Customer Reviews

Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr (CD & DVD)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Finally a proper best of collection from Ringo. As always, I could argue about what was left off but why bother. No collection ever pleases everybody! The songs have obviously been remastered (the earlier ones anyway) as they sound incredible. My only real complaint is that the count in to both Oh My My and Snookeroo have been edited out. Why???
Both were released as singles with the count ins intact.

Now for the real treat-There is one really big PLUS to this collection. The single edit of It's All Down To Goodnight Vienna is making it's cd debut with Lennon's count in still there!!!!
Overall, a great single disc of some of Ringo's finest material.
Now, isn't it time for George to have an up to date "Best Of" as well?

As for the DVD, it's great to actually own the videos for It Don't Come Easy & Back Off Boogaloo. I never even knew that a promo video existed for Only You! The only disappointment is the video for You're Sixteen. It was put together using footage of Ringo & Carrie Fisher taken from Ringo's 1978 TV Special. They didn't even use the complete song. Hope the TV Special is released in it's entirety one day.

Ringo Starr possesses that rare talent for making excellent, poignant and timely music throughout a lifetime; although "celebrities" in music come and go Ringo's talent always made him a titan in the music industry. Ringo's fans can rejoice that this excellent CD/DVD package has finally been released. And what a package it is! We get twenty songs and a bonus DVD with several videos some of which appear more professionally made than others. Nevertheless, it's all five star quality!!!

The CD starts with Ringo's earlier hits; we get the stunning "Photograph" by Ringo and George Harrison; the guitars work wonders for this arrangement and Ringo sings beautifully with a chorus and George himself doing backup vocals. Beautiful! "It Don't Come Easy" is easily another Ringo masterpiece; the guitar intro shines and Ringo delivers "It Don't Come Easy" without a superfluous note. "You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're Mine)" remains an excellent, strong cover with brilliant vocals backup by Harry Nilsson. Awesome!

Ringo does a great job with John Lennon's "I'm The Greatest." Listen for John on harmony vocals, too. The key changes on "I'm The Greatest" bolster this number as well. "Only You (And You Alone)" give us Ringo doing another cover, this time of a song by The Platters. Ringo shows off his great vocal range with this tune; and the melody touches me with its beauty. "Only You (And You Alone)," in Ringo's competent care, becomes one of the most beautiful love ballads I've ever heard.

"Early 1970" features Ringo singing of the breakup of The Beatles; what an awesome arrangement! "No-No Song" gives us an excellent tune by Ringo about saying no to drugs; "No-No Song" showcases Ringo rocking sweet and soft to make this one h*** of a song! "A Dose Of Rock 'N' Roll" switches gears; this tune rocks a little harder despite its 1950s beat--and it has one terrific chorus!

"Never Without You" stuns me with its beauty as Ringo sings passionately of his late buddy, George Harrison. The melody can't be beat; and this song lets Ringo express his pain over losing his buddy to cancer. Listen for Eric Clapton to do a sublime guitar solo on "Never Without You," too!

The CD ends with "Fading In And Out," a pensive, reflective ballad with a melody that provides a strong ending for this album. Great drums and percussion, too!

But the DVD has more! We get great videos of "It Don't Come Easy;" "Back Off Boogaloo;" "You're Sixteen (You're Beautiful And You're Mine)" and more! A few patches look like home movies more than a professional video; but it's fascinating and enjoyable to watch.

The liner notes are loaded with great artwork; and we get the song chart top positions and dates, too. We also get the song credits and the names of the people who performed with Ringo on each number.

To state that Ringo Starr is a genius is an understatement. Ringo possesses a natural ability to create timeless and ageless music about love and life, happiness and sorrow. I highly recommend this for Ringo fans as well as anyone who wants to hear some of the best music anyone ever released over the last few decades.

Enjoy!

Ringo has always been the forgotten Beatle. He has never been given a decent
best of package. Your wait is over. Starting with the majestic Photograph,
co-written by George Harrison who also appears on the song, this collection
features some of the greatest artists in rock,
Stephen Stills, Harry Nilsson, Paul McCartney, John Lennon (writer of I'm the Greatest),
Billy Preston, Tom Scott, Steve Cropper, Elton John, Robbie Robertson and
Randy Brecker, to name just a few. On several songs, it is a mini Beatle
reunion with the three other Beatles joining in. John Lennon wrote one
of the strongest songs on the collection, Goodnight Vienna. Peter Frampton
provides great guitar work on A Dose of Rock 'N' Roll. Even Slowhand, Eric Clapton
gets into the act on Never Without You. Where are you going to find so many
talented musicans and so many great songs in one collection. This is the collection to purchase.
The Highlights, and there are many are Photograph, It Don't Come Easy (written by Ringo),
You're Sixteen (great remake), I'm the Greatest, Only You (another great remake)
and Good Night Vienna.

Finally, Ringo gets a proper Greatest Hits for the CD age. Certainly, as some people have already stated, Ringo is often the "overlooked" Beatle, but alongside McCartney, Lennon and Harrison how could it be otherwise? Yet it's amazing to see just how many hit singles the drummer had during the early to mid 70's before the lustre wore off, as it did for John and George. I would imagine that, from the ex-drummer fraternity, only Phil Collins had more (unless you count Karen Carpenter!) Biggest disappointment for me is the omission of Ringo's first collaboration with Paul and Linda, "Six O'Clock" from the 1973 Ringo album, a great song and tailor-made for Ringo's rather limited vocal range. Considering we get his performances of songs gifted by both John and George, this omission seems strange. Otherwise a fine selection, showcasing Ringo's talent and surely surprising many of today's kids who missed Ringo's solo career!

What can be said about Ringo that hasn't been said before? He's the greatest drummer this world will ever see! OK, he's not the best singer of all the Beatles, but he can hold his own, as this collection shows. In every song you can tell that Ringo is having a great time, and you can't help but be happy when you listen to this CD. This is highly recommended for anyone who may just be a casual fan of Ringo's and just wants his biggest hits. But it's great for hard-core fans of Ringo (like me!) to have all the greats on one CD. Rock on, Ringo! :o)

Finally, a retrospective that takes in Ringo's whole career. Ringo's always been knocked as both a signer and drummer. Yet, he knows as well as anybody how to herd a bunch of cats who couldn't half hear what they were playing and managed to bring them all in on the same note at the same time. He doesn't have the greatest voice, but he knows how to use it, and he is pleasant enough. He doesn't so much sing as talk his way through his songs. It's hard to imagine that right after the Beatles broke up, Ringo was the most successful of all of them until McCartney finally got untracked around 1975. I have always liked "Early 1970," (the B-side to "It Don't Come Easy") a commentary about the relationships among the Beatles right after they broke up, which appears here. His 1973 album, "Ringo," was probably the closest thing we ever got to a Beatles reunion, as all three of the others played on it. John and George both played on "I'm the Greatest," which is included here. Ringo knew a good infectious song when he wrote or heard one, and this collection is full of them. As Paul once said, "Rock on, Richard."

This is a *must have* album for both serious and casual fans of Ringo Starr.

Although it is more of a 'Greatest Hits' / 'Singles Collection' rather than a true 'Very Best Of' compilation, it does include all of Ringo's most commercially popular songs amongst it's genorous 20 tracks.
However, with 14 of those tracks dating from the first 6 years of Ringo's solo career, it could be seen as being only a minor upgrade of his 1975 "Blast From Your Past" compilation. But who cares, these are great songs!

The real gem with this release is the 'Collectors Edition' version, which includes a DVD disc containing rare music clips.
Though, it is a pity that only 1 clip dates from after 1974, as it would have been terrific to have all of Ringo's clips included...

In my opinion, "Photograph" is one of the very best songs any ex-Beatle has given us, and it is great to see Ringo receiving this acknowledgement of his often much under-rated musical career!
Ringo... you keep making them and I'll keep buying them. Thanks for your music!!

as a big fan of ringo and the beatles, i already had all the music included on this collection, but i bought it in order to support ringo (and to get the nifty bonus dvd with the promotional videos). before i had a chance to listen to it, i read the latest issue of entertainment weekly, including a column by the irritatingly self-righteous dalton ross, who claimed that a ringo starr greatest hits collection is an oxymoronic title.

what an incredibly ignorant and petulant comment to make. it didn't surprise me too much, as ringo has often been underestimated over the years (right from the beginning), but it's just not true. ringo technically had MORE hits than john lennon, but i doubt that mr. ross would have made such a comment about any of the numerous lennon "hits" compilations. don't get me wrong, i love john as much as anybody. i just hate to see ringo constantly derided or written off as peripheral. yes, ringo had some hard times in the late seventies and the eighties, but he got through them and he has been making excellent music for quite awhile now. this new collection could have used several songs from VERTICAL MAN, RINGORAMA and CHOOSE LOVE (one track, FADING IN AND FADING OUT is included and is a great example of what i'm talking about).

anyway, the main thing is that i did get the chance to listen to the album the next day (during a ride home from atlanta to savannah) and i found myself singing along with every track and wishing i'd brought more ringo albums with me for the ride. this is a great collection of well-crafted rock/pop and features TEN top-forty hits, as well as a top-thirty country hit (ACT NATURALLY, with buck owens). it is HARDLY "oxymoronic" to call this a greatest hits collection and i'm comforted by knowing that ringo's legend will long outlive that of dalton "look at me!" ross.

Ringo's latest greatest hits package is an excellent retrospective. Many of the songs benefit from the upgraded sound quality. About the only thing on the CD I would change is which of the later songs to include. However, that is a minor complaint. Very enjoyable CD.

The "Bonus" DVD is a mixed bag. Unfortunately, the video source material is of poor quality with the exception of the "Act Naturally" video. The quality gets better as the years go by. At the same time, seeing these videos, no matter how bad the quality, was fascinating.

So if you enjoy a trip through a fuzzy memory lane, then get the deluxe set. Otherwise just get the CD and enjoy the remastered music.

Good sounding collection. I would've put together a different type of collection of tracks spanning through his entire career which would've also made for more treasures on the video disc.
This collection is pretty much the "Blasts From Your Past" compilation, along with a bigger handful of lesser known tracks. Ringo has much more to offer than what was put on this collection.