1
 
Bob Ringo Starr — Choose Love

Ringo Starr — Choose Love (7 June, 2005)

             Ringo Starr — Choose Love (7 June, 2005)
Ξ   Charismatic Beatles drummer who pursued a surprisingly rich and successful solo career.
Birth name: Richard Starkey
Born: 7 July 1940, Dingle, Liverpool, England
Notable instruments: Ludwig Super Classic drumset, Ludwig Black Oyster Pearl drumset
Location: London and Los Angeles.
Album release: 7 June 2005 (US) / 25 July 2005 (UK)
Recorded: Mid 2004–early 2005
Record Label: Koch (US) / CNR (UK)
Duration:     44:41
Tracks:
01. Fading In Fading Out  (Richard Starkey, Mark Hudson, Gary Burr)     3:57
02. Give Me Back The Beat      3:54
03. Oh My Lord       5:33
04. Hard To Be True      3:28
05. Some People      3:18
06. Wrong All The Time (Starkey, Hudson, Burr)     3:40
07. Don't Hang Up (Starkey, Hudson, Burr)     3:28
08. Choose Love (Starkey, Hudson, Burr)     3:08
09. Me And You (Starkey, Hudson, Steve Dudas)     2:15
10. Satisfied  (Starkey, Hudson, Gary Nicholson)    3:19
11. The Turnaround      3:54
12. Free Drinks      4:47
Ξ   All songs by Richard Starkey, Mark Hudson, Gary Burr, Steve Dudas, and Dean Grakal, except where noted.
Ξ   Cover photo by Barbara Starkey
Ξ   Notes: Track 3: a response to George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord", bookended by the original demo of Starr's own song.
Awards:
Billboard Albums
Ξ   2005 Choose Love Top Independent Albums      #29
Musicians:
Ξ   Ringo Starrdrums, percussion, vocals, intro/outro demo tape on "Oh My Lord", organ, loop on "Free Drinks"
Ξ   Mark Hudsonbass, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, sax arrangement, harmonica
Ξ   Gary Burr — acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals, bass, slide guitar
Ξ   Mark Mirando — electric guitar, backing vocals
Ξ   Dan Higgins — horns, saxes, woodwinds
Ξ   Gary Grant — horns
Ξ   Jim Cox — horn arrangement, piano, sax arrangement, woodwind arrangement
Ξ   Robert Randolph — lead guitar
Ξ   Steve Dudas — electric guitar, acoustic guitar
Ξ   Billy Preston — piano, B3 organ, backing vocals on "Hard to Be True"
Ξ   The Rose Stone Choir — backing vocals on "Oh My Lord"
Ξ   Rose Stone — choir arrangement on "Oh My Lord"
Ξ   Ringo Starr, Mark Hudson, Gary Burr — uboo drum band on "Hard to Be True"
Ξ   John Amato — saxes
Ξ   Chrissie Hynde  — lead vocals on "Don't Hang Up"
Ξ   Barbara Starkey — devil voice on "The Turnaround"
Ξ   Dean Grakal — background vocals on "The Turnaround"
Production:
Ξ   Ringo Starr, Mark Hudson — producers
Ξ   Bruce Sugar — recording
Ξ   Kevin Churko, Gary Burr, Steve Dudas — additional recording
Ξ   Dave Way — mixing
Ξ   Lior Goldenberg, Ghian Wright, Andy Brohard — assistant engineers
Ξ   George Marino — mastering
Ξ   Tyrone Drake — art direction, design
Ξ   Barbara Starkey — cover photo
Ξ   Ringo Starr, Barbara Starkey, Mark Hudson, Gary Burr, Edward AJAJ, Teness Herman — additional photosBackground and recording:
Ξ   Recorded throughout 2004 into 2005, using the same team that created Vertical Man (1998) and Ringo Rama (2003), Starr produced the set with longtime musical partner Mark Hudson and performed it with their studio team. The title track, Choose Love has a Beatles–like Day Tripper guitar riff and mentions the Beatles song "The Long and Winding Road". As ever, a Starr album would be lacking if it did not include some celebrity guests and Choose Love does not deviate from the formula; it features Billy Preston and Chrissie Hynde as its most notable guests.
AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas ErlewineScore: ****
Ξ   There's nothing surprising, or even all that different, about Choose Love, Ringo Starr's 13th studio album: it's firmly in the tradition of his 1992 return to recording, Time Takes Time, which itself was an attempt to recreate the breezy, good–natured vibe of Starr's biggest and best album, 1973's Ringo. But where that album and the two records that followed it — 1998's Vertical Man and 2003's Ringorama — were star–studded affairs, the only guests here are Robert Randolph and Chrissie Hynde, who stops in for a duet on "Don't Hang Up." That means Ringo relies on his longtime collaborators Mark Hudson (who is also the record's co–producer), Gary Burr, and Steve Dudas, who form the core of his touring and recording band, as well as function as his co–writers, and by this point, they've been together nearly a decade. This is a relaxed, comfortable group, but that familiarity pays off here. Instead of sounding lazy, Starr sounds assured and confident, and he has a strong set of tunes that know how to make the best of his endearingly limited vocal range and lovable personality. The music here is well within his comfort zone — partway between the amiable yet splashy Richard Perry productions of the early '70s and classic mid–period Beatles (the title track has plenty of direct allusions, from the "Taxman"–styled riff to a quote from "Dizzy Miss Lizzy") — but it all works, largely because it never sounds like Ringo and the lads are straining to capture that vibe: it just seems to come naturally to them now. It also helps that Choose Love has a warm, rich sound that is far removed from the digital brightness of its two predecessors: it helps give the album a friendly aura that's hard to resist if you've ever loved Ringo. And if you've ever loved Ringo, take comfort that this album will be one of the few records of his that you can play without guilt and enjoy from start to finish. It's not just a good record for Ringo, it's just a flat–out good record.
Ξ   http://www.allmusic.com/
Website: http://www.ringostarr.com/
ΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞΞ

Bob Ringo Starr — Choose Love

 

ALBUM COVERS XI.