Ringo Starr – Look Up (2025)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 36:57 minutes | 763 MB | Genre: Country
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Roccabella, Inc
That Ringo Starr looks good in a cowboy hat should come as no surprise. In 1970, shortly after the Beatles dissolution, Starr journeyed to Nashville and recorded his second solo album, Beaucoups of Blues. Those sessions were stacked with the cream of Nashville musicians at the time, including pedal steel players Pete Drake and Ben Keith, bassist Roy M. “Junior” Huskey, and guitarist Jerry Reed. Starr has repeated that feat with a little help from his friend T Bone Burnett, who wrote or co-wrote all the music on Look Up. Its guest list may be even more star-studded than 1970’s: guitarist Billy Strings, the duos Larkin Poe and Lucius, singer/guitarist Molly Tuttle, pianist Daniel Tashian (who also co-produces), and singer Alison Krauss all add their talents. There’s even a slide guitar cameo from Starr’s brother-in-law Joe Walsh.Look Up fits snugly in the Americana genre, rather than in mainstream country music. Burnett, the producing brain behind career-defining albums by Los Lobos, Elvis Costello, Gregg Allman, not to mention a raft of successful Grammy-winning soundtracks from films like The Hunger Games, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Walk The Line, has intelligently penned a soft and likable group of tunes here that easily showcase both Starr’s drumming and singing. While Starr’s drumming remains steady and unobtrusive as ever, his singing, which Burnett wrote uncommonly simpatico settings for, naturally fits these love songs. His memorable voice, memorable in hits like “Octopus’s Garden” and “Photograph,” never strains or ventures outside its range; it’s the star of the album.
In the rockabilly-lite opener “Breathless,” Starr believably sings, “My spirit flies and my heart beats hard/ With a love that’s deathless.” First single “Time on My Hands” makes an appeal to anyone in need of “A heart that’s good and steady/ Someone who understands/ Well, these two arms are empty/ And I’ve got time on my hands.” With support from Krauss, Look Up concludes with “Thankful,” where Starr “hope[s] for more peace and love.” This beautifully crafted album confirms that Starr is still keen to add to one of the most enduring legacies in all of popular music. – Robert Baird
Tracklist:
1-1. Ringo Starr – Breathless (03:02)
1-2. Ringo Starr – Look Up (03:10)
1-3. Ringo Starr – Time On My Hands (03:59)
1-4. Ringo Starr – Never Let Me Go (03:55)
1-5. Ringo Starr – I Live For Your Love (02:59)
1-6. Ringo Starr – Come Back (02:49)
1-7. Ringo Starr – Can You Hear Me Call (02:54)
1-8. Ringo Starr – Rosetta (03:45)
1-9. Ringo Starr – You Want Some (03:03)
1-10. Ringo Starr – String Theory (03:36)
1-11. Ringo Starr – Thankful (03:38)