 |
|
|
July 1998 If George Harrison was one of the luckiest individuals on Earth to find himself sandwiched between the likes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney, then Ringo damn well won the lottery. Ringo's simple, yet distinctive style of drumming may have rounded out the Beatles' sound nicely but, let's face it, he was somewhat disposable. |
|
Now, I'm not here to knock Ringo, who happens to be one of the music biz's most affable characters, I just think an injection of honesty now and then might be refreshing in this racket. For instance, the Mercury Records press release that accompanied the arrival of Ringo's new CD, Vertical Man, claims that "the erstwhile drummer-cum-singer has evolved into a prolific songwriter and composer." Ringo? Prolific songwriter? You're killing me. Sure, Ringo co-wrote the lion's share of the material on the album. Unfortunately, the tunes are mediocre at best.
Meanwhile, a recent New York Times article pointed out that Vertical Man, "is not merely a retread of Beatles' styles. There is a grittiness, a density and a fluid eclecticism that is of the '90s, not the '60s." Have we been listening to the same album? I'm sorry but I didn't detect any "fluid eclecticism." What I did hear was a lot of silly dribble and 13 tracks of basically throw-away material. Sure the CD, which is Ringo's 12th studio effort, has its merits but, hell, with the cast of superstars on it, how could it not.
In addition to the superstar lineup, I should say that Vertical Man has other attributes that are worthy of mention. Ringo's voice, though limited, still has a simple charm to it that the Beatles recognized long ago when they featured it on such classic numbers as "With a Little Help From My Friends" and "Act Naturally." Furthermore, Ringo's unassuming and solid drum playing is in fine form throughout the album. But are these things enough reason to run out and buy this CD? Probably not. Got 12 to 14 bucks to burn? Buy a shirt or some underwear or something. Go get a hamburger or a nice dish of tofu and bean sprouts. Or buy another CD. Unless you're a real Beatles fanatic, or a close member of Ringo's family, you'll probably want to leave this one for the cut-out bins – or for the faceless masses that sometimes turn the most inexplicable of products into major hits. That having been said, I actually hope the latter of these two scenarios takes place. Who could wish anything bad on Ringo, after all. 
|
Produced by Mark Hudson (who has co-written songs for Aerosmith, Celine Dion, Hanson, and Jon Bon Jovi), the roster on Vertical Man includes Steven Tyler, Ozzy Osbourne, Scott Weiland, Alanis Morrisette, Joe Walsh, Brian Wilson, Timothy Schmitt and former band mates Paul McCartney and George Harrison, among others. Speaking of the Beatles, Vertical Man treats us to Ringo's rendition of the Lennon/McCartney tune "Love Me Do." It's here that Ringo manages to take one of the Beatles weakest songs and make it even worse. I don't know why Ringo did this. All I can say is, I guess the album has some density after all.