Shina Ringo

This 93-minute program includes 21 songs drawn from five All-Starr Band tours. A splendid time was clearly had by all, from members of the Eagles, the Band, and Bruce Springsteen's group to Todd Rundgren, the Rascals' Felix Cavaliere, Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, Dr. John, Randy Bachman, and many more. Not a lot of surprises (what, you thought Ringo wouldn't sing "Yellow Submarine" and "With a Little Help from My Friends"?), but there are some unexpectedly compelling moments, like a fiery version of "Sunshine of Your Love" featuring Peter Frampton and Cream's Jack Bruce.

With Ringo, Ringo Starr finally put his solo career in gear in 1973, after serving notice with back-to-back Top Ten singles in 1971 and 1972 that he had more to offer than his eccentric first two solo albums. Ringo was a big-budget pop album produced by Richard Perry and featuring Ringo's former Beatles bandmates as songwriters, singers, and instrumentalists. On no single track did all four appear, though George Harrison played the guitars on the John Lennon-penned leadoff track "I'm the Greatest," with Lennon playing piano and singing harmony. But it wasn't only the guests who made Ringo a success: Ringo advanced his own cause by co-writing two of the album's Top Ten singles, the number one "Photograph" and "Oh My My"…

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 …

Ringo lets loose with his superstar friends in this eagerly awaited video of worldwide concert highlights from four different All Starr Bands…

Ringo Starr, continuing to recognize a good thing when he sees it as he did back in 1962, is still organizing all-star (or "All-Starr") bands and touring regularly with them. This disc melds a concert performance at the Casino Rama in Ontario, Canada with a good deal of backstage documentary-style footage…

There's nothing surprising, or even all that different, about Choose Love, Ringo Starr's 13th studio album: it's firmly in the tradition of his 1992 return to recording, Time Takes Time, which itself was an attempt to recreate the breezy, good-natured vibe of Starr's biggest and best album, 1973's Ringo…

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…