Review of Ringo Starr: The Best Of Ringo Starr And His All Star Band

Introduction

Everybody likes Ringo Starr. He was the unsung hero of the Beatles, the cheeky-faced drummer and the movie-appearance clown of the group. He married that Bond girl out of The Spy Who Loved Me, and used to do the voiceover on Thomas The Tank Engine. Yes, him. That`s the feller.

I was really looking forward to watching this disk. I was saving it to the last of the batch I was reviewing so I could really savour it. I was looking forward to an evening of unrestrained nostalgia as Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band belted out standards and classics such as Iko Iko, Yellow Submarine, Whiter Shade of Pale...

Hang on. Iko Iko? Whiter Shade of Pale? These aren`t exactly titles synonymous with Richard Starkey OBE. What we have here is a compilation of tracks taken from concerts played over four tours - 1989, 1992, 1995 and 1997. The performances come from concerts in Los Angeles, Montreux, Japan and Pine Knob MI. The All Starr Band is an all-star super-band including such rock luminaries as Gary Brooker, Peter Frampton, Randy Bachman, Dr John and Todd Rundgren, and the programme consists of these rock legends performing twenty-one songs including some classic rock pieces.

So why was I disappointed with the end result?

I was expecting more of the disk. I`m not a great one for live performances and concerts, and this compilation has that raw edge. The whole thing is put together with casual liveliness that I`m sure fans of Ringo et al will find enchanting. I found it a little rough about the edges.

Video

Presented in standard tv (or Academy Frame 1.33:1) format from what looks like an NTSC-PAL conversion master, the image is not exactly ground-breaking. Concert recordings have the double curse of having to be recorded live and having to be recorded under stage lighting. This combined with technical variations between recordings made between 1989 and 1997 make for variable results.

Audio

The disk carries soundtracks in Dolby Digital 5.1, 2.0 and DTS. I put the disk in and cranked up the sound through the oddly stilted voice-over intro by Paul McCartney. There was a strange modulation to the voice-over that a studio-recorded soundtrack should not normally have. This was followed by a short, equally stilted introduction by Ringo himself, that I put down to self-consciousness. The compilation proper started and I had to turn the sound down again as the first song started and made everybody jump. At least subsequently the audio was of a consistent standard for the rest of the material. The sound is full and powerful and I`m sure just like being at the concert proper.

Features

The only proper extra on the disk is the bonus track, a compilation of performances of "Yellow Submarine". You can access all the tracks individually from the scene access menu.

Conclusion

This is most definitely a disk for rock and roll fans. If you`re an old rocker at heart, I`m sure you`ll love this disk, but personally I found it a bit unpolished. But then again, you`ll never find me at a rock concert, so what do I know? It`s great seeing Ringo in action and the All Starrs are a rock-group version of the Rat Pack. Whack up the sound and annoy your neighbours.