You know those moments where you listen to a song and immediately start to get chills down your spine? That's my cue that an artist or a particular song resonates somewhere deep within me. Andrew Ripp's song "Dresden Wine" gave me chills. And based on the video of him playing the song live in the studio, I was introduced to his soulful, unique voice and led by the nose to the rest of his album...
Fifty Miles to Chicago has an honest spirit about it that's hard to describe. Ripp is a storyteller. And like all great storytellers, he focuses on relationships. Some romantic, some friendly, and some about the relationship with yourself, which is often the hardest one to keep.
The music on this album moves from rock to rock ballad and back again with little effort. And Ripp seems as comfortable at the piano as he is with a guitar, which proves he's got some serious music chops.
“This record really portrays who I am not only as an artist but as a person,” says Ripp of writing the album. “Honesty goes a long way because you can see right through it when somebody is slopping words on a page. And I feel like we took the time that was necessary to really work through every word.”
Ripp worked with songwriter Randy Coleman and received help from bass player Randy Coleman (formerly a member of Tonic) as producer. But this is all Ripp. He funded the album himself and recorded it in Lavery's home studio in Los Angeles. He definitely was a part of every step of the production and you can hear that in the album. Ripp brought in Pete Maloney (Dishwala, Tonic), Will Hollis (Eagles' keyboard player), and steel guitar player Eric Heywood (Ray LaMontagne). This crew can play.
As I mentioned at the beginning, my favorite song on the album is definitely "Dresden Wine", but I'm a sucker for powerful piano-driven ballads.
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