Customer Reviews

Ringo the 4th

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

What makes this album sort of special is that Ringo wrote six of these songs. I don't care much for "Out on the Streets", but the others are charming and very enjoyable. I really wish that Ringo would have insisted on writing the whole album. Of the four songs that Ringo didn't write, "Tango All Night" is the only one I like a lot. Like the song "Monkey See Monkey Do" on Ringo's BAD BOY album, these cover versions are kind of an embarrasment to Ringo. The best song here is the melodic and sweetly nostalgic "Gave It All Up." "It's No Secret", "Gypsies In Flight", and "Simple Love Song" are nearly as good. This is not one of Ringo's best albums, but it is still a must-have if you like Ringo. Note to Paul McCartney: In return for Ringo's "Wings", how about recording a song called "Ringo Starr."

Is "Ringo The Fouth" one of Ringo's best albums? Not at all,I agree. But if you compare it with all the albums released at its time you'll certainly be sure that this album IS really good. When Ringo recorded it, he certainly was not wanting to make a masterpiece, a new "Sgt Pepper" or "Rubber Soul". He was just having fun. This album was produced by Arif Mardin, one of the "kings" of disco music. Arif convinced Ringo to try new sounds. I think that Ringo (with his then partner Vinnie Poncia, later producer for Kiss) bothered so much with the instrumentation (excellent) and forgot the melodies. Some of the songs are "not whistful" and forgettable, although perfectly performed, but there are good moments. But the most interesting thing about "Ringo The Fourth" is that the best song Ringo recorded for the album was not included in it!...The song was called "Just a Dream" and appeared only as the b-side of "Wings" (and later as the b-side of "Drowning in the sea of love"). If you listened to this song you'd love it and I'm sure that if "Just a Dream" was released on the album and as the A-side of the single, the history of this album would be different. It has a great melody and the taste of the disco era. It could be a serious hit, but how could we understand the artists' mind??? Atlantic, please re-release "Ringo the Fourth" with "Just a Dream" as a bonus track!

Let me just say first and foremost: I think Ringo is very underappreciated but this album does not do Ringo justice. Ringo the 4th was the 2nd album in his triple threat of bombs before he released the excellent Stop and Smell the Roses in 1981.

I bought this album bundled with Ringo's Rotogravure and I can say about the only song on the 4th that I actually liked was "Drowning in the Sea of Love". Other than that, every other song is worse than the last one.

It almost hurts to give a Ringo album one star because he is a truly talented musician...but like I said, this album does Ringo no justice and should be avoided like the plague.

Pick up "Ringo", "Goodnight Vienna" or "Stop and Smell the Roses" instead.

It's true...there's a lot to dislike about Ringo the 4th. It has another slick, antiseptic production job by Arif Mardin, it features workmanlike playing by a brace of anonymous studio musicians, and once again finds Ringo, during one of the most diffuse periods of his life, apparently being propped up at the mike while amassed strings and disco dolly BV's swirl relentlessly around him. It would be yet another depressing affair like Ringo's Rotogravure, BUT...

There are some good songs here. And that is the reason why 4th slides by in my book, because the fun, for a change, does not come across as forced. "Drowning in the Sea of Love", for example, builds momentum with its disco beat and prominent backing vocals, and probably should have done better on the charts than it did. Also, "Can She Do It Like She Dances" is a hoot, very catchy, very danceable, and the inebriated-sounding Ringo works up a lascivious froth as he tells his mates about the titular lust object. "Gave It All Up" succeeds as a charming reminisce, sounding warm and winning; "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley", although done a bit better by Robert Palmer, still is done as a fun singalong and works well.

Ringo the 4th is an effort I would recommend, but cautiously...if you don't expect much and keep an open mind, you'll find it at least entertaining. It's no classic, but for fans of the Ringed one, it'll suffice.

It is hard to believe that this recoding came from the same guy who gave us such memorable classics as "It Don't Come Easy," "Photograph," and his Beatles classics "Octopuses Garden" and "With a Little Help From My Friends."

Ringo does his "Disco Thing" on these tracks. Being the drummer of the best band in history carries with it certain responsibilities. One of which is to set trends, not copy them. On this CD, Ringo trades in his solid Beatle roots for a pair of platform shoes. The result is an absolute embarrasment.

Ringo was born to rock, not follow the glitzy dance-trends of the 70's to Disco Inferno and obscurity. FZ's song, on his Shiek Yerbouti LP, "Dancing fool," pretty much sums up what Ringo became when he released this rubbish.

Those that claim that this is Ringo's best obviously do not know about Ringo's more robust musical offerings, like his Album, "Ringo" for instance.

No, this is not Ringo's best. Instead, this is Ringo at his worst. At this point in his career, Ringo had become a disco clone (or, is that clown?), just like three brothers from "Down Under."

I was disappointed when I purshased this album. You will too if you purchase this CD. If you want to enjoy Ringo, then spend your money on either "Ringo" or "Blast From Your Past."

I was kind of wondering as to whether or not i should purchase this CD. I had heard it wasn't Ringo's best. But when I put it in my CD player I was astonished. This CD is really good. Ringo has a powerful voice on all of the songs. His drumming is right on the mark. Arif Mardin did a great job producing. You will find that the songs here are not easy to forget. You will be humming and whistling them long after the CD is over. A great CD to kick back and listen to.

Abandoning his "cast of thousands" approach and embracing the disco fad(two huge mistakes), our man Ringo(never known as a writer)further causes trouble for himself by co-authoring 6 of the albums 10 tracks. Add this to over-slick production by Arif Mardin and you have what amounts to a recipe for disaster. The LP opens with "Drowning in the Sea of Love," and this song basically sets the tone for the rest of this album. The song's disco beat does Ringo no favors. His strong singing aside, the song has little to commend it. "Tango all Night," the next track is a step up--but not much. Its different beat allows the song to breathe a bit more. "Wings" is just as indistinguished as "Drowing in the Sea of Love." The next track "Gave It All Up," is probably the best cut on the album. The lyrics give the song a wistful feeling and along with the uncluttered(rare of this album)arrangement provide the only glimmer of the Ringo Starr we've grown to love on this set. "Out on the Street" is a full-blown piece of garbage. The Brecker Bothers who supply horns on this record do their danmdest to raise the level of quality to these proceedings but the overblown production of the song buries what exceptional talents these hornmen have. Also, at the end of this song, Ringo lyrically tries improvise some nonsense to go along with the song and it is truly embarrassing.
"Sneakiing Sally Through the Alley," is the one song that allows Ringo and super session drummer Steve Gadd to flex their muscles. When Ringo and Jim Keltner worked together in the past, one could hear them trading off each other. Here, with Gadd, producer Mardin didn't seize the opportunity to get something interesting from Starr and Gadd. That's almost as sad as the good money i shelled out for this record. However, with the Brecker Brothers stepping it up on horns yet again, Ringo and Gadd pounding away, the song turns into a winner. "Can She Do It Like She Dances," is a bit of comedown after "Sally" but being that quality is in short supply on this record, why quibble? Again, the overblown production takes away any charm this song could have. "Gypsies In Flight," is nice song. With some nice guitar picking and clear production, plus Ringo's homey voice--it gets a thumbs up. "Its No Secret" follows and to its detriment. Not that its a bad song, indeed, there are good points to say about it, nice melody, good singing but again the song is injected with a little disco beat making it too slick to be takien seriously. We wind up with "Simple Love Song," Actually a nice melody buried by orchestration and chorus. This is same tactic that Mardin used to destroy "You Don't Know Me" on Ringo's previous record. After the smoke clears, there's maybe 2 or 3 songs to hang your hat on. Not good odds. Along with interesting horn playing, bits of insipired drumming, snatches of melody it adds up to 2 stars. The thick sameness of the production just doesn't make for too many repeated listenings.

I truly believe this album got a bum rap for all the wrong reasons. Knit picking about production, the disco influence etc. If you really just listen without the beatle baggage then you will hear an album filled with excellent emotional vocals, great tunes and plenty of hooks. Of course punk was at its height at the time of release and disco was the rockers punching bag but over time this stands up nicely. Much more than Georgie boy and Macca's late 70's crap bar venus and mars!

This album has a poor reputation, and I'm not going to defend it too much. There are a lot of terrible and cheesy moments throughout (the lead track, Tango All Night, Can She Do It Like She Dances; Out on the Streets is the worst), but Ringo is actually in a good vocal form throughout, and the songwriting isn't too bad.

the ballads all work really well, especially. Wings, Gave It All Up, It's No Secret, and Gypsies in Flight are all nice songs.
True, this album won't ever be classic, but it is a little bit better than camp. Maybe I'm just hopelessly endeared to Ringo's music, but this ain't so bad.

I like this cd or lp. It did not sell great when it came out . I don't why I just liked the way it moved very up beat drumming was great a little dated now, put still a good cd.