Ringo Starr
Look Up
LOST HIGHWAY
From his covers of “Matchbox” and “Act Naturally” with the Fab Four (to say nothing of his self-penned “Don’t Pass Me By”) to his 1970 sophomore solo album Beaucoup of Blues’s reliance on whining fiddles and yawning pedal steels, Ringo Starr has long been The Beatles’ country guy—an old-style country guy, at that, with a battered-and-bruised sing-speaking vocal quality that could make him Porter Wagoner’s Liverpudlian cousin. Songwriter, producer, and friend-of-Starr T Bone Burnett picked up on their mutual love of that classic tears-in-your-beer brand of C&W and fashioned for Ringo an apt-flowing set of songs and empathetic musicians (Molly Tuttle, Billy Strings, David Mansfield, Lucius, Alison Krauss) on his new album Look Up to suit the Beatle’s warm, low-moaning voice and laid-back vibe.
If you remember Sgt. Pepper, you’ll recall that Ringo always operates best with a little help from his friends. Working conversationally and without dramatic flourish is what guides Burnett’s compositional hand in crafting easy-does-it cosmopolitan blues and salty acoustic country numbers without allowing the Look Up proceedings to sound vintage, trite, or pastiche-y. Instead, Burnett and Starr, with little polishing, have made something up-to-date in its swaying musicality, yet reminiscent in its melancholy lyrics. Zach Bryan would be proud to have a barroom sound such as this for any of his albums.
From the gently rocking (as in “rocking chair”) lilt of “Time on My Hands” and “Come Back” to the surprisingly drone-noisy “Rosetta” (thanks to Strings’ gruff guitar) to the Beatles-ish riffs of “Never Let Me Go,” Starr and Burnett prove that although Look Up is chilled-out, it need not be too mellow. These two old GOATs are experimenting as much as they are finding a relaxed fit for Ringo’s vocal demeanor and love-lorn, torn-down ways, while allowing country traditionalism to sneak through a la Billy Swan’s composition for Starr, “You Want Some” (if you recognize Swan’s name, he wrote “I Can Help,” a country hit from 1974 that many thought was Starr).
Look Up isn’t as swinging or Ringo-rhythmic as his last effort, 2024’s Linda Perry-penned Crooked Boy, but I’d pay more good money to hear The Beatles drummer and his new country crew playing these fresh songs live for his annual All-Starr Band trek. Here’s hoping.
