On his first new studio album to be released in the U.S. in 11 years,
Ringo Starr made a neo-'60s-sounding record that, if it didn't feature his
Beatle-mates, certainly evoked them.
Don Was, the king of creative retro, produced half the album, bringing in bands like
Jellyfish and
the Posies, who devote their careers to trying to sound like
the Beatles of 1965-66. Here, with a real
Beatle on drums and vocals, they came much closer. Of course, it's always a little weird when a veteran star makes what is essentially clone music meant to resemble the sound of his glory days. But
Ringo remains a distinctive drummer and an engaging singer, so even when he was singing something called "Golden Blunders," it was hard to blame him. Besides, there are worse things to copy than
the Beatles.