On January 31, Ringo Starr (born Richard Starkey) released his 17th studio album Ringo 2012. The title is a reference to his most successful solo album Ringo, released all the way back in 1973. There are two covers on the album, and two re-recordings of songs released in the 1970s. Only five new songs are left on this record that doesn't even reach 30 minutes of play time.
The album starts with "Anthem," a song that takes up 18% of the play time at 5 minutes in length. The song is just as hard as one might expect with Joe Walsh and Kenny Wayne Shepherd playing guitar. The first single from the album is "Wings," even though the song was already released in 1977. The horn lines are a great background to the organ riffs and guitar solo. The shortest song is "Think It Over," a Buddy Holly cover. This is the same bubblegum version featured on the Buddy Holly tribute CD Listen to Me.
The next track has the misleading title "Samba." The acoustic guitars and accordion try to make it sound like a samba, but Ringo's drum beat is clearly not that at all. The other cover is Lonnie Donegan's "Rock Island Line" and Ringo makes it own by allowing the guitars to rock out. Also pay attention to the excellent piano fills. Paying more tribute to Ringo, Starr includes "Step Lightly," a re-recording of the hit single from that album. This time, Edgar Winter helps out on keyboards.
Even though "Wonderful" is a new song, it sounds like vintage Ringo. Again, the keyboards really help fill in around the guitar solos. "In Liverpool" follows, and the drum beats are so similar, you almost have to do a double-take to make sure you're not listening to the same song again. The lyrics will sure be nostalgic for classic Beatles fans. Joe Walsh comes back for "Slow Down" where he contributes vocals and songwriting credit as well as a guitar solo.
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