Customer Reviews

Goodnight Vienna

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is another great Offering from Ringo. The CD is even better than the LP because you get some great bonus tracks. First, you are treated to a John Lennon piece, "Goodnight Vienna." Sir Winston plays piano on this piece. The song is done with warmth and gusto. From this opening track you can immediately tell that Ringo is enjoying himself.

"Only You (And You Alone)" demonstrates Ringo's keen ability to make late 50's - early 60's rock classics quite memorable. Ringo's love for these vintage songs has not diminished. The story behind "Only You" is rather interesting. John Lennon recorded "Only you." Ringo loved John's rendition of it so much that he got John's recording and simply taped his voice over it. Beleive me, after hearing John's rendition of this vintage song, you can easily hear how Ringo followed the way John performed this song.

This LP also contains the cutsey "No No Song." I remember Ringo doing this live on the Smothers Brother's show. What more can be said about this classic?

I definitely recommend this CD. Great music and lotsa fun from Ringo. Where can you go wrong?

This was Ringo's fourth solo album. While not as good as his triumphant third album, it still has it's moments. It pretty much follows the "formula" of his third album, by including some songs Ringo wrote, some songs his friends wrote for him and some cover versions of other people's songs. The big hits were "No No Song" and "Only You". The CD version features three bonus tracks. "Back Off Boogaloo" was a Top Ten hit. The strange "Blindman" was the b-side of "Back Off Boogaloo" and was also the title song to a western Ringo starred in. "Six O'Clock" was originally featured on Ringo's third album. This is the extended version that previously only appeared on promo copies of the third album. It runs over a minute longer than the normal version and you can hear Paul McCartney's backing vocals more clearly on it. Recommended to Ringo's fans.

A friend bought me this on record and I have to say that I like it a lot better than the first album I bought which was "Sentimental Journey" The best songs on the album are "Goodnight Viennna", "Snookeroo" and and the reprise to the title song. Ringo really doesn't have what it takes to do a reallly slow song like "Husbands and Wives", but if you are looking for a good album then this is one that you should add to your collection!

This album starts off like a bonafide classic with Goodnight Vienna, Accapella (great song! ) and Ooh-Wee. Unfortunately, it doesn't maintain that level, including the clunkers Husbands and Wives and Call Me. Husbands and Wives is a touching Roger Miller song, but Ringo's pipes just can't pull it off. Call Me may be the worst song he's ever written, and he's written some pretty wretched ones. Also, Nilsson's Easy For Me is ill-suited for Ringo's voice. But there are seven really strong songs on this album, and the Richard Perry production is better than on "Ringo." Plus, there's the great bonus tracks, which make this a winner.

"I grew up with THE BEATLES." Those of you who did not, simply cannot--nor will you ever--understand all the magic, wonder and amazement that simple sentence implies. It was like hearing, watching, and feeling your heart come alive each time these four, magical musicians, took instruments in hand, and decided, "Okay, lads, let's make some music."

It was an oft' told tale that, during concert moments, when the audience frenzy had long since reached beyond "fever pitch," overwhelming their hopelessly inadequate amplifiers, John or Paul would howl quickly over their shoulders, "Ringo! Give us a beat, Jimmy" ("Jimmy" being a common Brit slang--sort of the equivalent of "Joe," "buddy," or "pal.") And somehow, miraculously--perhaps through sheer force of will--Mr. Richard S. would dig deep and hammer that beat home! Technology be damned! Crowds be damned! Endurance be damned! PHYSICS be damned! John's foot would begin to confidently tap, Paul's torso would bounce. And George? George would slyly smile for his old friend, Ringo the Rock, had once again brought the boys safely back into port.

Ringo: the glue, the anchor, the rock, the lighthouse beam.

Yet Ringo has often taken a back seat to his mates. And with a bemused smile, he has frequently let this impression or assessment of his talents and/or contributions stand unchallenged. Why not? If you were one of the four Titans who straddled the Earth, would you bother yourself with the mumbled stupidity of the occasional ant that crossed your path? Life is far too short, my friends.

It's a little known fact that, after The Beatles parted, Ringo went along quietly and consistently out-selling his brothers with his solo albums for any number number of years. That's right: Ringo.

GOODNIGHT VIENNA is but one outstanding example of what made Ringo so, so much more than just "the 4th Beatle." The entire album (oops! CD--or whatever the latest version of musical toy is in vogue these days) absolutely brims with the SPIRIT of Ringo himself. The humor, the warmth, and whimsical joy of simply making music with your friends. (And notice how frequently and enthusiastically, the other three Beatles--not to mention countless other extremely talented musicians--have been willing to join Ringo in the studio to lay down a track or two.

This is no accident. This is simple genius to genius respect.

In his heart, I don't believe that Ringo EVER loses sight of the pure, undeniable delight of simply being "one of the boys in the 'bar band' here to entertain you tonight, folks." The tracks of GOODNIGHT VIENNA run the spectrum from "whimsical wink," "nostalgic delight," and "wonders of the soul." I simply cannot tell you the number of happy summer days, or dark, lonely nights when Ringo and his music became the soundtrack of my life.

Among the supposed "music industry illuminati," Ringo Starr's life's-blood drumming, was often moronically dismissed for its "technical simplicity" (Ever try a "fill" on a teetering stand, with a 100 amp. Vox, in the face of 50,000 pairs of shrieking lungs? Talk about spitting into the wind.) And above all, technical limitations aside, in his heart of hearts, Ringo Starr is a BAND drummer! He's not a trick artist; not a spotlight junkie; not a glory hound. He knows his craft. He knows the craft of his band mates. Then he does what ALL truly brilliant BAND MATES do: he plays not for his glory, but for the GLORY OF THE BAND.

Does anyone out there truly have the "yarbles" to argue with the results? If so: go soak your head.

Or better yet, do yourselves a favor: buy this album/CD/download/psychic implant/whatever, and meet a master firsthand. While your at it, buy this one and RINGO, BEAUCOUPS OF BLUES, RINGO'S ROTOGRAVURE, SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, TIME TAKES TIME, RINGORAMA, CHOOSE LOVE, LIVERPOOL 8, Y NOT, and any number of his live concert recordings, done with the ever-revolving cast of equally enthusiastic co-conspirators to be found in the "Round Heads" or "Ringo's All Starrs".

Even the cover of GOODNIGHT VIENNA has always brought an extra smile to my face. Who better for Ringo to cast himself as than the alien, Klaatu, (from THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL--the original amazing classic, not that god-awful remake foisted recently upon us); Klaatu, who came to Earth with his simple, soft-spoken--but profoundly urgent--message for all Mankind: "Start learning to love one another, or risk ultimately 'reducing your planet to a burned-out cinder.'" Ringo Starr has ALWAYS been about the Peace and the Love.

GOODNIGHT VIENNA: a far finer collection of music than this shabby review conveys. Buy it and--from time to time--let Ringo Starr make your life just a tad better.

If you ever chance to stumble across this bit of nonsense, Mr. Ringo Starr--for all the times in my life when I so desperately looked back over my shoulder and shouted, "Ringo! Give us a beat, Jimmy?!". . .

Thank you. Thank you. And thank you.


Clay McBride
Hollywood, CA, 2010

Pay no attention to the London listener's review below mine. No, this CD is not the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" or "Abbey Road." But, Yes! - It is an excellent CD filled with great Ringo moments, fun & toe-tapping songs and some of the best pop music in the history of recorded music. If you love Ringo, you should already have this CD (although I would suggest the US release, and NOT the expensive import). If you don't already have this album, then what are waiting for?

Ringo Starr's album Goodnight Vienna features many of his best tracks including his ever-popular Back off Boogaloo produced by his longtime pal and ex-beatle George Harrison plus guests on the album include Paul McCartney Yoko Ono John Lennon and George Harrison

The early seventies were pretty good for the former Beatles drummer. 1973 saw the release of "Ringo," a star-studded album featuring several hit singles and other tracks that turned out to be one of the biggest albums of the year.

1974's "Goodnight Vienna" pretty much takes up where the first album left off, albeit not quite as satisfying. Like the earlier release, it is a mix of pop and rock, delivered as only Ringo, of the limited vocal prowess, could produce. Ringo has fun with the songs and Richard Perry has assembled much of the same talent as the "Ringo"; however, many of the tracks come across as "leftovers."

The best track is the MOR cut "Easy for Me," featuring Starr singing with a beautifully arranged string and piano accompaniment. The title cut is represented by two versions, a full version and a shortened "reprise."

The highlight of the album, of course, is the cover, a take-off on the classic film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" with Starr standing in the background as "Klaatu" and Gort the Robot prominent in the foreground.

That's enough to make this album a must-buy.

A friend bought me this on record and I have to say that I like it a lot better than the first album I bought which was "Sentimental Journey" The best songs on the album are "Goodnight Viennna", "Snookeroo" and and the reprise to the title song. Ringo really doesn't have what it takes to do a reallly slow song like "Husbands and Wives", but if you are looking for a good album then this is one that you should add to your collection!

Critics over-rated Ringo Starr's RINGO album. GOODNIGHT VIENNA is one of several Starr LPs they under-rated. This CD version includes the glass-shattering "Back Off Boogaloo," making purchase even more worthwhile, along with the hits "Only You" and "No No Song." Starr and Vini Poncia turn in the stand-out "All By Myself," sort of the theme of GOODNIGHT VIENNA, a collection of single-man (Ringo's marriage busted up when he made this album in 1974) loneliness and party songs. Groove on the piano-playing by Billy Preston and others throughout the disc. GOODNIGHT VIENNA has been bad-mouthed so much that its substance will surprise you if you actually listen.