Ringo Starr - Look Up

  by Fiona Hutchings

published: 1 / 2 / 2025

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Review

‘Look Up’ is the Beatle drummer's most satisfying album since ‘Goodnight Vienna’. No high bar, you might say, which is fair enough considering some of the sludge from the 1980s. But it's testament to Ringo Starr's artistry that he has done something Paul McCartney himself hasn't proven on his recent efforts; record a vital work that happily sits with the exciting records he issued in the early 1970s. And like many good albums - and this is a great one - Look Up stemmed from accidental circumstances. In 2022, Starr asked ‘Raising Sand’ producer T Bone Burnett to write him a song for a project. The drummer, who had seemingly retired from album work, was surprised to hear that Burnett had composed nine for him, and in the genre that best suited his voice: country. Throughout his career, Starr has taken to country music like a duck to water, whether it was ‘Rubber Soul’ standout ('What Goes On'), his jaunty duet with Buck Owens ('Act Naturally'), or the ‘Beaucoup of Blues’ album, a sparse record he cut in Nashville with famed guitarist Pete Drake. Clearly the erstwhile Beatle felt compelled to record everything Burnett brought him, and not only is ‘Look U’p Starr's most satisfying album in decades, it might be Burnett's most impressive production work since his days instructing Robert Plant. Since ‘Ringo Rama’, Starr's records have tended to showcase his drumming, with his vocals as an afterthought, but 'Breathless' alone showcases a confidence his singing has lacked for sometime. He breezes through the verses, demonstrating a whispered melody on the chorus that's in keeping with the composition's title and theme. Acoustic guitars bounce off his words, signalling a sense of fun ("I'm beguiled," he croons, evidently smiling as he does so.) He's ably supported by bluegrass favourite Billy Strings on 'Breathless' and 'Never Let Me Go', exercises in rumination dotted by wild guitar and harmonica interludes. ‘Look Up’ is wordier than many of the records Starr has issued, but he's comfortable reciting liturgies of love which speculate on the fragmented glories humans receive on this planet. ('Thankful', which features Alison Krauss is particularly revelatory, and although he may not admit it in an interview, Starr could well be singing about his wife Barbara Bach and her comforting example during the 1990s as he embraced sobriety and family.) The jagged guitars on 'Can You Hear Me Call' recall McCartney's 'I'm Looking Through You', albeit with a funereal quality unheard on the springier ‘Rubber Soul’. 'You Want Some' opens with a hook that's semi Christmassy sounding, thankfully lifted with a much more joyful delivery to the caterwauling on Bob Dylan's bewilderingly wretched 'Here Comes Santa Claus.' 'Rosetta', dotted with a stringed instrument that sounds suspiciously like a mandolin, feels pleasantly English, and wouldn't sound out of place on Rod Stewart's 1970s masterpiece ‘Gasoline Alley’. Furthermore, 'Rosetta' also boasts a bluesy guitar solo which will appeal to fans aching to hear The Beatle rock out. Just as the album stands with the drummer's most impactful work, 'I Live For Your Love' sits with 1973 George Harrison co-write 'Photograph' as one of his most impressive ballads. Emanating from his gut, Starr discusses the many bridges he has crossed during his career, coming to this current point in time: forgiveness. What's clear from this record, perhaps his last given his age, is that Starr's career has enjoyed more highs than lows; his cultural imprint as laudable as it is long. "I don't live in the future," he sings; "I don't live in the past." By the evidence of this album, Ringo Starr is living for the now, and loving it. And why shouldn't he when the music is this powerful?

Track Listing:-

1 Breathless
2 Look Up
3 Time On My Hands
4 Never Let Me Go
5 I Live For Your Love
6 Come Back
7 Can You Hear Me Call
8 Rosetta
9 You Want Some
10 String Theory
11 Thankful

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/ringostarrmus
https://twitter.com/ringostarrmusic
http://www.ringostarr.com/
http://www.ringotour.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringo_Sta
http://www.RingoPhotoBook.com

Label Links:-

http://decca.com/
https://www.facebook.com/deccarecords
https://twitter.com/deccarecords
https://www.youtube.com/user/deccamusi
https://instagram.com/deccarecords/

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