Ringo Starr (from the album Look Up

Ringo Starr (from the album Look Up

Ringo Starr (from the album Look Up available on Roccabella Records/UMG) (by Brian Rock)
Ringo Starr brings his inimitable star power to the Country genre on his new album, Look Up. Despite his Rock’n’Roll pedigree, Ringo has always had a love for Country music, as evidenced by his cover of Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” and especially his 1970 Country album, Beaucoups of Blues. Staying true to the golden age of Country, Ringo brings his charm and wit (and several guest artists including Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, and T Bone Burnett, who produced the album), to these songs of love, loss, and occasional levity.
“You Want Some” finds Ringo in an amorous mood. A walking bass line and weepy pedal steel introduce the song as the band evokes the feel of a Texas roadhouse. Ringo taking the microphone to sing ‘I’ve got love to give. Baby, that’s better than none. You want some?’. His trademark wit and humor shine through as the band kicks up a rousing Western Swing with plenty of steel guitar and rollicking ragtime piano. Ringo’s drumming holds all the pieces together. His drumming, like his vocals, exudes a casual cool that’s neither forced nor contrived. He takes a page from Bob Wills and makes it flirty and fun. 
Ringo goes full Sons of the Pioneers on “Come Back”. An authentic range-riding, campfire-crooning Country & Western ballad where Ringo is joined by Lucius for a tender ode to a distant lover. Yearning for her return, he sings ‘when you go away as night turns into day, I walk alone and feel you gone.” A meandering acoustic guitar and a humming background chorus capture the feel of a gentle breeze blowing across the Great Plains, mountain ranges, and the Southwest desert. Sincere and direct, his vocals and lyrics express the naked truth. No philosophical metaphors, nor flowery poetic devices; he says exactly what any of us would say in a similar situation, if only we had the courage to express it. That earnestness serves him well on the tender ballad, “Time 0n My Hands”. With a generous helping of pedal steel, Ringo moans ‘I used to have a true love, everything was fine. But now she’s found a new love, she’s no longer mine… Now these arms are empty and I’ve got time on my hands’. Again, Ringo’s voice conveys an everyman quality of warmth and vulnerability. “I Live for Your Love” explores the happier moments of love in gentle Countrypolitan tones. Ringo combines West Coast Folk with Country on the cheery “Never Let Me Go”. Harmonica and a staccato drumbeat punctuate his devotion as he coos ‘when you call my name I will be there. If you want me, I won’t go anywhere”. The optimistic “Look Up” incorporates Cosmic Cowboy soundscapes to encourage us to find the silver lining in life’s darker moments. “Rosetta” combines the same Cosmic Cowboy, joining with Billy Strings and Larkin Poe to blend elements of Bluegrass to mourn a lost lover. The Bluegrass touch again comes to the fore in the lovely declaration of devotion, “Can You Hear Me Call”; Molly Tuttle singing counterpoint with Ringo to assure the feelings are mutual. Ringo pays tribute to Carl Perkins and the original Country Rock pioneers as he is joined by Billy Strings on the Rockabilly-tinged T-Bone Burnett original, “Breathless”. Rounding out the set, Ringo Starr duets with Alison Krauss on the tender, Bakersfield influenced, “Thankful”. Paying tribute with an homage to someone special in his life, Ringo sings ‘I’m thankful for the stars above, hoping for more peace and love… Thankful for this moment here. And thankful you are here’. “Peace and Love” is, of course, Ringo Starr’s trademark salutation; so, we can indeed, all be thankful for a little more of Mr. Peace and Love in our lives. (by Brian Rock)
Listen and buy the music of Ringo Starr from AMAZON
 
For more information, please visit the Ringo Starr website