Release Date: January 12
Length: 36: 49
Genre: Rock
I could never get into The Beatles. I can understand why people enjoy their work I guess, but nothing beyond the song Let it Be has ever impressed me enough to give them an honest listen. I was however interested when drummer Ringo Starr was going to put out a new solo album, as he seemed to be the Beatle who recieved the least attention, and it certainly had one of the more interesting titles I have had the pleasure of noticing in quite some time. Going into this record, I was a bit excited to review this, because it is one title that I will get to worry about less as far as bias is concerned. I have walked into this album with no expectations of good or bad, since I don't care one way or another about The Beatles, and I have never heard any of his solo work.
As far as early contenders go for 2010, this could be one of them. No, not the contender for best album, but rather the contender for the weirdest album. This album is certainly the first I've seen of its kind, combining qualities that I've never seen together. Not the kind that you think though. This album has the ability to combine near-beautiful flow and composition with some of the shabbiest lyrical work I have ever seen. How bad? Well, let's look at the second song of this record, Peace Dream:
Last Night I had a peace dream
You know how real dreams can be
The world was a better place for you and me
Can't you see
What makes this album so "weird" is that Starr's voice has stayed so good and nearly unchanged from his 60's one that you fail to notice them at first. The songs in themselves are a mixed bag, all of which containing some form of rock, whether it be power ballad, rock & roll, or even the curious yet entertaining pop-rock addition, Y Not. There are several notable songs on this record as well (counting the two mentioned). The first of which is Walk With You, the lead single. This is a slow rock song featuring Paul McCartney on backup vocals and bass, and it's rather pleasant to listen to. The second notable song is my personal favorite song on the album, Mystery of the Night. A love based power ballad featuring an awesome piano solo, an awesome guitar solo, and an awesome chorus (slightly ruined a little by some random auto tune). The final notable song takes the cake of being the most odd song I have ever heard, without exaggeration. Titled Who's Your Daddy, it starts as a rock & roll-esque song with 20 year old Joss Stone singing a verse of a song, which seems to be about her not wanting her uncaring "man". It then goes to a back and forth chorus between 69 year old Ringo Starr and Stone with Ringo asking Stone who her "daddy" is, which only accomplished getting me confused (based on the clear age difference). It then gets odder when he reiterates his previous statement in a voice only reminiscent to his Beatle days (or at least an overexcited British person) before some more verses. With all of this going on, I wasn't actually very sure whether it would be appropriate to judge this song, only because I honestly am not sure of what he was trying to do here..
If I had to recommend this album, I would say to do it under the pretenses that the lyrical writing shouldn't be taken seriously if to be enjoyed. The replay value is pretty decent, and you should end up listening to it at least a few times (at least due to its short length). The songs in themselves are pretty interesting, and there's at least few pretty good ones on here. This album does make me want to hear another record from the aging Beatle, just to be reassured that he still knows what he is doing. I think when listening to music, you should look at it two ways. One would be to look at it as a piece of art, which I typically like to do. However, the other way to look at music is from an entertainment standpoint, and I was certainly entertained. I would like to think that this combines the two in curious, sparse, yet certain doses. Unintentionally, of course, but it still happens.
Grade: C+
Notable Tracks: Y Not, Who's Your Daddy, Mystery of the Night, Peace Dream, Walk With You
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