Post by Kapitan on Aug 25, 2021 11:19:13 GMT
Ringo Starr, Ringo’s Rotogravure (1976)
By the September 1976 release of Ringo’s Rotogravure, nearly two years had passed since Goodnight Vienna, the last studio album from Ringo Starr. In November 1975, he had released the greatest hits album Blast From Our Past, which ended his contractual obligations to Apple/EMI and was the final album released on Apple before its resuscitation in the ‘90s.
(Before we proceed: a rotogravure is a printing system using a rotary, cylindrical press; it can also refer to something printed by rotogravure, such as a magazine. I had no idea, myself. Now we know.)
The label had changed: Ringo was now on Polydor (with Atlantic handling U.S. distribution). The producer had changed: longtime Atlantic Records staffer and successful producer Arif Martin had taken over the role previously held by Richard Perry. But whatever the changes, the approach remained similar to Starr’s previous outings.
Most of the material comprised either classics (e.g., “Hey Baby”) or songs donated by his famous friends, including his former bandmates. In fact, Ringo’s Rotogravure was the new last album to feature contributions from all four living Beatles.
Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison each provided a song. Harrison’s song, “I’ll Still Love You,” dated back to his 1971 attempt to produce a Ronnie Spector album, and Harrison was sufficiently upset by the released version that he took legal action against Starr, eventually settling out of court. McCartney’s “Pure Gold” was a throwback ballad that included Paul and Linda on backing vocals. Lennon’s “Cookin’ (In the Kitchen of Love)” was written specifically for Starr, and his piano on the track is Lennon’s only known studio recording during his five-year retirement of the latter ‘70s.
The core band again included Jim Keltner joining Starr on drums, Klaus Voormann on bass, and Jesse Ed Davis and Lon Van Eaton on guitar. They were joined by the aforementioned songwriters, Harry Nilsson, Dr. John, Peter Frampton, Randy and Michael Brecker, and others.
The first single was “A Dose of Rock ’n’ Roll,” written by Carl Groszman, an Australian musician who was then signed to Starr’s record label, Ring O’ Records. (The label, formed in 1975 as Apple wound down, lasted just three years, releasing 15 singles and five albums. Starr himself never released his own music with the label.) It peaked at #26 in the US, spending nine weeks on the charts in all, but failed to chart in the UK.
One one other song, “Hey Baby” was released in the US and UK, reaching #74 in the former and while not charting in the latter. “You Don’t Know Me At All” was a Europe-only (excluding UK) release, while “Las Brisas” was a Mexico-only release.
In hindsight, despite the consistently strong performances and solid if not always top-level material—a hard-to-explain shortcoming, given he was not responsible for writing material—this album may mark the point where the idea of Ringo Starr as a solo artist began to wear thin with the public. The album did not chart in the UK, peaked at #28 in the US, and failed to receive any sales certifications a la silver, gold, etc. Both of his previous pop outings fared substantially better in chart position and sales.
While it marked a relative low point, Starr’s future releases fared much worse.
Please discuss and rate Ringo Starr’s Ringo’s Rotogravure.
By the September 1976 release of Ringo’s Rotogravure, nearly two years had passed since Goodnight Vienna, the last studio album from Ringo Starr. In November 1975, he had released the greatest hits album Blast From Our Past, which ended his contractual obligations to Apple/EMI and was the final album released on Apple before its resuscitation in the ‘90s.
(Before we proceed: a rotogravure is a printing system using a rotary, cylindrical press; it can also refer to something printed by rotogravure, such as a magazine. I had no idea, myself. Now we know.)
The label had changed: Ringo was now on Polydor (with Atlantic handling U.S. distribution). The producer had changed: longtime Atlantic Records staffer and successful producer Arif Martin had taken over the role previously held by Richard Perry. But whatever the changes, the approach remained similar to Starr’s previous outings.
Most of the material comprised either classics (e.g., “Hey Baby”) or songs donated by his famous friends, including his former bandmates. In fact, Ringo’s Rotogravure was the new last album to feature contributions from all four living Beatles.
Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison each provided a song. Harrison’s song, “I’ll Still Love You,” dated back to his 1971 attempt to produce a Ronnie Spector album, and Harrison was sufficiently upset by the released version that he took legal action against Starr, eventually settling out of court. McCartney’s “Pure Gold” was a throwback ballad that included Paul and Linda on backing vocals. Lennon’s “Cookin’ (In the Kitchen of Love)” was written specifically for Starr, and his piano on the track is Lennon’s only known studio recording during his five-year retirement of the latter ‘70s.
The core band again included Jim Keltner joining Starr on drums, Klaus Voormann on bass, and Jesse Ed Davis and Lon Van Eaton on guitar. They were joined by the aforementioned songwriters, Harry Nilsson, Dr. John, Peter Frampton, Randy and Michael Brecker, and others.
The first single was “A Dose of Rock ’n’ Roll,” written by Carl Groszman, an Australian musician who was then signed to Starr’s record label, Ring O’ Records. (The label, formed in 1975 as Apple wound down, lasted just three years, releasing 15 singles and five albums. Starr himself never released his own music with the label.) It peaked at #26 in the US, spending nine weeks on the charts in all, but failed to chart in the UK.
One one other song, “Hey Baby” was released in the US and UK, reaching #74 in the former and while not charting in the latter. “You Don’t Know Me At All” was a Europe-only (excluding UK) release, while “Las Brisas” was a Mexico-only release.
In hindsight, despite the consistently strong performances and solid if not always top-level material—a hard-to-explain shortcoming, given he was not responsible for writing material—this album may mark the point where the idea of Ringo Starr as a solo artist began to wear thin with the public. The album did not chart in the UK, peaked at #28 in the US, and failed to receive any sales certifications a la silver, gold, etc. Both of his previous pop outings fared substantially better in chart position and sales.
While it marked a relative low point, Starr’s future releases fared much worse.
Please discuss and rate Ringo Starr’s Ringo’s Rotogravure.