Ringo Starr
Look Up
Release Date: Jan 10, 2025
Genre(s): Country, Pop/Rock, Contemporary Pop/Rock
Record label: Lost Highway
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Album Review: Look Up by Ringo Starr
Satisfactory, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 6/10
That is to say that Ringo's latest, Look Up, is done for the love of the game. It's been six years since he last dropped a full-length, but the timing could hardly be better. Everything old is new again - country music is as mainstream as it's been in two decades or so. While Starr has dabbled in all manner of genres, from rock to reggae to disco, he never sounds so respectable as he does over a twanging guitar.
Based on rating 2.8/5
Look Up is a rodeo that never makes it to 8, but Ringo is nonetheless as charming and self-effacing as ever Bit of context for that summary: in the sport of competitive bullriding, the rider must sit astride a furiously bucking bull for 8 seconds while only clinging on with one hand. The most likeable Beatle's dilettantism in the highbrow world of country music isn't exactly the white-knuckle thrill a rodeo might be, so maybe the metaphor isn't all that apt. Still, there's got to be a bit of bravado for Ringo to try on this particular hat at this stage in his career.
Opinion: Excellent
Full confession! I was always a little bit in love with Ringo Starr, so much so I named my cat after him and had a Ringo badge on my jacket for about eight years. His new country-tinged album 'Look Up' is a roots music project steeped in country . Ringo's vocal tones have always veered towards rockabilly and country sonics, while his lifelong love and appreciation of country music has always been celebrated throughout his illustrious career, so it was never going to be a complete departure to see the former Beatle dipping his toes into the country scene.
Opinion: Excellent
It's impossible to listen to Ringo Starr's new album Look Up without feeling a huge surge of joy. Every album The Beatles' drummer has released since 2010's Y Not has offered glimpses of what he is capable of, and the five EPs he's issued since 2021 demonstrate just how game he is for the next stage of his career. From the moment he mournfully walked along that Thames path in 1964 in 'character' in A Hard Day's Night, everyone knew there was an innate sadness behind Ringo's capers; a sorrow intensified by his unique singing voice.
'Look Up'
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