Ringo On A Wristband
PERFORMER: Ringo Starr
USB WRISTBAND: “Liverpool 8″
Yes, you read that right. Everyone’s second-favorite Beatle has a new album out, and one of the ways it’s being sold is as a USB wristband. This nifty little wristband, emblazoned with the logo of the album, fits around your wrist–the USB plug acts as a latch and joins the band together, or you can take it off and plug it into your computer to listen to the music.
It’s a gimmick, but it’s also the wave of the future. As flash memory gets cheaper and cheaper, you can expect to see more music and movies sold this way. It adds a collectible element to the marketing–little USB plugs and memory can be tucked into anything from Hot Wheels cars to Lanyards to pens or lighters. In this case, Ringo’s latest CD is packed into a wristband, complete with bonus video content.
So we’ve established that it’s a really cool collectible, and a neat new way to sell music, but that leaves us with the music. Luckily, this is a pretty good album, so I don’t feel like an idiot for having shelled out the extra money for the gimmick (we’re only talking four or five dollars more, here).
While many casual fans dismiss Ringo’s efforts as the least interesting of the solo Beatle projects, since 1992’s “Time Takes Time” Ringo has released a steady stream of very classy albums. They were surprisingly risky artistically at times, and contained some of the most adventurous music released by any Beatle after the split.
Perhaps the wristband gimmick is meant to make up for the fact that “Liverpool 8″ is not as musically innovative as Ringo’s albums have been lately, but it’s still full of solid songwriting throughout, and the album contains a some real gems.
The opening track, also the title track, “Liverpool 8″ is a sweet nostalgic romp, looking back at the amazing life that Ringo has lived. It recalls the fond, bittersweet nostalgia of “Early 1970″ an obscure B-side that Ringo released following the breakup of the Beatles. In that song, he was already lamenting that he couldn’t play with all his friends (due to the fresh wounds and legal ramifications of the split).
“Harry’s Song,” a tribute to Ringo’s close friend, the late Harry Nilsson, would fit perfectly on an album by They Might Be Giants, with it’s weird stylistic leaps. The song jumps genres from tin-pan-alley to straight pop to psychedelia with Beatlesque harmonies and a lovely whistling solo.
“If It’s Love That You Want” is pure Traveling Wilbury’s-style rock and roll. Brilliantly crafted by rock veterans having fun making music. “Pasadobles” is a seductive Latin number with a great guitar line courtesy of co-producer Dave Stewart.
The album’s closer is “R U Ready” which is an amusing recreation of old-time Bluegrass Southern Gospel with lyrics about Buddha and Krishna that provide a hilarious juxtaposition along with a serious message of inclusion:
” I was sitting by the Ganges looking for another way
But all roads lead to Heaven no matter what, they say
Krishna was a good man why was he so blue?
He was ready to cross over, he was ready”
This album is a bit of a transition for Ringo. Dave Stewart, of the Eurythmics, stepped into to co-produce after Ringo had a falling-out with his longtime collaborator Mark Hudson. Much of the album was finished when this happened, and Hudson has a co-songwriting credit on most of the songs here, but you can still hear Stewart’s touch on a few songs. The behind-the-scenes turmoil may have made for a weaker collection of songs this time around, or it may have just been time for Ringo and Hudson to part ways, but while “Liverpool 8″ is still a decent collection of music, it’s not quite as satisfying as his albums have been for the last decade-and-a-half.
Still, it’s pretty vital for someone who’s still rocking at the age of 67. I’m looking forward to his next album.
