Ringo Starr Goodnight

Goodnight Vienna was very much a follow-up to Ringo, on which Ringo Starr called upon his bevy of musical buddies. Most prominent among them was John Lennon, who again wrote the leadoff track, "(It's All Da-Da-Down To) Goodnight Vienna," and played on three songs; also included are Elton John, who wrote and played on "Snookeroo," Dr. John, Billy Preston, Robbie Robertson, and Harry Nilsson…

Goodnight Vienna was very much a follow-up to Ringo, on which Ringo Starr called upon his bevy of musical buddies. Most prominent among them was John Lennon, who again wrote the leadoff track, "(It's All Da-Da-Down To) Goodnight Vienna," and played on three songs; also included are Elton John, who wrote and played on "Snookeroo," Dr. John, Billy Preston, Robbie Robertson, and Harry Nilsson. Richard Perry again produced, bringing his strong pop sensibility to the diverse material. The only real fall-off was in the songwriting; the album's Top Ten hits were "Only You," the old Platters song, and Hoyt Axton's novelty number "No No Song," which winked at intoxicants, but little else on the set stood out. Goodnight Vienna was another enjoyable Ringo record, but it lacked the star power and consistency of its predecessor. Still, compared to the rest of his '70s albums, it was a masterpiece.

Hard as it is to believe but there has not been a proper Ringo Starr hits collection since the first, 1975's Blast from Your Past – that's not counting 1989's Starr Struck: Best of Ringo Starr, Vol. 2, which was designed as a companion to that earlier set – until 2007's Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr…

The formula that had worked for Ringo and Goodnight Vienna was followed again on Ringo Starr's Atlantic Records debut. Arif Mardin replaced Richard Perry in the producer's chair, but he hewed to the bouncy, eclectic pop style Perry had pioneered for Ringo, and the drummer called in such name help as Peter Frampton, Dr. John, Melissa Manchester, the Brecker Brothers, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and Eric Clapton…

The idea, back in 1980, was to resurrect Ringo Starr's recording career by the same method that it had been launched with the Ringo album in 1973 – by having his fellow Beatles and other well-known friends help out. John Lennon was working on a song called "Nobody Told Me," and George Harrison had one ready to go…

It's hard to judge Ringorama, Ringo Starr's 12th proper studio album, by most standard critical criteria. Even comparing the record to his previous solo work doesn't quite work, since so many of his albums are so driven by his persona – a combination of his actual personality and what his team of collaborators (always including a bevy of guest stars, of course) perceive his persona to be. Apart from 1973's towering Ringo, and its good follow-up, Goodnight Vienna, Starr was never consistent, partially because of his decadence in the '70s, but also because he never relaxed – he was always shooting for the charts and shifting his collaborators seemingly haphazardly…

For a Beatle, Ringo Starr has had a relatively quiet latter-day solo career. After salvaging his tattered reputation in 1992 with Time Takes Time – his first album in nearly a decade and his first in nearly 20 years to serve his legend well – Starr settled into touring regularly with his ever-changing All-Starr Band, documenting almost every tour with a live album, then turning out a new studio album every three or four years…