This is what happens when a young, potentially gritty blues vocalist hires a former member of Tonic to produce his album: Fifty Miles to Chicago, 11 perfectly inoffensive, slightly soulful rock numbers that suggest what might happen if Rob Thomas listened to a lot of Electric Mud (and did not suck). In fact, Ripp flashes a lot of talent here, both in his vocal performances and his songwriting; it’s just a shame that Dan Lavery’s squeaky-clean production was allowed to suck all the sweat out of the recordings. As a result, although Ripp clearly has the chops to carry a warts-and-all record, Fifty Miles makes him sound like an impostor, an impression deepened by frictionless belters like “Lifeline” that drop him squarely in the driest, whitest square of Taylor Hicks Territory. In all fairness, Ripp co-produced the disc, with Randy Coleman – but it’s hard not to assume that he’s a much more entertaining, dynamic performer in a live setting, and that the decision to geld this record was made purely for commercial reasons. Here’s hoping that subsequent albums find Ripp more willing to color outside the lines, and give his songs the rough treatment they deserve. In the meantime, he’s got a lot more than 50 miles to go before he gets anywhere near Chicago – other than maybe the one that gave us “Hard to Say I’m Sorry.” (Get Ripp’d 2008)
