Consumer Guide Album

Ringo Starr: Ringo [Apple, 1973]
This is not a Beatles album but a Ringo album--a likable curiosity. Ringo's droll sincerity was always good for a change of pace; his songs were wonderful in context. Here that context is provided by an occasional harmony (especially John's on "I'm the Greatest") that makes me long for much, much more. It might be different if the songs were all as good as "Photograph," but without a real singer to work with, Richard Perry cannot transmute questionable material into magic. And don't kid yourself--the Beatles could. B−