  
Ringo Starr is one of the best known musicians in the world thanks to being a member of The Beatles. Since The Beatles split he has continued to make music and Ringo 2012 is the latest release. Having been involved in writing many of The Beatles songs and writing several of them himself including "Don't pass me by" and "Octopus's garden", his musical influence is huge. As well as his music career he has also been involved in films and TV, including narrating the first two series of kids favourite, Thomas the tank engine.
Ringo Starr draws inspiration from a wide range of musical genres including classic blues, soul, country, honky-tonk and rock 'n' roll and this gives his music a refreshingly different sound.
Guest performers on the album include: Joe Walsh, Benmont Tench, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Stewart, Don Was, Van Dyke Parks and Edgar Winter.
There are two cover versions on the album - "Think it over", originally by Buddy Holly, and "Rock island line", a blues song. Rock Island Line is by far the better of the two covers and features some great guitar work from Kenny Wayne Shepard. "Rock Island line" is my favourite track on the album
There are also two re-recorded versions of songs from his ealier albums. These are "Wings" and "Step lightly".
"In Liverpool" is a nostalgic look back at Ringo's life growing up in his home town of Liverpool. This is not the first time he's written a song about Liverpool and reflects his love for the city. The song is co-written with Dave Stewart and is one of the best songs on the album.
The opening track, "Anthem" is another strong song which is well worth a listen.
So to summarise, the album consists of 5 new songs, two re-recorded versions of old songs, and two cover versions. Clocking in at around 28 minutes this is pretty poor I'm afraid - one of the shortest albums I've listened to in recent years.
The album is very cheerful and upbeat, but lacks much depth. Beatles fans should certainly check this album out - there are some songs here that should certainly appeal to quite a few of their fans.
I think Ringo's time with The Beatles is a double edged sword - on the one hand it means a lot more people will give the album a listen than might otherwise, but equally it's a disadvantage as everything he does will be judged in comparison with the work of The Beatles, and sadly Ringo's solo work while very good, isn't going to challenge the classic Beatles hits.
Track listing:
1. Anthem
2. Wings
3. Think it over
4. Samba
5. Rock island line
6. Step lightly
7. Wonderful
8. In Liverpool
9. Slow down |
