 "Give it a chance" | 2006-05-05 |
| - Reviewed By User: A29XXR7YK220LA |
| I have to start off saying that unlike most people, I looked forward to getting this album and expected it to be really good. I have always thought that Ringo's voice would sound great for country (based on a few of the Beatles songs that he sang). I really do enjoy all of his albums but most of them are pretty goofy are really just great because of Ringo's sense of humor and energy, but this one is different. It is extremely good. Its simple, honest, and sincere. It has a really nice country feel to it but doesnt sound like a Beatle trying to do country, but in fact is really genuine and natural. Ringo's voice has never sounded better and the writers on the album penned some great and memorable songs. I dont like to pick each part of albums apart by rating each song, I think they are all very good, some better than others. Its not a ground breaking album and it probably wont change your life after you hear it, but it is, in my opinion, Ringo at his best, no matter what that means. |
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 "My favorite Ringo" | 2005-09-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: AX1U81IBKR0GE |
| This is my favorite Ringo album. I've always liked his country tinged Beatle songs such as Don't Pass Me By, Act Naturally, and What Goes On. His mellow voice and heart on his sleeve demeanor are well suited for sad country songs of heart-breaking women, and this album is well done with good songs and lyrics, and musicianship. In my opinion this album is a nice addition to the Beatle catalog and makes for a nice set with other Beatle efforts from 1970: McCartney, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, and All Things Must Pass. |
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| "Ringo's 2nd solo outing." | 2005-03-06 |
| - Reviewed By jlizon |
Ringo's second attempt at a solo outing isn't nearly as bad as his first simply because it's a field near and dear to his heart: Country music. And, by nature, country songs needn't require too much demands on its singer.
The problem with this project is that it's a fish out of water no matter which way you look at it. The rock fans who witnessed the breakup of The Beatles expected something of the same from Ringo, so there's no way they would accept a country disc, no matter how good it is, from our hero. The country fans meanwhile, wouldn't accept it as a "true" country record since it was done by a pop star as a one-off project. Therefore, time had to be the true judge for a project such as this. Ultimately the verdict comes down on the postive side for "Beaucoups of Blues." Ringo effortly handles such country songs as "I'd Be Talking All Time" with fun and ease. His voice really cradles "Waiting" and his somber reading of "Silent Homecoming" make it one of the strongest anti-war songs of it's time. Also the production is top notch with much kudos going to Pete Drake who produced this disc (he also handled all steel guitar chores as well). The vocal group, The Four Jordanires, who backed Elvis show up to do the same for Ringo. The legendary drummer, DJ Fontana who also worked with Elvis takes turns on the stool with Ringo. Jerry Reed and Charlie Daniels also appear as session players. There are things that don't work however, and one is Ringo's duet with Jeanne Kendall on a song called "I Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way." The voices just don't blend. Also, the paint by numbers approach with the songs hurts the disc. As the songs were specifically written for Ringo by a crop of Nashville writers, they seem to have said, "Okay, now we gotta have a broken heart song. Now we gotta have a hooker with a heart of gold song. Etc, etc, etc"
If you're expecting a good solid country disc, you won't be dissappointed. If you're expecting pop music......
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| "When you're hot, you're hot" | 2004-07-08 |
| - Reviewed By clayface9 |
| Ringo's second album was a country album. Unlike every other country album recorded by a rock star, this album doesn't feature any cover versions of classic country songs. Instead, a batch of original songs were written for Ringo by some top country songwriters. Ringo traveled to Nashville and recorded the album with top Nashville session musicians. The album ended up sounding pretty much like a typical country album from 1970. Except sung by Ringo Starr. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It's a decent enough album, if you are into this sort of thing. The CD features two bonus tracks. "Coochy Coochy" was the b-side of "Beaucoups of Blues". I guess it was left off the album because it's not really a country song. "Nashville Jam" is a jam session, obviously. This album isn't for everybody, but if you are a Beatles fan that also enjoys country music, you will probably like it. |
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| "Good, but not for the Ringo novice" | 2003-12-14 |
| - Reviewed By i1iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii |
| Beaucoups Of Blues (1970.) Ringo Starr's second solo album. As everyone knows, when the sixties drew to a close, The Beatles were no longer a functional unit and they soon disbanded. However, like many other members of the group, drummer Ringo Starr wanted to create as solo album. He wanted to do so even before the band broke up, and now that they had done so, there would be no better time than the present to release one. In 1970, Ringo Starr released his first studio album as a solo artist - Sentimental Journey. It was an odd album, in that it wasn't rock or pop, but rather covers of old tunes from the thirties and forties. Later in that year, he released another strange album - Beaucoups Of Blues. This one consisted of nothing but country/western songs! Was this a good move? Read on for my review of this album. The first thing I need to tell you about this album is that it is NOT the Ringo Starr you know and love. If you're looking for tunes like Octopus's Garden and It Don't Come Easy, this album is going to disappoint you. However, if you've got an open mind, you may find it to be pretty interesting. Ringo was the oldest member of The Beatles, and accordingly he had a pretty diverse musical interest. He really enjoyed country/western, and for quite some time, he wanted to do an album of nothing but songs of that styling. For this album, he teamed up with an all-star line-up of musicians, including the legendary Charlie Daniels, and even The Four Jordanaires, a group famous for backing Elvis Presley. The album serves up twelve country/western tunes, all of which are very similar, but each one manages to be unique enough to maintain its appeal. This CD reissue of the album is VERY nice for one major reason - You get two ultra-rare bonus cuts! They are Coochy Coochy, which was the B-Side to one of the album's singles, and Nashville Jam, a track which was previously unreleased in any shape or form. However, this is NOT an album to start with if you're new to Ringo's solo material. To fully enjoy this release, you need an OPEN MIND. Overall, Beaucoups Of Blues is a good second solo effort by Ringo Starr the solo artist. However, it wouldn't be until 1973's Ringo (that's the name of the album) that he would truly find his voice as a solo artist. Final verdict? Only get Sentimental Journey and/or Beaucoups Of Blues if you're a Ringo Starr completist, or if you're a die-hard fan that just can't get enough Ringo. Though these albums were certainly an interesting progression attempt, they aren't going to impress fans who are seeking a Beatles-esque album. |
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| "This is GREAT!" | 2002-02-05 |
| - Reviewed By asspolice2000 |
| I don't know what there is to complain about - this CD is great! I admit I didn't buy it with great expectations, but I really liked the tune "Beaucoups of Blues" on Ringo's "best of" CD, so I thought it might be worth a listen. I'm glad I gave it a chance! The songs are mostly wonderful, and it's all done with good humor and class - even if it does lean toward the campier end of country music. Which is OK, because that's definietly in the country tradition. It's obviously not a deep, meaningful, searching album like a lot of the early Beatle solo albums are (which, let's face it, it can't help but be compared to), but it IS an enjoyable listen. And there's nothing wrong with it being "just" a fun CD. Buy it! |
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| "COOCHY-COOCHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" | 2001-12-31 |
| - Reviewed By srtallio |
| Two words: COOCHY-COOCHY!!!! That rare Ringo gem is worth the (lowered) price of the album alone, what with it being a Ringo-written, Ringo-sung piece of music that rolls along extremely well! Especially if you're a die-hard Beatles fan who mixes and matches solo Beatle songs into pseudo-new Beatles albums like I do. Other things going for this album are the fact that Ringo sounds a lot more comfortable on these songs than John or Paul did on their early solo albums; and the fact that all of these songs are fully-realized SONGS, and not just snippets or drawn out pieces of songs like those from Paul(on McCartney) and John(on Plastic Ono Band) make this a nice addition to your Beatles solo collection(notice I said "Addition"; this is most definitely something to pad out an already existing collection, and not a "must-have" piece of music history). All in all, you won't be disappointed with this purchase. |
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| "One of Ringo's best albums (that may not be saying much)" | 2001-12-01 |
| - Reviewed By d_fowler1 |
| If you like country music and are a Beatle fan, you should own this album. You wrap Ringo up with this album and his self-titled "Ringo" album. |
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| "It's worth the rain to have a little sunshine" | 2001-02-24 |
| - Reviewed By dark-horse |
| I understand that some people may have certain predjudgements against Ringo Starr's solo carrer, and against this particular album. But this was my first Ringo CD purchase, and I wasn't dissapointed. I was waiting for the boring disaster some reviewers predicted, but instead, I found a country album (you can't review it like a pop album) extremely well-prepared, with some of the finest Ringo's vocal performances I've ever heard, and lyrics that can surprise you when you read them. Chuck Howard and Sorrells Pickard (two major country composers), wrote the majority of songs on this album, and their stories have always something to comment, or some phrases to rescue, hence the title of this review (from "Woman Of The Night"). You can never expect the genial lyrics of John Lennon, the perfectionist musical taste of Paul McCartney or even the solemnity and irony of George Harrison from a person like Ringo Starr, a man who always was in the shadows of the best band in the history of popular music. But you can enjoy, with tolerance and well-prepared ears, an effort like this. This not-pop-but-country experiment was prepared for Ringo by producer Pete Drake, recorded mainly in Nashville by other instrumentists, with Ringo only expected to go, pick up the songs he liked, and add the vocals and some drums and acoustic guitar parts. But the composers and musicians picked up by Drake make a wonderful job: the title track "Beacoups Of Blues" has lovely and sad lyrics, and there are some interesting stories behind "Love Don't Last Long", "Woman Of The Night" and "Loser's Lounge". Of course, there is some straight country music that can bore some people ("Fastest Growing Heartache In The West", "Wine, Women And Loud Happy Songs", "I'd Be Talking All The Time"), but there are also extraordinary love ballads ("Without Her" can easily make you cry, "Waiting" is lovely; and although the vocal duet "I Wouldn't Have You Any Other Way" is a little dullish, it's also listenable) and some unusually good songs, with sparkling geniality and humour (enjoy the rhythm and story behind "$15 Draw"!) or social content (the haunting "Silent Homecoming", apart from fitting perfectly with Ringo's voice and featuring some lovely instrumental tricks and backing vocals by The Jordanaries, the well-known group of Elvis' vocalists, is a very emotional anti-war song, this time from the eyes of a mother who has lost her child). The bouns tracks are also worth noting: Ringo's first solo-released composition "Coochy Coochy" has an interesting rhythm built around one chord!, and "Nashville Jam" is a long instrumental with great quality. It shows Ringo really enjoyed this album. Some said "Nashville Jam" is well worth the price of the CD for itself. Without defending Ringo too much, I don't think this album is a bad purchase. It can bring you minutes of joyful songs and others full of thoughtful memories or remorseful wine-driven love laments, but you can really enjoy the listening. Sure, The Beatles were more much of this, and even Ringo himself did better songs and albums, but "it's worth the rain to have a little sunshine" and this CD is not one to reject. You may like it or not, but you have to recognize that there are some quality songs and production inside it. Buy it if you're a fan. If you're not, know and love The Beatles first. Then you'll love Ringo, just like everyone else does. |
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 "Ringo Acting Naturally" | 2001-01-11 |
| - Reviewed By robmra |
| What do you get when you combine an ex-Beatle with some of the best session musician Nashville, Tennessee can offer. Merely a surprisingly strong country western album with a touch of rock. Ringo Starr pulls this off as if he were born to sing country western, and if memory serves my well, some of his big numbers early on were of a similar vein; Act Naturally, Honey Don't, etc. Deserves space on any music lover's bookshelf. Five stars! |
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