New album by Ringo, titled Postcards from Paradise
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javilu:
favoritething:
Finally got my copy yesterday. Actually, I think it's a fine album, not one of his best, but not one of his worst. For the most part, it seems some thought went into the arrangements and playing and lyrics, and there is a bright atmosphere to much of it. Listening to the title track and looking at the lyrics: as someone else said, yes, Todd had a lot to do with the lyrics. It seems obvious that Ringo wrote the first verse and Todd wrote the rest; they're more clever, and does Ringo even remember "Bad To Me"?
About his vocals: I've gotten used to the Autotuned voice, mostly, but "Not Looking Back" is like a love song from Ringobot 2015, kind of creepy, I'm afraid (and I think Richard Marx is overly sentimental). "Touch and Go" is similarly troubling to me vocally. It's better on the upbeat tunes. We all seem to have different concepts of his best and worst albums. I like "Rotogravure" a bit more than "Goodnight Vienna," and "Bad Boy" was an improvement over the depths of "Ringo the 4th" ("Can She Do It Like She Dances" has got to be about the worst song title ever, let alone the song itself). "...Roses" continued the upward swing (but "Old Wave": bleah!), "Time Takes Time" was his second artistic peak, and Mark Hudson did pretty well carrying on with "Vertical Man" and "Ringo Rama," but then the formula grew stale with "Choose Love." "Liverpool 8" was kind of directionless, but okay. I thought "Y Not" was one of his absolute worst, but then "2012" was a fun, but too brief, burst of energy. The new album started to lose my interest toward the end, but it's better than I expected, and I think "Bamboula" and "Island in the Sun" have a good vibe.
I've enjoyed reading your review and I agree with most of what you say. Thank you for sharing, sir!
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DrummerFromFife:
I love Rory and the Hurrricanes. The absolute best song on this album. I knew, once I had heard that song, with the kickass vocals and brilliant drum solo, that I was in for a superb experience with this album. And I was. It was wonderful
Yeah, it's a great recording as well, love the drum solo on "Rory and the Hurricnes". I think it is fast becoming one of my all time favorite Ringo songs.
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Hendrix Ibsen:
DrummerFromFife:
I love Rory and the Hurrricanes. The absolute best song on this album. I knew, once I had heard that song, with the kickass vocals and brilliant drum solo, that I was in for a superb experience with this album. And I was. It was wonderful
Yeah, it's a great recording as well, love the drum solo on "Rory and the Hurricnes". I think it is fast becoming one of my all time favorite Ringo songs.
I dunno if it's gonna become one of my favourites, but it's definitely the best song on this album, it features probably Ringo's best drumming since Instant Amnesia, and it's a very close second best in the "Autobiography" category for Ringo songs. In order for this to become the best for me, it's gotta become better than Photograph, Wings, Oh My My, and my all time current favourite, Back Off Boogaloo... It's got a lot of work to do
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Early to say maybe but I think "Rory and the Hurricanes" will become a Ringo classic in my collection. For every time I hear the album, I must somehow hear that song again. It just clicked with me. I must say I enjoy the album as well. I don't think every song is memorable but I like the general sound of the album, as a whole.
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Meanwhile, in case anyone missed it, "Postcards" debuts at #99 in the new Billboard chart. Pretty typical range for Ringo's albums the last 15 years or so.
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Bruce M.:
Meanwhile, in case anyone missed it, "Postcards" debuts at #99 in the new Billboard chart. Pretty typical range for Ringo's albums the last 15 years or so.
Some people are upset that Paul doesn't sell CDs in the millions these days, but Ringo is lucky to sell 10,000 or so!
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Bruce M.:
Meanwhile, in case anyone missed it, "Postcards" debuts at #99 in the new Billboard chart. Pretty typical range for Ringo's albums the last 15 years or so.
Well, at least the album didn't flop, like a few people I've noticed thought. I got my good music, so I'm content regardless of the outcome
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I find it odd that his records don't sell more. Ringo is very famous, millions... all over the world. Yet his records sells as if it were a local release. In this way, I think his music is underrated. there is more to Ringo than The Beatles, just like the other three.
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Hendrix Ibsen:
I find it odd that his records don't sell more. Ringo is very famous, millions... all over the world. Yet his records sells as if it were a local release. In this way, I think his music is underrated. there is more to Ringo than The Beatles, just like the other three.
Amen to that. I feel that the music critics are rather biased against Ringo. They seem to think that he has a different style when it comes to drumming and does very few drum solos, not to mention the fact that he had a couple of flops in the 70s, he's incapable of making decent music
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favoritething:
Bruce M.:
Meanwhile, in case anyone missed it, "Postcards" debuts at #99 in the new Billboard chart. Pretty typical range for Ringo's albums the last 15 years or so.
Some people are upset that Paul doesn't sell CDs in the millions these days, but Ringo is lucky to sell 10,000 or so!
Yeah, Ringo has joked in the past that he has just enough copies printed so every one in the family gets one and that's about it.
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Beatles4Ever&Ever:
favoritething:
Bruce M.:
Meanwhile, in case anyone missed it, "Postcards" debuts at #99 in the new Billboard chart. Pretty typical range for Ringo's albums the last 15 years or so.
Some people are upset that Paul doesn't sell CDs in the millions these days, but Ringo is lucky to sell 10,000 or so!
Yeah, Ringo has joked in the past that he has just enough copies printed so every one in the family gets one and that's about it.
Well, at least Ringo always stays in good spirits with how his albums go. He's not like Justin Bieber. His career doesn't necessarily depend on how well his album goes
And I know there's gonna be at least one person who goes "Don't mention that little girl in a comment about Ringo again! He's not worthy enough!"
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Beatles4Ever&Ever:
favoritething:
Bruce M.:
Meanwhile, in case anyone missed it, "Postcards" debuts at #99 in the new Billboard chart. Pretty typical range for Ringo's albums the last 15 years or so.
Some people are upset that Paul doesn't sell CDs in the millions these days, but Ringo is lucky to sell 10,000 or so!
Yeah, Ringo has joked in the past that he has just enough copies printed so every one in the family gets one and that's about it.
That's how poets thinking. When they have spent three years writing a book. There are so few who read poetry. One is glad to have a reader. Then it is worth it. I kind of like that, you write because you have something to say, you can't expect that anyone will read it.
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Since not much is happening here, I thought I'd share my review of this album, copied straight from Amazon. It's a big review, and for those who disagree with anything, these are strictly my views on the music.: "After Ringo 2012, I was worried that Ringo's new album would be super short as well. but nevertheless, I took a chance with an early leak, and well... I was won over from the get go. As per the norm with all of Ringo's albums, Postcards features a mass overload of guests, Joe Walsh, Richard Marx, Peter Frampton, even his current (incredibly talented) All Starr Band. You show up at Ringo's front door and you can play an instrument? Congrats, you're on his next album. But anyway, down to the 11 tracks on the album. 1. RORY AND THE HURRICANES As always, there's an autobiographical song on the album, and it's always written by Dave Stewart. First Liverpool 8 from the... Liverpool 8 album, then there's The Other Side Of Liverpool (it's cold and damp apparently) from Y Not. Chapter 3 of Ringo's autobiography, In Liverpool, can be found on Ringo 2012. Now we've left Liverpool, and we're heading down to London with a band that Ringo used to be a part of, called Rory and the Hurricanes. This was the second song I heard from the album... and honestly, it's my favourite song on the album. To me, it was one of those songs that you love so much, you just have the urge to replay over and over again. Ringo's singing is brilliant. His drumming is beyond top notch. You want a kick-ass drum solo? Then this song is for you. I'd rank this a VERY CLOSE second favourite in the Autobiography category for Ringo, ahead of In Liverpool and Liverpool 8, but behind The Other Side Of Liverpool. It's very close though. 2. YOU BRING THE PARTY DOWN Now we have a song written by Richie and current All Starr Steve Lukather, probably the second or third best guitar player to ever work with Ringo. Not too much to say. This song isn't too bad. The chorus is quite catchy to me. I'm one of those who has a habit of singing along to music when there's no one around, so when this comes on, I'm good to go. 3. BRIDGES Yip, as per the norm, we have a song written by the brothers in law, Richie and Joe Walsh. Another superb guitar player. First Y Not's Fill in the Blanks, and then 2012's Slow Down. And now we have a song called Bridges.... It's not horrible. It's pretty cool. But in terms of this album, and the recent musical creations of Ringo and Joe, this is probably the weakest song out there. But that's just me. It's not a bad song. Not at all. There's much worse out there. But I'd consider this the weakest song on the album. Fill In The Blanks and Slow Down win over this one 4. POSTCARDS FROM PARADISE Well, here we are, at the title track. This time, Ringo teams up with another All Starr. This time, the resident nut-job---I mean, brilliant guitar player, Todd Rundgren. And we have a psychedelic kind of song that acts as the single for the album. The first song I heard on this album, when it was first released a few weeks ago... and it got a mass amount of negativity.... And I don't get the problem. For this song, Ringo digs into Beatles nostalgia and features a Beatles song title in pretty much every line of the song, ranging from P.S. I Love You and All My Loving to Don't Pass Me By and Here Comes The Sun. People have called this the weakest song on the album... Then again, the same thing happened in 2012 with Wings, so I didn't believe them. I listened a few times. And I really like it. If Ringo can get away with singing "I won't Back Off Boogaloo, until you say you Love Me Do", I am pretty much won over. It's not the greatest single Ringo has ever put out for a studio album. I wouldn't pick this over the likes of Oh My My, Back Off Boogaloo, Wings, or Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go... But to me, this song succeeds, and I'd pick it over pretty much any other single. Especially Wrack My Brain. I really really dislike that song. 5. RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD Wow, a lot of guitar collaborators for this album... This time, it's Richard Marx's turn. He was in the All Starr Band in 2006 and contributed backing vocals and helped write Y Not's "Mystery of the Night". This is quite a good song. Not as good as the next song, and not as good as Mystery of the Night, but this one can still be good. I'd probably call this the second weakest song on the album. Which brings us to... 6. NOT LOOKING BACK This time, the two Richards take the emotional ballad route, a la Mystery of the Night and Marx's Right Here Waiting. This is a pretty beautiful song. I'd probably rank this at the same level as Mystery Of The Night. Its just that beautiful. Ringo can really work the mushy kind of songs. He just has that perfect of a voice. 7. BAMBOULA Oooh, now we're at my second favourite song on the album, Bamboula. This song is named after an ancient African drum. And knowing the drum master when he heard this news, for this song co-written with Van Dyke Parks, he played every single drum he has in his possession, including some foreign drums given to him as gift from Joe Walsh. This song is just super fun. Probably the most dancey (not a real word? Well it should be!) song this album. The backing vocals are brilliant. I'm always a sucker for good backing vocals. Love this one. 8. ISLAND IN THE SUN Love the current All Starr Band, the one that's been touring non stop since 2012? Well, you should love this song. This is probably gonna be the most memorable and noteworthy songs on this album, since it features every single member of Ringo's current All Starr Band, Todd Rundgren, organist Gregg Rolie, Steve Lukather, Mr Mister bassist Richard Page, Toto saxophonist Warren Ham, and legendary drummer and long time Ringo associate, Gregg Bissonette. This song is just brilliant. This is solid proof that this All Starr Band just gels and works super well together. Maybe that's why Ringo wrote a song with them. All the instruments work well, from Warren's saxophone solo to Gregg B's percussion, and the breath-taking harmonies between all the talent. If Ringo promotes this album with this band, I really really REALLY would love to see this song get performed. They just work that well together. They're not my favourite All Starr Band... but they are right up there with 2010, 1997, and 2006. They are that close to perfection. 9. TOUCH AND GO Another guitarist helping out. This time, it's Roundheads member, Gary Burr. He's appeared quite a bit since the Roundheads broke up in 2007. He co-wrote Y Not's "Can't Do It Wrong", and various songs from, I think, Vertical Man to Liverpool 8. This is the 2015 version of Wonderful. I'd probably call this a better song. It's pretty close, but I think this song takes it. For me at least. 10. CONFIRMATION And now we're onto Confirmation, written with Glen Ballard, whom Ringo has collaborated with before with 2012's "Anthem". This song... I like the drum beat. The Backing vocals are OK. But I suspect I won't be going back to this song much. It's better than Right Side Of The Road, but I doubt I can rank this above Postcards, Rory, Bamboula, Island in the Sun, those kind of tracks. When it comes to Glen Ballard, I'll probably stick with Anthem. Finally, we have... 11. LET LOVE LEAD Written by Gary Nicholson (I'm pretty sure he helped with Wonderful), Ringo almost came close to naming the album "Let Love Lead"... But... using Ringo's logic, the title became Postcards.... I have no idea how that wonderful man's mind works. Anyway, this song is pretty cool. Nice guitar work. Vocals are pretty catchy.... I think I'd place this second in the Peace and Love category, above Peace Dream, and under Anthem. You can't beat an Anthem... For Peace and Love!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, that's every song summed up for me. Bottom line, this album is a major winner. Better than Ringo 2012 due to having much more content, I'd probably rank this up there with my personal favourites, Ringo, Vertical Man, and Y Not. That's the great thing about Ringo as a performer. He has definitely improved from the Beatles, and his dark age that was the late 70s and 80s. This album could be a prime example of his improvement. His singing is incredible, and has really improved from the early days, and definitely from his days in the Beatles. His drumming is probably some of the best he's performed in years. Dare I say that his drumming on Rory and the Hurricanes could rival that of 2003's Instant Amnesia, from Ringo Rama? This album is a guaranteed 5 stars from me, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good time with music, or any strong Beatle fan. Ringo fans, definitely check this album out. You will not regret it!!"
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Is there a special edition (bonus tracks, bonus DVD, etc) available?
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Not that I have found... so far, on Amazon.uk. They tend to have it, unless it is planned a later 'exlusive edition', to sell the album again to the same buyers.
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DrummerFromFife:
Since not much is happening here, I thought I'd share my review of this album, copied straight from Amazon. It's a big review, and for those who disagree with anything, these are strictly my views on the music.: "After Ringo 2012, I was worried that Ringo's new album would be super short as well. but nevertheless, I took a chance with an early leak, and well... I was won over from the get go. As per the norm with all of Ringo's albums, Postcards features a mass overload of guests, Joe Walsh, Richard Marx, Peter Frampton, even his current (incredibly talented) All Starr Band. You show up at Ringo's front door and you can play an instrument? Congrats, you're on his next album. But anyway, down to the 11 tracks on the album. 1. RORY AND THE HURRICANES As always, there's an autobiographical song on the album, and it's always written by Dave Stewart. First Liverpool 8 from the... Liverpool 8 album, then there's The Other Side Of Liverpool (it's cold and damp apparently) from Y Not. Chapter 3 of Ringo's autobiography, In Liverpool, can be found on Ringo 2012. Now we've left Liverpool, and we're heading down to London with a band that Ringo used to be a part of, called Rory and the Hurricanes. This was the second song I heard from the album... and honestly, it's my favourite song on the album. To me, it was one of those songs that you love so much, you just have the urge to replay over and over again. Ringo's singing is brilliant. His drumming is beyond top notch. You want a kick-ass drum solo? Then this song is for you. I'd rank this a VERY CLOSE second favourite in the Autobiography category for Ringo, ahead of In Liverpool and Liverpool 8, but behind The Other Side Of Liverpool. It's very close though. 2. YOU BRING THE PARTY DOWN Now we have a song written by Richie and current All Starr Steve Lukather, probably the second or third best guitar player to ever work with Ringo. Not too much to say. This song isn't too bad. The chorus is quite catchy to me. I'm one of those who has a habit of singing along to music when there's no one around, so when this comes on, I'm good to go. 3. BRIDGES Yip, as per the norm, we have a song written by the brothers in law, Richie and Joe Walsh. Another superb guitar player. First Y Not's Fill in the Blanks, and then 2012's Slow Down. And now we have a song called Bridges.... It's not horrible. It's pretty cool. But in terms of this album, and the recent musical creations of Ringo and Joe, this is probably the weakest song out there. But that's just me. It's not a bad song. Not at all. There's much worse out there. But I'd consider this the weakest song on the album. Fill In The Blanks and Slow Down win over this one 4. POSTCARDS FROM PARADISE Well, here we are, at the title track. This time, Ringo teams up with another All Starr. This time, the resident nut-job---I mean, brilliant guitar player, Todd Rundgren. And we have a psychedelic kind of song that acts as the single for the album. The first song I heard on this album, when it was first released a few weeks ago... and it got a mass amount of negativity.... And I don't get the problem. For this song, Ringo digs into Beatles nostalgia and features a Beatles song title in pretty much every line of the song, ranging from P.S. I Love You and All My Loving to Don't Pass Me By and Here Comes The Sun. People have called this the weakest song on the album... Then again, the same thing happened in 2012 with Wings, so I didn't believe them. I listened a few times. And I really like it. If Ringo can get away with singing "I won't Back Off Boogaloo, until you say you Love Me Do", I am pretty much won over. It's not the greatest single Ringo has ever put out for a studio album. I wouldn't pick this over the likes of Oh My My, Back Off Boogaloo, Wings, or Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go... But to me, this song succeeds, and I'd pick it over pretty much any other single. Especially Wrack My Brain. I really really dislike that song. 5. RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD Wow, a lot of guitar collaborators for this album... This time, it's Richard Marx's turn. He was in the All Starr Band in 2006 and contributed backing vocals and helped write Y Not's "Mystery of the Night". This is quite a good song. Not as good as the next song, and not as good as Mystery of the Night, but this one can still be good. I'd probably call this the second weakest song on the album. Which brings us to... 6. NOT LOOKING BACK This time, the two Richards take the emotional ballad route, a la Mystery of the Night and Marx's Right Here Waiting. This is a pretty beautiful song. I'd probably rank this at the same level as Mystery Of The Night. Its just that beautiful. Ringo can really work the mushy kind of songs. He just has that perfect of a voice. 7. BAMBOULA Oooh, now we're at my second favourite song on the album, Bamboula. This song is named after an ancient African drum. And knowing the drum master when he heard this news, for this song co-written with Van Dyke Parks, he played every single drum he has in his possession, including some foreign drums given to him as gift from Joe Walsh. This song is just super fun. Probably the most dancey (not a real word? Well it should be!) song this album. The backing vocals are brilliant. I'm always a sucker for good backing vocals. Love this one. 8. ISLAND IN THE SUN Love the current All Starr Band, the one that's been touring non stop since 2012? Well, you should love this song. This is probably gonna be the most memorable and noteworthy songs on this album, since it features every single member of Ringo's current All Starr Band, Todd Rundgren, organist Gregg Rolie, Steve Lukather, Mr Mister bassist Richard Page, Toto saxophonist Warren Ham, and legendary drummer and long time Ringo associate, Gregg Bissonette. This song is just brilliant. This is solid proof that this All Starr Band just gels and works super well together. Maybe that's why Ringo wrote a song with them. All the instruments work well, from Warren's saxophone solo to Gregg B's percussion, and the breath-taking harmonies between all the talent. If Ringo promotes this album with this band, I really really REALLY would love to see this song get performed. They just work that well together. They're not my favourite All Starr Band... but they are right up there with 2010, 1997, and 2006. They are that close to perfection. 9. TOUCH AND GO Another guitarist helping out. This time, it's Roundheads member, Gary Burr. He's appeared quite a bit since the Roundheads broke up in 2007. He co-wrote Y Not's "Can't Do It Wrong", and various songs from, I think, Vertical Man to Liverpool 8. This is the 2015 version of Wonderful. I'd probably call this a better song. It's pretty close, but I think this song takes it. For me at least. 10. CONFIRMATION And now we're onto Confirmation, written with Glen Ballard, whom Ringo has collaborated with before with 2012's "Anthem". This song... I like the drum beat. The Backing vocals are OK. But I suspect I won't be going back to this song much. It's better than Right Side Of The Road, but I doubt I can rank this above Postcards, Rory, Bamboula, Island in the Sun, those kind of tracks. When it comes to Glen Ballard, I'll probably stick with Anthem. Finally, we have... 11. LET LOVE LEAD Written by Gary Nicholson (I'm pretty sure he helped with Wonderful), Ringo almost came close to naming the album "Let Love Lead"... But... using Ringo's logic, the title became Postcards.... I have no idea how that wonderful man's mind works. Anyway, this song is pretty cool. Nice guitar work. Vocals are pretty catchy.... I think I'd place this second in the Peace and Love category, above Peace Dream, and under Anthem. You can't beat an Anthem... For Peace and Love!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, that's every song summed up for me. Bottom line, this album is a major winner. Better than Ringo 2012 due to having much more content, I'd probably rank this up there with my personal favourites, Ringo, Vertical Man, and Y Not. That's the great thing about Ringo as a performer. He has definitely improved from the Beatles, and his dark age that was the late 70s and 80s. This album could be a prime example of his improvement. His singing is incredible, and has really improved from the early days, and definitely from his days in the Beatles. His drumming is probably some of the best he's performed in years. Dare I say that his drumming on Rory and the Hurricanes could rival that of 2003's Instant Amnesia, from Ringo Rama? This album is a guaranteed 5 stars from me, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good time with music, or any strong Beatle fan. Ringo fans, definitely check this album out. You will not regret it!!"
Much too enthusiastic for my taste but an enjoyable review nonetheless. Thanks, Mr. Drummer!
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Yep, very good review by DrummerFromFife there, I give it five stars, regardless of what I think about the album. You put a lot of time and thought into it.
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Hendrix Ibsen:
Yep, very good review by DrummerFromFife there, I give it five stars, regardless of what I think about the album. You put a lot of time and thought into it.
Thanks... Yeah, that's the thing with me. I've reviewed a fair few Ringo products, and I have a habit of going into extreme detail, but hey, it gets my thoughts out, and it's nice that people agree
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DrummerFromFife:
Since not much is happening here, I thought I'd share my review of this album, copied straight from Amazon. It's a big review, and for those who disagree with anything, these are strictly my views on the music.: "After Ringo 2012, I was worried that Ringo's new album would be super short as well. but nevertheless, I took a chance with an early leak, and well... I was won over from the get go. As per the norm with all of Ringo's albums, Postcards features a mass overload of guests, Joe Walsh, Richard Marx, Peter Frampton, even his current (incredibly talented) All Starr Band. You show up at Ringo's front door and you can play an instrument? Congrats, you're on his next album. But anyway, down to the 11 tracks on the album. 1. RORY AND THE HURRICANES As always, there's an autobiographical song on the album, and it's always written by Dave Stewart. First Liverpool 8 from the... Liverpool 8 album, then there's The Other Side Of Liverpool (it's cold and damp apparently) from Y Not. Chapter 3 of Ringo's autobiography, In Liverpool, can be found on Ringo 2012. Now we've left Liverpool, and we're heading down to London with a band that Ringo used to be a part of, called Rory and the Hurricanes. This was the second song I heard from the album... and honestly, it's my favourite song on the album. To me, it was one of those songs that you love so much, you just have the urge to replay over and over again. Ringo's singing is brilliant. His drumming is beyond top notch. You want a kick-ass drum solo? Then this song is for you. I'd rank this a VERY CLOSE second favourite in the Autobiography category for Ringo, ahead of In Liverpool and Liverpool 8, but behind The Other Side Of Liverpool. It's very close though. 2. YOU BRING THE PARTY DOWN Now we have a song written by Richie and current All Starr Steve Lukather, probably the second or third best guitar player to ever work with Ringo. Not too much to say. This song isn't too bad. The chorus is quite catchy to me. I'm one of those who has a habit of singing along to music when there's no one around, so when this comes on, I'm good to go. 3. BRIDGES Yip, as per the norm, we have a song written by the brothers in law, Richie and Joe Walsh. Another superb guitar player. First Y Not's Fill in the Blanks, and then 2012's Slow Down. And now we have a song called Bridges.... It's not horrible. It's pretty cool. But in terms of this album, and the recent musical creations of Ringo and Joe, this is probably the weakest song out there. But that's just me. It's not a bad song. Not at all. There's much worse out there. But I'd consider this the weakest song on the album. Fill In The Blanks and Slow Down win over this one 4. POSTCARDS FROM PARADISE Well, here we are, at the title track. This time, Ringo teams up with another All Starr. This time, the resident nut-job---I mean, brilliant guitar player, Todd Rundgren. And we have a psychedelic kind of song that acts as the single for the album. The first song I heard on this album, when it was first released a few weeks ago... and it got a mass amount of negativity.... And I don't get the problem. For this song, Ringo digs into Beatles nostalgia and features a Beatles song title in pretty much every line of the song, ranging from P.S. I Love You and All My Loving to Don't Pass Me By and Here Comes The Sun. People have called this the weakest song on the album... Then again, the same thing happened in 2012 with Wings, so I didn't believe them. I listened a few times. And I really like it. If Ringo can get away with singing "I won't Back Off Boogaloo, until you say you Love Me Do", I am pretty much won over. It's not the greatest single Ringo has ever put out for a studio album. I wouldn't pick this over the likes of Oh My My, Back Off Boogaloo, Wings, or Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go... But to me, this song succeeds, and I'd pick it over pretty much any other single. Especially Wrack My Brain. I really really dislike that song. 5. RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD Wow, a lot of guitar collaborators for this album... This time, it's Richard Marx's turn. He was in the All Starr Band in 2006 and contributed backing vocals and helped write Y Not's "Mystery of the Night". This is quite a good song. Not as good as the next song, and not as good as Mystery of the Night, but this one can still be good. I'd probably call this the second weakest song on the album. Which brings us to... 6. NOT LOOKING BACK This time, the two Richards take the emotional ballad route, a la Mystery of the Night and Marx's Right Here Waiting. This is a pretty beautiful song. I'd probably rank this at the same level as Mystery Of The Night. Its just that beautiful. Ringo can really work the mushy kind of songs. He just has that perfect of a voice. 7. BAMBOULA Oooh, now we're at my second favourite song on the album, Bamboula. This song is named after an ancient African drum. And knowing the drum master when he heard this news, for this song co-written with Van Dyke Parks, he played every single drum he has in his possession, including some foreign drums given to him as gift from Joe Walsh. This song is just super fun. Probably the most dancey (not a real word? Well it should be!) song this album. The backing vocals are brilliant. I'm always a sucker for good backing vocals. Love this one. 8. ISLAND IN THE SUN Love the current All Starr Band, the one that's been touring non stop since 2012? Well, you should love this song. This is probably gonna be the most memorable and noteworthy songs on this album, since it features every single member of Ringo's current All Starr Band, Todd Rundgren, organist Gregg Rolie, Steve Lukather, Mr Mister bassist Richard Page, Toto saxophonist Warren Ham, and legendary drummer and long time Ringo associate, Gregg Bissonette. This song is just brilliant. This is solid proof that this All Starr Band just gels and works super well together. Maybe that's why Ringo wrote a song with them. All the instruments work well, from Warren's saxophone solo to Gregg B's percussion, and the breath-taking harmonies between all the talent. If Ringo promotes this album with this band, I really really REALLY would love to see this song get performed. They just work that well together. They're not my favourite All Starr Band... but they are right up there with 2010, 1997, and 2006. They are that close to perfection. 9. TOUCH AND GO Another guitarist helping out. This time, it's Roundheads member, Gary Burr. He's appeared quite a bit since the Roundheads broke up in 2007. He co-wrote Y Not's "Can't Do It Wrong", and various songs from, I think, Vertical Man to Liverpool 8. This is the 2015 version of Wonderful. I'd probably call this a better song. It's pretty close, but I think this song takes it. For me at least. 10. CONFIRMATION And now we're onto Confirmation, written with Glen Ballard, whom Ringo has collaborated with before with 2012's "Anthem". This song... I like the drum beat. The Backing vocals are OK. But I suspect I won't be going back to this song much. It's better than Right Side Of The Road, but I doubt I can rank this above Postcards, Rory, Bamboula, Island in the Sun, those kind of tracks. When it comes to Glen Ballard, I'll probably stick with Anthem. Finally, we have... 11. LET LOVE LEAD Written by Gary Nicholson (I'm pretty sure he helped with Wonderful), Ringo almost came close to naming the album "Let Love Lead"... But... using Ringo's logic, the title became Postcards.... I have no idea how that wonderful man's mind works. Anyway, this song is pretty cool. Nice guitar work. Vocals are pretty catchy.... I think I'd place this second in the Peace and Love category, above Peace Dream, and under Anthem. You can't beat an Anthem... For Peace and Love!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, that's every song summed up for me. Bottom line, this album is a major winner. Better than Ringo 2012 due to having much more content, I'd probably rank this up there with my personal favourites, Ringo, Vertical Man, and Y Not. That's the great thing about Ringo as a performer. He has definitely improved from the Beatles, and his dark age that was the late 70s and 80s. This album could be a prime example of his improvement. His singing is incredible, and has really improved from the early days, and definitely from his days in the Beatles. His drumming is probably some of the best he's performed in years. Dare I say that his drumming on Rory and the Hurricanes could rival that of 2003's Instant Amnesia, from Ringo Rama? This album is a guaranteed 5 stars from me, and I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good time with music, or any strong Beatle fan. Ringo fans, definitely check this album out. You will not regret it!!"
A good review sir. A little too much analysis for me, but well thought. 4 1/2 stars for me!
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5th-beatle:
Is there a special edition (bonus tracks, bonus DVD, etc) available?
No special release this time...and Ringo always puts them out at the same time. He won't bother for a re-release like Paul's people would.