http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23037815-2902,00.html
Bryan Patterson
January 13, 2008
**LISTEN to exclusive tracks: **
1. Liverpool 8
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/01-Liverpool%208.mp3
2. Think about You
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/02-Think%20about%20you.mp3
3. For Love
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/03-For%20Love.mp3
4. Now That She's Gone Away
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/04-Now%20that%20she's%20gone%20away.mp3
5. Gone are the Days
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/05-Gone%20are%20the%20days.mp3
6. Give it a Try
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/06-Give%20it%20a%20try.mp3
7. Tuff Love
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/07-Tuff%20Love.mp3
8. Harry's Song
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/08-Harry's%20Song.mp3
9. Pasodobles
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/09-Pasodobles.mp3
10. If It's Love That You Want
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/10-If%20it's%20love%20that%20you%20want.mp3
11. Love Is
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/11-Love%20is.mp3
12. R U Ready
http://media01.news.com.au/hwt/Liverpool%208/12-R%20U%20ready.mp3
Ringo Starr would have to be one of the luckiest musicians alive.
Seemingly destined to be nothing greater than a drummer for B-grade
bands in Liverpool, he gets a gig with John Lennon and Paul McCartney
and becomes a great by association.
What endeared us all to Ringo at the time was his lack of pop-star
vanity. He never claimed to be anything more than a lucky bastard.
To be fair, he was a more than decent timekeeper for The Beatles.
And he has produced a few memorable pop singles since those days - a
la It Don't Come Easy and Photograph.
A couple more hits might come from the latest album, produced with a
little help from his friends Dave Stewart and Mark Hudson.
It's a magical mystery tour led by 67-year-old Ringo, with touches of
psychedelia, music hall, playful pop and a smattering of country.
In other words, it's Beatlesque.
On first listening, the whole thing sounds a little trite - with
shocking lyrics such as these on the nostalgic title track: I was a
sailor first, I sailed the sea/then I got a job, in a factory.
But the more you listen, the more you fall for the simple jolly and
indelible charms of Ringo's co-penned songs. It's all very radio friendly.
The tunes are mostly catchy little gems, especially Think About You
with its blistering guitar breaks and harmonies that sound a little
like Paul and John in the good old days.
Ringo sounds a little like Jim Morrison on Harry's Song, an ode to
Ringo's late, great drinking mate Harry Nilsson.
Gone Are The Days has its musical roots in the
Lennon-McCartney/George Martin school of recording, right down to the
swirling backwards vocals.
The rest are good playful songs. Nothing up to the Fab Four standard,
but who would expect them to be?
Sadly, the quality takes a down turn on the last three album tracks.
But nine radio-friendly songs out of 12 ain't that bad.
.
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