Not a big Beatles fan, but that's interesting. I'd like to hear it.
Holy cow: Ringo produced by T Bone Burnett!
I have YouTube video maker Norman Maslov to thank for for alerting me to this interesting news (see video link below if you wish). Ringo Starr revealed his love of Country music while still in The Beatles, and in 1970 traveled to Nashville to record his Beaucoups Of Blues album, which is 100% pure Country. It is one of my favorite post-Beatles albums from the four members (as is his 1973 s/t album). While his singing isn’t up to the level of the Nashville studio musicians who play on the album (many of them also heard on a few mid-60’s and later Dylan albums), it works.
A few years back, Mazzy expressed his desire that Ringo would forget about his All-Star albums, and make another Country record, a sentiment I wholeheartedly agreed with. Well, Ringo has finally done as Mazzy and I wished: He went back to Nashville to record a Country album, with T Bone Burnett producing, no less!
Mazzy mentions that Alison Krauss and Billy Strings (a fairly recent young neo-Traditionalist Country/Bluegrass songwriter/singer/guitarist making a name for himself) are heard on the album, so I have high hopes for it. It’s slated for a January release.
https://youtu.be/pmmIVfqGm08?si=GqaQaR-KBcnTKZwf
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Ringo did more than just provide the necessary backbeat, as important as that is. Young drummers---who have yet to learn the wisdom of not "over-playing"---are quick to dismiss "feel" type drummers like Ringo (and Charlie Watts). But get them into a recording studio and they quickly find out how hard it is to provide truly "musical" accompaniment to a good band. The drummers in more bands than you would believe are replaced for recording sessions by studio drummers who know know how to "play for the song", not their egos. Tom Petty’s original drummer Stan Lynch recently stated in the great book Pledging My Time: Conversations With Bob Dylan Band Members that only after interacting with studio great Jim Keltner, and the passage of time, did he realize that his drumming was "too busy." The number one complaint by singers and songwriters about drummers is their propensity to over-play. As good as Keltner is, Leon Russell asked Elton John to dismiss Jim after recording of the Union album had commenced. Jim's playing was too busy for Leon. Ringo is belittled by non-musicians far more than by other other drummers. One of Ringo’s biggest fans and defenders is Gregg Bissonette, one time drummer in the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, and 2023 winner of the Modern Drummer Magazine Best All Around Drummer award. Buddy Rich described Ringo as an "adequate" drummer, which coming from Buddy is a compliment.
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You go Sina! Not to be overly-critical---she is very young---but you can clearly hear her tendency to "rush"---play ahead of the "pocket", very common in young drummers. This is more severe when she gets to the "bridge" section of the song. One thing I learned when I started recording with younger singers who accompanied themselves on guitar is their tendency to rush. Being new to the recording studio makes them anxious, and they find it hard to "wait for the beat" to come around. That playing ahead of the pocket can make it sound like the drummer is "dragging"---playing behind the pocket. I've done sessions where the producer ended up recording me alone, playing to a click track (a metronome fed into my headphones), to get a basic rhythm track. He could then take all the time necessary to get the singer's guitar part right, without having to pay me while doing so. Time is money.
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Look Up tracklist: |
You gonna get the vinyl @bdp24 ? |
Well Yee-haw!!! Country Ringo! Seriously….sounds interesting. Will scan for it on Qobuz. On a side note, Ringo’s Beatle’s cover turned me on to Buck Owens and the Buckaroos who I think are one of the best things ever in country music. Love that good old fashioned Bakersfield sound and songs that are just flat out fun. Just like Ringo, eh? |
Ok I checked out the track with Alison Kraus and am sold. I predict a big hit! Added to my library. It’s amazing how Robert Plant and Krauss magically jelled. Go Ringo! Love the cowboy hat! Thanks @bdp24 You are always the man with the music insights!
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Yep @slaw, the album is coming on LP and CD (and streaming I presume), I'm getting it on vinyl.
@mapman: No one was more surprised than I when Plant and Krauss teamed up. Looking back on it, I guess I shouldn't have been. I already knew Robert was a big fan of Rockabilly, and was responsible for signing Rockpile to Swan Song Records. Robert and Dave Edmunds are close friends. George Harrison was also influenced by Country & Western music, and in early interviews cited Chet Atkins as a major role model in his guitar playing. George's lack of a deep Blues influence is why when the guitar playing in Rock music made a major turn into Blues stylings, George sort of got left behind. I love George's playing, his solo in "Nowhere man" being an all-time favorite of mine. When I heard it for the first time, I laughed out loud; it was very (and I mean VERY) similar to the solo James Burton played in Ricky Nelson's song "Young World".
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@bdp24 - Thanks for the heads up. I am always a fan of Ringo's collaborations. Interesting to see Larkin Poe show up for one number. Should be fun. |
