All-Starr Band

Ringo Starr

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 8, 1990)
• Original Release Date: October 8, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rykodisc
• ASIN: B0000009O1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #229,884 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
After an absence of several years (1983's Old Wave had been his last release to date), Ringo surprised everyone by hitting the road for a series of sold-out U.S. concert dates in 1989 and 1990. Keeping with the "With a Little Help from My Friends" aesthetic that produced Ringo's best solo work, the All-Starr Band tour featured appearances by Dr. John, Joe Walsh, Clarence Clemons, Billy Preston, Nils Lofgren, Jim Keltner, and Rick Danko and Levon Helm of the Band. This enjoyable live document does a solid job of capturing the tour's jam-party atmosphere, with most of the guests trading turns at the microphone; Lofgren's wistful "Shine Silently," and Helm and Danko's soulful rendition of "The Weight" are worth the price of admission in themselves. Ringo alternates his biggest solo hits with some well-chosen oldies and generally sounds like he's having the time of his life. --Dan Epstein

From the Label
Ringo Starr captured live in 1989 with a virtual "who's who" of rock & roll: Nils Lofgren, Joe Walsh, Billy Preston, Rick Danko, Clarence Clemons, Levon Helm, Dr. John, and Jim Keltner. This exuberant album features wall-to-wall hits, with each of the band's singers getting a turn at the mike: Dr. John does the New Orleans standard "Iko Iko;" Helm and Danko team up for the Band's classic "The Weight" (with the Doctor handling a verse); Danko also does a heartfelt take on a favorite Buddy Holly tune, "Raining In My Heart." Nils Lofgren provides the most thoughtful moment with his epic ballad "Shine Silently," while Clemons raises the roof on a cover of Gary U.S. Bonds' "Quarter to Three." And Preston does the most high-spirited of his familiar hits, "Will It Go Round in Circles."

The real kick, however, is hearing Ringo take the mike with this stellar team behind him. Four of his biggest solo hits are included: "It Don't Come Easy," "You're Sixteen" (with Clemons' sax replacing Paul McCartney's original kazoo solo), "The No-No Song" and "Photograph," and Beatles fans finally get to hear a live version of "Honey Don't." As Musician magazine noted, Ringo still comes across as the most low-key and likeable Beatle -- and we all know that don't come easy.

Also available as a special edition with deluxe packaging. The special edition features features a CD5 with the four hit songs "It Don't Come Easy," "The Weight," "Rocky Mountain Way" (featuring Joe Walsh), and "Act Naturally" recorded live. The two latter tracks are otherwise unreleased.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Collection of Oldies -Plus!, April 8, 2002

By	Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Ringo Starr began his legendary "All-Starr Tour" with this collection. It encompasses a great group of individuals that have done enormously well in the past and continue the legacy with these songs - backing eachother all the way. Levon Helms holds the best with "The Weight", Joe Walsh sets forth with "Life In The Fast Lane" and Nils Lofgren does beautfully with his always 'live' version of "Shine Silently". Ringo, of course has his staples here as well. If this doesn't sound good enough, consider buying the "Anthology" collection with three discs (this one included) that comprise the rest of three concerts and dozens more of guest stars.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ringo gets by with a little help from his All-Starr Band, July 17, 2003

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

One day, six years after making his previous album, Ringo Starr decided to spend a couple of months on tour. "I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends" has always been the most identifiable song for Ringo from the days of the Beatles and remained a central philosophy of his recording and performing career after the Fab Four imploded. Consequently, Ringo hit the road with what proved to be the first of several "All-Starr" bands. The title is not even close to being hyperbole since you start with Joe Walsh (The James Gang and the Eagles) and Nils Lofgren (Crazy Horse and the E Street Band) on guitar and Billy Preston and Dr. John on keyboards. Ringo does not even have to play the drums because you have Jim Keltner (The Attitudes) and Leveon Helm (The Band) for that, Rick Danko (The Band) on bass guitar, and Clarence Clemons (E Street Band) wailing on sax. Clearly a good time would be had by all and at the end of the tour the last concert at the Greek Theater in L.A. was recorded, resulting in this 1989 album.

It is not that there is a preference for wanting to hear Ringo sings his hits songs live as opposed to the standard studio recordings that made the charts. Ringo starts with "It Don't Come Easy" and ends with "Photograph" (appropriately), with "The No-No Song" and "You're Sixteen" in between. The only "Beatles" song is "Honey Don't," which was written by Carl Perkins and you can make what significance of that you will. Consequently Ringo does less than half the songs on the album, with everybody but Keltner taking a turn out in front on a song. Preston's "Will It Go Round in Circles" and Walsh's "Life in the Fast Lane" are the recognizable hits, so it is not surprising that it is the more unfamiliar tunes, such as Nils Lofgren's "Shine Silently" and Rick Danko's cover of Buddy Holly's "Raining In My Heart" that stand out. The recordings are not as clear as you would like but this is offset by the great sense of fun. "Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band" is not a great concert album, but they certainly had fun and if you have an enduring affection for Ringo and his eclectic little collection of hits then you could have some fun listening to this one as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Music But An Unnecessary Purchase, October 25, 2005

By	Julie A Ross (Pleasant Hill, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This CD features some god cuts. Only 5/12 are sung by Ringo, and nearly every song on this CD was rereleased on the 3 CD "Anthology set. I say pass up this one and go for the boxed set. You'll get nearly all the same tracks, plus a whole lot more of Ringo's songs, as well as many other performers like Randy Bachman, John Entwistle and many others. This is a great CD,but if you already have the Anthology set, you won't find anything new here.