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The Mainstream : Soundgarden – Screaming Life/Fopp (Remastered) Review

CD REVIEW: Ringo Starr: Ringo 2012

by: Andy Frisk

Whether you are a punk rocker, alt-rocker, metal head, or auto-tuned boy band bopper, you owe a debt of gratitude to the band that was all of these things first, The Beatles. Lennon laid the punk and alt-rock foundation ("Strawberry Fields," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "Revolution") and McCartney covered the rest (everything from "Helter Skelter" to "Yesterday") while Harrison filled in the gaps, but it was Ringo who supplied the beat and the musical membrane that held it all together. At 71, the world’s most famous drummer is still writing songs and pounding out beats that many a would-be rocker should be jealous of.

Ringo Starr’s solo albums, of which there are 17 now, are all pretty similar, musically. They are, for the most part, upbeat and uplifting pop rock collections. Often they are pretty short and to the point as well. "Ringo 2012" clocks in at 28.8 minutes, shorter than Green Day’s tour de force, "Insomniac." Ringo won’t hesitate to tell you that, like his late band mate, all he really needs, and believes in, is love and a healthy dose of peace. All he really needs is a good beat, too: the type of beat pounded out on the same type of drum kit that he famously popularized during his days as a mop top. Finally, a little help from his friends rounds out all that Ringo needs to record an album. "Ringo 2012" definitely showcases a good many of his friends. Dave Stewart, Joe Walsh, Michael Bradford, Charlie Haden, Van Dyke Parks, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Benmont Tench, Don Was, and Edgar Winter all guest star on "Ringo 2012."

As is often the case with Ringo though, despite all the collaboration, Ringo is a little too short and to the point. In the opening track, titled “Anthem,” Ringo announces, “This is an anthem. We know. We know what we got to do.” Well, duh. There’s something to be said for the direct approach though, too. In this aspect, Ringo displays a tried-and-true punk ethic, if thematically instead of musically. The sound of marching boots, which leads into his signature thumping and Beatlesque opening guitar line, demonstrates that Ringo is deadly serious about continuing his steady and career-long march into the realms of continuous protest in favor of peace and love.