a song that sounds like it could have featured on the Kahn Brothers album; except that it incorporates a woeful lyric that doesn't even fit the rest of the song.

Yep - and it's one straight from Dirty Dancing.

A little further into the record and things only get worse with I Love Pop Music.

While I won't deny that the song is catchy, that doesn't redeem the fact it is truly, truly awful. Here we are offered a completely flippant chorus that verges on the ridiculous and is supposed to be complimented (and I say that loosely) by lamentations about serious and complex world issues.

As a result, it feels like Lee is making light of these concerns when he is most likely trying to draw your attention to things like: consumerism, fear, global warming, bad politics and unfair practice in the first place.

Missy Higgins and Patience Hodgson guest star on this song but this does little to redeem the proceedings.

A good protest song is a work of art - it can cause ripples of change and challenge ideals and public perception. This does not achieve that, as it is simply muzak for the masses (the masses being the kinds of people who would be just as, if not more content with nonsensical lyrics than with deep and meaningful poetry.)

As if to add insult to injury, the sweet ballad, Rise Up follows this aural assault in what can only be described as the worst choice of ordering ever.

Following this, Lee offers the rocking romp, Yoko Ono.

It does manage to include at least one good lyric: “It’s not an easy job to be / the one who says “Yes” when / the whole world says, “No.”

This is, of course, a reference to one of the first meetings between Yoko Ono and John Lennon at one of Ono’s art exhibitions.

On this life changing day, one installation contained a ladder leading up to a black canvas with a magnifying glass that allowed the viewer to read the word, "Yes".

Boy With A Barbie continues the sensitive, new age theme and achieves this through distorted vocals and some 80s pop sounding keyboards.

Bad Poetry is a song that lives up to its title - where poor lyrics accompany a bad lounge song.

Next up is Blue Denim where some alt-country swagger and slide guitar pay homage to what is essentially a piece of cloth; and all with the kind of reverence not seen since Black Velvet was first recorded by Canadian singer, Alannah Myles in 1989.

I’m A Woman Too picks up where I Am Woman (a song written by a man) leaves off.

I’d love to know what feminist, Germaine Greer, thinks about all of Lee's faux-feminist claptrap.

The penultimate track, Families Cheating At Board Games seems like an attempt to lyrically emulate Darren Hanlon’s quirky writing style, but this is then married with some piano lifted from an Evermore songbook before culminating in a big, U2 rock ending (albeit, backed by a gospel choir).

The final track also borrows from the Irish Rockers' song, With Or Without You but it also has the devotional (or should I say sanctimonious) weightiness of a George Harrison solo track.

In all, Ben Lee has offered listeners a new slew of songs that are overpowered by one colour - hot pink.

A lot seems to be borrowed from various places, most notably the fairer sex, and these things are then gift-wrapped into what would appear to some people as perfectly bite-sized and consumable, sugary treats.

The result is that alone they seem almost bearable but if you consume all of them in one sitting you will receive a very upset tummy, indeed.

Perhaps we should all save ourselves the trouble and divert our attentions elsewhere...

RATING: 2.5 out of 5

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