Peter: So, were you familiar with Ringo Starr going into this?
Tyler: Scene. End of review.
Ringo honestly has only one solo album to his name that’s a theoretical must-own. 1973’s Ringo is a whimsical romp full of contributions from the drummer’s friends, and most of the tunes are rollicking fun. Beatle fans, take heed!
That is about it, though, as far as essential albums from our beloved Richard Starkey.
Should we explain for our younger readers that Richard Starkey is the birth name of our subject today? His real name isn’t Ringo Starr. I wonder if the kids know this.
Peter: The Beatles poached him from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, leading to one of life’s great what ifs. What if The Beatles had stuck with Pete Best? Just kidding. No one wonders about that.
Tyler: More like “Love Me Don’t,” am I right?
Peter: *rimshot*
#rimshot
Tyler: Here all week. Book me, Beatlefest!
Peter: Incredibly, this is Ringo’s twenty-first studio album! And this is the second Ringo solo album that we’ve done. Remember Ringo the 4th?
Tyler: Oh, I remember Ringo the 4th.
How many listens did you clock with that one?
Peter: It was probably 6ish? On my death bed I’ll wonder, could I have made time for a 7th?
Tyler: You are a brutal masochist. Was Babygirl about you?
Peter: You’re too hip for me. I don’t get the reference. Ask me about the 90s.
Tyler: Babygirl is, I hear, a hypersexual depiction of a high-powered executive lady played by Nicole Kidman, who finds herself drawn into a submissive sexual affair with a younger man. Your life story!
Just kidding, readers. Mrs. Peter might not approve of such wisecrackery.
Peter: Don’t worry! She doesn’t read these!
Tyler: Oh no!
Peter: Sometimes she does. I doubt Ringo’s gonna draw her in though.
Tyler: “C’mon, honey! We wrote about USA For Africa!”
Peter: That USA for Africa one did huge numbers. I assume.
Ringo was, famously, the “country” Beatle. He covered the Buck Owens tune “Act Naturally” on Rubber Soul, and his “Don’t Pass Me By” added a dash of country to the White Album.
Tyler: His second solo album, too, was a collection of country cover renditions. It’s called Beaucoups Of Blues, and it did not get much regard or attention.
Peter: I’ve never listened to Beaucoups Of Blues. Is it any good?
Tyler: I listened once, and we’re talking, Lord, fifteen years ago. I went through a phase of illegally downloading scads of classic albums through Google blog searches and sites like Mediafire. I guess one night I figured I’d give obscure Ringo country-and-western a ride.
Those downloads were lost when the laptop that housed them was irreparably destroyed. Comeuppance!
Peter: I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but all of this, all our chats, the whole thing, has all been a very long sting operation. We’re cracking down on illegal downloads from the aughts. Enjoy Attica. Just kidding. Attica’s closed, I think.
Tyler: <flash forward thirty days>
Peter: So, Tyler, what are your thoughts on Steel Wheels?
Tyler: I’m in Gitmo. <dies>
Peter: Anyway, today we’re doing the new Ringo country album, Look Up! It went to #1 on the UK Country Album charts, an accomplishment which likely requires sales in the dozens!
Tyler: I wonder how it sold in Wales. Maybe those Welsh love some twang. Maybe I just wanted to reference Wales.
Peter: I like their Corgis.
Tyler: Look Up is a serious step up from the last thirty-odd years of Ringo releases. Not to denigrate the guy, as he’s a worker and continues to make music—that’s great! But, it must be said that, after decades of collaborating with buddies and such on LPs with titles like Y Not, his Look Up team-up with T-Bone Burnett represents real ambition.
Peter: Yeah, it’s definitely a good idea on paper. But does it pan out in the real world? Stay tuned, dear readers! It’s time to Look Up!
Tyler: Gotta love that album cover.
Peter: Great shot.
The opener, “Breathless,” features Billy Strings. I’m assuming that’s him on the guitar, and, if so, he’s all over this track. It’s a lot of very busy guitar work so if that’s your thing, you’re in luck! Mr. Strings is very talented, but I found it kind of distracting.
Tyler: Billy Strings is a big deal with the hippie and jam-band crowd. Friend of Loom Johnny Chicago has been after me to check him out for years now. One way or another, working with Billy Strings is a great way for Ringo to prove his solo worth to an amiable new audience.
Peter: The outro gets a touch psychedelic. It’s probably the best bit for me.
Tyler: It’s a pretty good song! It sets a tone for the rest of the album. Nothing that’ll knock your socks off, but really nice and listenable low-key bit-‘o-country that’s good for more than one listen!
Peter: It does set a tone, and I think you’re right about the album, in general. It’s very inoffensive. You could put it on in the background and no one would be annoyed. Also, it wouldn’t distract you from your conversation. It’s that kind of feel.
Tyler: Truly! Whereas, say, the disco catastrophe that is Ringo the 4th was a horrid slog to get through even once for our chat, listening to Look Up over the last couple weeks was quite pleasant!
Look Up makes you feel good. It sounds good.
Peter: Yeah, Ringo the 4th just made me feel funny, but not “Ha ha” funny.
Tyler: Six listens!
“This pot of boiling water made my hand feel scorched. I touched it six times and nothing changed!”
Peter: There was always a chance the next listen would reveal hidden depths!
Next up is “Look Up,” the titular track!
Tyler: “Look Up” features an artist named Molly Tuttle. I don’t know from her work, but I like her presence here. The song is enjoyable and upbeat. More solid Ringo!
Peter: This is the single. It sounds like a single, anyway. They made a video for it so I assume it’s the single. There’s not a lot on the Wikipedia page for this album!
Tyler: The Beatle army has failed us.
Peter: It is solid. I agree Molly Tuttle is a welcome presence here.
This song also features some psychedelic touches – a bit of backwards guitar and the like. Lots of tasteful production flourishes on this album.
Tyler: By this point, I mean, I’m all about this album. Ringo is like a beloved uncle who lost his way for a while after the band broke up, eventually finding a healthy groove—including sobriety—steadily recording and touring. We want him to succeed. Go Ringo go! “Look Up” indeed!
Next up is “Time On My Hands.” No guest star here, just Mr. Starkey and a steady clean sound.
Peter: I don’t want to be a hater, but on this one he starts out by saying, “I used to have a true love and everything was fine,” which sounds great, you know? But then he hits us with, “But now she’s found a new love/She’s no longer mine.” It’s all over the place. Ringo “thought it was forever,” but, it turns out, “She had other plans.” It’s a real roller coaster, Tyler.
Tyler: He’s been through heartbreak, Peter! How dare you wound a man who’s just trying to pour out his heart over a pedal steel!
I think that’s a pedal steel. I’m losing my edge!
Peter: Wikipedia confirms it’s a pedal steel!
Honestly, though. The whole last verse is a blatant come-on! “So, if you’re feeling lonely/Well, I’ve been lonely, too,” he starts, before really pouring it on, “And you need a one and only/Who’ll be good to you/A heart that’s true and steady/Someone who understands.” I mean, the nerve of this guy! Oh, and by the way, he adds, “Well, these two arms are empty/And I’ve got time on my hands.” Give me a break! Stay away from my grandma! You’ll never be my grandpa!
I kid, of course, but the lyrics can be a bit corny/simplistic. Which is fine! This is Ringo, after all. We’re not looking for soliloquies.
Tyler: Those seniors get lusty in those retirement facilities. “Time On My Hands” might inspire some social-night make-out sessions on the tile dance floor.
Onward to “Never Let Me Go!”
Billy Strings is back!
Peter: He’s totally fine on this! I don’t want beef with the Billy Strings fans.
Tyler: They’re already here! I leaked your distaste!
Look out, brother. I think they’re gonna force-feed you mushrooms and drag you to a festival.
Peter: Those jam band folks can be surprisingly prickly. They seem all mellow but mess with their hacky sack at your own peril.
“Never Let Me Go” has a very Ringoesque drum part. Wikipedia did tell me that Ringo played drums on this album.
Tyler: That’s such a pleasure, knowing that he actually was behind the kit for some of this.
Peter: It would be sad to have someone stand in for him. He’s a legend, crazy fills and all.
Tyler: Before we move on, I want to highlight my favorite moment on the entire album: a shuffle-boogie like “Never Let Me Go” folding into the lyrics “sturm und drang.”
Peter: Yes! That lyric also caught my ear.
Good stuff.
Tyler: Schnell! To a ballad we go!
“I Live For Your Love.” Molly Tuttle returns. It’s a nice duet. A bit languid, maybe.
Peter: Yeah, I like this one. I was also unfamiliar with Molly Tuttle going into this, but I like what she does here.
That said, “I Live For Your Love” does kind of drift by. There’s nothing too challenging here. T-Bone’s letting Ringo be Ringo!
Tyler: 1000%. This is what I want when I’m told that Ringo has a new LP. Don’t force anything. Provide the musicianship, have the guy hit the skins a little or a lot—who knows—and let that good old reedy Ringo voice of his provide the charm.
Peter: It’s a pretty safe blueprint.
Tyler: “Come Back” is our next track. Man, I dig this one. Lucius are a great band.
Peter: See, I don’t know them either! I’m a fossil, Tyler. In my Frankie Says Relax shirt.
Tyler: Four-piece indie-or-whatever outfit frontlined by a pair of women who sing together, not necessarily harmonizing, but indelibly, to greatly pleasing effect. They’ve worked with My Morning Jacket; they’ve toured with noted human nightmare Roger Waters; they’ve released a banger of a disco-style album produced by Brandi Carlile and Dave Cobb. They’re just terrific!
Peter: Okay! Well, I do like this track. It might be the most “country” track on here.
It’s got a real “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” vibe.
Tyler: Yeah, this is something outta Porter Wagoner.
I think. I’m not particularly versed in Porter’s catalog.
Peter: Don’t look at me. I’m ride or die for Trevor Horn, apparently.
Tyler: Let’s move on to “Can You Hear Me Call.” This is, let’s say, jolly. Makes you bob your head from side to side.
Peter: Yes! Molly Tuttle is back. I really like this one with the call and response vocals. Fun stuff.
Tyler: These new friends of Richie’s are really bringing it. These are not pat two-hours-in-the-studio swing-bys. Strings and Tuttle and T-Bone and some more pals to come are doing their damnedest. And good on them for it!
Peter: For sure. But, again, there’s not a lot to the song itself. Sort of a wisp of a song. Bops right by in under three minutes.
Tyler: I like its sweetness. You can see Ringo crooning it with longtime wife Barbara Bach in mind.
Peter: Are they still together?
She was a Bond girl, I believe.
Tyler: They are, and she was! The Spy Who Loved Me.
Peter: Nice.
Tyler: They really endured some tough times through the ‘80s. It’s so fine to see that they pushed through and seem content today.
Peter: For sure.
Next up is “Rosetta,” one of my favorite tracks on the album.
Tyler: So good.
Peter: I love the background vocals on this.
It’s funny they kind of buried this on the back half of the album. It’s so good!
Tyler: Billy returns, along with addition Larkin Poe. As with Tuttle, Poe is new to me.
Peter: Me too, but I’m liking what I hear.
Tyler: We’ve really settled into a rhythm here with Look Up. Next track? Good. Another one? Good. So on. Could it be that our guy has put together a no-skip listen?
Peter: Maybe, but at the same time, I don’t know how many of these I’d deem essential listening. It’s more good than great, in my opinion.
Tyler: Oh, certainly. I’m with you there. This isn’t a grand statement. But I would absolutely recommend it to somebody with even a passing affection for the Beatles, just once, perhaps, for an easy-listen mood-boost.
Peter: Yeah, that feels fair.
Tyler: Incidentally, the one major blemish on my fondness for Look Up comes toward the end of the following song, “You Want Some.”
Peter: I was going to say, if there’s one to skip, it might be “You Want Some.” It has strong “middle of side two” energy.
Tyler: To my ear it’s a functional churner, but then as things play out Ringo gets a little, I dunno—he kinda purrs. “Baby, you want some.”
Listen, old man, you may have just filled your Cialis prescription, but keep the lust for Barbara behind closed doors.
Peter: He’s got time on his hands!
Tyler: That’s what this album is missing. A slide-guitar-heavy cover of “Afternoon Delight.”
Peter: Maybe on the Deluxe reissue? We can hope. Or fear. Whatever.
Tyler: We’re moseying on toward the album’s conclusion. “String Theory” is our penultimate offering.
Peter: “String Theory” is slightly more challenging, melodically. It’s an interesting choice. A bit metaphysical in the lyrics. I like it. I think it works.
Tyler: Yeah, it’s pretty hippie-dippy.
Tuttle and Poe are here again for it. It does have an oddly offbeat musicality to it, too, like you’re saying. No real hook.
Peter: Yeah, definitely a different kind of trip.
Not very “country.”
Tyler: Ringo’s usual repertoire in the modern era is all about peace and love. This and the final track lean back into that dreamy air.
Peter: Right. Ringo co-wrote our closer, “Thankful,” and it feels particularly Ringo-centric.
Tyler: He co-wrote it? Aw, that’s adorable.
Ringo and T-Bone saved the most prominent guest for last, here on “Thankful”: Alison Krauss.
Peter: Yeah, she’s a heavy hitter, and she does good work here. It’s a fine closer even if the lyrics are, once again, a little underwritten.
Tyler: The eggs ain’t even over easy, see? This Starr’s got a long way to go if he’s gonna hack it!
Peter: It’s not too late for him to reconnect with Rory Storm. Unless he’s dead. Rory, I mean. Then it would probably be too late.
Tyler: Peter, as noted, we spent a couple of weeks with a 2025 Ringo Starr country album. I can legit say that it’s been one of the more pleasant dives we’ve chosen to do!
Peter: It was fun!
Writers' Loom 