Liverpool 8 opens with an eponymous and autobiographical track, thrillingly retelling Ringo's upbringing and his success as the drummer for The Beatles: "We were number one, and it was fun/ When I look back, it sure was cool/ For those four boys from Liverpool."
Okay, so maybe Ringo isn't the best lyricist of our time.
Liverpool 8 isn't about particularly deep or evocative lyrics; rather, in a style that proves his influence from Paul, George and John, it is about fun music, a cheery style and moving on with life in spite of troubles. It's an unpretentious style that's been effective since the 60s, and Ringo's voice, while perhaps more crass than the other Beatles', suits it aptly nevertheless.
Ringo shines in the album's diversity and fails in its repetition. One of the album's finer moments is when the synthesized love ballad "Gone Are The Days" breaks out into a classic rock-throwback halfway through, or when the morbid country chorus to "R U Ready" goes through a subdued, banjo-ridden explosion: "Are you ready to cross over/ Are you ready to let go/ To face the final curtain/ In the land of I-don't-know."
Using his cheery sound for the sake of macabre irony is one of the better moves made on Liverpool, because the album falls flat on basic riffs like those heard on "Give it a Try" and "For Love". They sound like Beatles b-sides that never quite made it for a good reason-the solos are sub-par, the lyrics aren't creative and you notice how short his vocal range is. "You've got to love every breath you breathe/ Look at the sky and believe/ Smile a little more if life goes by/ With love in your eyes/ Just give it a try."
Yeah, the message is all right. But as far as the method is concerned, he'll have to work on it. |
Ringo Starr - Liverpool 8 - CD Review
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