Ringo Starr: What's My Name? - 2019

Despite my many comments about whether Ringo's albums are memorable or not, what is for certain is that Ringo Starr albums are reassuring things - always about half an hour in length, always full of immaculately-played, catchy, pleasing, inoffensive rock songs. The world is sort of a better place with Ringo still in it, putting out an album every few years. Who would have thought it? This is his twentieth studio album. 

Gotta Get Up To Get Down is a vaguely funky, pounding but catchy slow rock with contemporary references to Facebook. It also has a few “rap” passages that don’t sound too incongruous. After a few listens, I really like it. There is some good wah-wah guitar bits in it as well. It’s Not Love That You Want is a lively little tuneful rocker with a typical, endearingly deadpan Starr vocal and some nice guitar and keyboard riffs. 

Septuagenarian (soon to be octogenarian) Ringo urges his listeners to Grow Old With Me on his cover of John Lennon's song from the Milk And Honey posthumous album from 1984. Yes this is a big slice of cheese (it always was, let's be honest) but when I listen to it I can’t help but just think "good old Ringo”. 

The old Barrett Strong number Money (covered, of course, by The Beatles on their Please Please Me debut album in 1963) is delivered by Starr singing through some sort of voice distorter. It is what it is, though, a classic song covered enthusiastically.  

You know what you’re getting with Ringo albums - every one he has done has been enjoyable, none of them really stick on the mind, but that doesn’t really matter, does it? I actually prefer the last few he has done in this century to his 1970s output. “What’s my name? - Ringo!!…” is the final line sung on this album. Simple, but somehow touching in a strange way. I can’t really explain why. Probably because he has always been my favourite Beatle.


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