Ringo Starr - Postcards from Paradise

Postcards from Paradise 

Ringo Starr

Ringo Starr’s Postcards from Paradise, released March 31, 2015 (but I only heard of its release today for some reason.) It’s Ringo first album in three years, and my first album of 2015.

                My favorite Ringo quote so far is “if you show up at my house and you can play, you’re on the record.” Because that’s exactly what his albums are, and that’s just great. Of course that makes a large collection of musicians, you do get people like:

·         Van Dyke Parks, lyricist during The Beach Boys’ Smile album

·         Joe Walsh

·         Steve Lukather from Toto

·         Peter Frampton

Among others.

                Ringo’s last album, Ringo 2012, stays at an average rating level through most of its reviews. For me, it’s always nice to see a Ringo album, and while I hate to say it, you don’t expect something magical out of the album. But it is Ringo, and it is rock, and its laid back, so you take it with open arms. You give Ringo your money because he’s Ringo, and he loves music. And so do you. And a musician who loves his music is all you can ever ask for.

                And so here it is.

Rory and the Hurricanes

Ringo already wins my heart using two different keyboard parts in the song. Of course, the song is about a band that Ringo Starr was a part of before The Beatles. It reminds me of In Liverpool, another song that tells a part of Ringo’s life in song that was on Ringo 2012 (and yep, it was written by the same people: Ringo and Dave A. Stewart)

The song is that innocent Ringo you know and love alongside great instrumentation. What are you expecting?

You Bring the Party Down

                You enter a different song, one not like regular rock songs. A mix of steel drums and regular drums thrown in with a sitar (at least I think it’s a sitar, it’s not mentioned in the musicians list) and a regular guitar.  Mesmerizing.

                The song has a great guitar solo in it.

Bridges

                You can hear the influence of Joe Walsh in this one. A guitar centric, laid back piece.

                There’s a bit of robotic voice on this song, more so than the rest, but I think it’s more for effect rather than helping his voice. Still, I’m not a fan. But hey, the guitar work and his drumming sound great on this song, so whatever makes it work I guess.

Postcards from Paradise

                There is so much goddamn Beatles (and Ringo solo) references. Every verse. That is not an understatement. It’s what happens when Ringo puts a little drop of psychedelic into his music, but just a bit. It’s most prominent during the chorus.

                I do like guitar solos that come out of these songs though, and it does not disappoint. The drums are also high in the mix and it sounds great.

Right Side of the Road

Ringo Reggae.

The robot voice returns. Ringo uses a lot of a melodyne-type sound on his vocals, which isn’t auto tune but rather an effect. If you need comfort in knowing Ringo doesn’t actually need auto tune, watch any of his recent live performances. He actually does a better job than Paul most of the time.

Not Looking Back

                Beautiful song. Piano and string heavy, probably one of my favorites on the album. More pop than rock, but that’s ok.

Bamboula

                Funky. With an accordion, too. Sure it’s fun, but I think it’s the most forgettable on the album.

Island in the Sun

                Returning to reggae for this song. Well, reggae with a lead guitar. I guess it makes sense when you put the album name in, it’s a place where Ringo is relaxed. The song was written by everyone involved in the Ringo Starr All-Star band apparently, so that’s pretty cool.

                But hey, look at that, there’s a sax solo.

Touch and Go

                I hear that keyboard part Ringo. Don’t try to hide it in the mix. This is more of the Ringo Rock we’re used to. It’s a pretty catchy song, and it has a great beat. It’s my new favorite, but Not Looking Back will always have a place in my heart. I think the chorus and the guitar solo afterwards makes it for me.

Confirmation

                Another Ringo reggae song, but I like it. The instrumentation is great, and Ringo’s vocals here are some of the best on the album. It’s this style he seems to really enjoy doing.

Let Love Lead

                This song blends in with everything else, which was the main problem with the album. But at the same time, it’s got a great, strong guitar part.

Everything keeps a beat.

Laid back, but forgettable.

Great musicians = great performance on every song.

Too much use of melodyne for my liking.

                Postcards from Paradise keeps the Ringo formula that was solidified in Y Not? And continued in Ringo 2012. It’s a solid album with a great beat. Because of the album’s large selection of musicians, while everything seems to blend in, each member of the band does a great job. Really, everyone does a fantastic job on the album.

                A big chunk of the album was more of a laid back style, one that can be forgettable at times.

                Halfway through the album I had given it a 7 / 10, and was pretty sure that wasn’t going to change.

                My favorites are Rory and the Hurricanes, Not Looking Back, and Touch and Go.  I guess my least favorite are Bamboula and Let Love Lead; they just seem to blend in and aren’t really anything special.

                So altogether, the album is solid and what you want from a Ringo album. It’s a collection of great musicians at their best, nothing flashy or special.

                So yeah, I’d give it a 6.5 / 10, but that seems a bit low for the album, so a 7/10 is what it gets. Nice, laid back, but forgettable. I'd like to see what you think, because I'm probably extremely biased.