(ROCCABELLA RECORDS/UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP; 2017)
There are a mere handful of people that are readily recognizable by just one name: Cher, Liberace, Siegfried-and-Roy (Which I believe was actually the name of a white tiger that had a very successful show in Vegas until some German sap stuck his head in its mouth and it bit down… hard), Madonna and, apparently, Ringo… some dude that, aside from having one syllable more in his name than Cher (who’s primary claim to fame was from a line in a song by the Tubes: “Oh, God! More beautiful than Cher!”), but one less than Madonna and falling far short syllable-wise to the other two, is the father of a fairly successful rock drummer. Okay… I guess I have to come clean and tell you… I have absolutely no idea who this guy with the large proboscis actually is! Well, other than the drummer for, arguably, the greatest band to ever trod this earth. And, oh, yeah… he can sing a little and he’s not a half bad actor. Other than that, a real nobody! Aaand… I think I’ve got all of the stupid jokes out of my system for this review, so…
GIVE MORE LOVE kicks off with “We’re On the Road Again,” which features a spendly, snake-charming lead guitar from Steve Lukather (yes, THAT Steve Lukather) and bass from that other guy that Ringo played with back in the 1960s. Ringo is his usual rock solid drummer-type, nothing flash but spot on, nonetheless. His vocals are nice on this song, utilizing a standard rock and roll lyrical tool: We’re on the road and we’re coming to your town. “Laughable” is a pretty solid rocker with another nice guitar part, this time from Peter Frampton. Benmont Tench turns out to be the song’s MVP with some quite effective keyboard coloring, while the bass player (either Sir Paulie or background vocalist Timothy B Schmitt) also delivers a stand out performance. One of the more memorable songs from the album (and, just maybe, from Mister Starkey’s recorded output for the past twenty years or so). “Show Me the Way” is Ringo’s love song to either McCartney, his legions of fans or, – more likely – wife Barbara Bach. The “growing old together” theme is one that only a human who has lived through as many years as this artist can pull off with any kind of conviction. It’s a modest little mid-tempo rocker that definitely hits the mark, proving once again, why we love this guy so much. Lukather again gives us a rockin’ little guitar part; Jim Cox’s organ borders on the exquisite. (That last part didn’t come out quite right, but… it is what it is.) “Speed of Sound” is not the Wings tune, but a rather out-of-character “gotta get away” sentiment from Ringo. There’s quite a nice melody line from Ringo, a gentleman who always seems to deliver the perfect vocal for someone with his limited vocal prowess. Lukather and Frampton shine on guitar and co-writer Richard Marx (who, coincidentally, is NOT dead) offers some nice acoustic backing. “Standing Still” is Ringo revisiting the Country sound of his 1970 album, BEAUCOUPS OF BLUES. The vocals are far more forceful here than on any of the more rocking tunes on this record. A name from the very distant pass – Gary Burr – gets a co-writing credit and adds a bit of acoustic guitar to the proceedings, while Steve Dudas plays the electric and Greg Leisz takes the lead on the dobro, all of which adds up to a most impressive tune!
After a pause to flip the record (there’s just something so exciting and special about turning over a slab of vinyl to get to the rest of the recording, isn’t there?), we’re on to side two. “King of the Kingdom” is co-written by yet another music legend, Van Dyke Parks. The tune features a cool wa-wa guitar lead from Dave Stewart and some tasty sax work from Edgar Winter. The newfound Starkey swagger returns, at least lyrically, though it’s tempered by the punchline, “But, she’s the King of the Kingdom.” The brilliant Nathan East continues his stellar bass playing, introducing a little bit of a Reggae feel to the number. You just knew that Joe Walsh was gonna show up somewhere on this record, didn’t you? Well, “Electricity” is that spot. The Starr of our show is definitely having fun with this one, both vocally and percussively. Tench is back with Don Was pitching in on bass and co-writer Glen Ballard offering up some Fender Rhodes. Another Country number, “So Wrong For So Long,” proves that a bit of tongue-in-cheek goes along way. Stewart, Cox, East and Burr return in various capacities, as does Leisz, this time on the pedal steel. Honestly, as much as I like the rock stuff here, I certainly wouldn’t mind another full-blown Country record from this old fart. “Shake It Up” is Ringo playing Carl Perkins (as he did on “Matchbox” way back when), Edgar supplies some finest-kind rolling boogie-woogie piano. Toss in a spot-on Rockabilly solo from guitarist Dudas, and this one may just be my favorite track on the whole record. The album’s title track and closing number, “Give More Love,” is another echo from the past, with a late ‘50s/early ‘60s atmospheric teen idol kind of tune, the type of song that made Ricky Nelson my sister’s favorite singer. Dudas’ bassy guitar sound is perfect for the song, with the Bissonette brothers (Matt on bass, Greg on percussion) adapting their heavier sound to the proceedings with great success. Ringo in the role of Ringo is, per usual, very Ringo-like and that ain’t a bad thing. This is certainly a nice way to end a record from a guy who’s main claims to fame is as the father of famed drummer Zak Starkey and as the lead in the snubbed-by-the-Academy feature film, CAVEMAN.
