Editor's Note: During October, we featured Ringo
the 4th as the album of the month. Please tell us what you like
or don't like about the album and rank it from 1 ( positively awful) to
10 (great beyond your wildest dreams). Fans reviews follow the general commentary.
Send your comments to gshultz@airmail.net
, and be sure to include your name.
Because he claimed to have only started counting
with the Ringo album, Ringo's sixth album was titled Ringo the 4th.
The album cover, which depicts the lower half of a scantily clad woman balanced
on the shoulders the natilly dressed drummer, gives a hint to the departure
of style evidenced by this recording.
Feeling that the Ringo and friends theme might
be wearing a bit thin, the powers-that-be at Atlantic Records suggested
that the new project cash in on the disco fad. Ringo went along with the
idea and in June of 1977, he and producer Arif Madrin teamed up once again
to begin work on Ringo the 4th. Some unreleased songs were recorded
at the Atlantic Studios in New York but the majority of the album was recorded
at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles.
Although the Ringo the 4th album features
the drum work of Steve Gadd and backing vocals from Bette Midler and Melissa
Manchester, none of the former Beatles were involved in any aspect of the
recording. As a matter of fact, the only real holdover from any of the other
albums was Ringo's writng partner, Vini Poncia.
"Ringo the 4th features six
songs written by the Richard Starkey/Vini Poncia duo and copywrited by Ringo's
Zwiebel Productions. They are: "Wings," "Gave It All Up,"
"Out on the Street," "It's No Secret." "Gypsies
In Flight," and "Simple Love Songs." The four remaining songs
are: "Drowning in a Sea of Love," "Tango All Night,"
"Can She Do It Like She Dances," and "Sneaking Sally Through
the Alley." Neither the single "Wings" nor its follow up
"Drowning in a Sea of Love" caught on with the record buying public.
Ringo the 4th was realeased on September twentieth in the UK and on September
twenty-sixth in the US where it peaked on the charts at number 162. In an
article for Discoveries Magazine, Peter Palmiere offers an explanation for
the album's poor showing. "Fans and critics took the album as a joke
for Ringo's voice was hardly appropriate for the disco flavor music featured
on the album." This may be true for Ringo's vocals sound much more
relxed and happy on the charming children's album "Scouse the Mouse"
released in Britain that same year.
The only Ringo the 4th track deemed suitable
for Rhino's 1989 the best of volumue two CD, Starrstuck, was "Can She
Do It Like She Dances."
Ringo the fourth is easily the least succesful album by Ringo. This is
the album that effectively ruined his commercial career. "Drowning
in the sea of love", "Out on the streets", "Sneaking
Sally.." "Simple love song", "Tango all night"
and the single b-side "Just a dream" are all
completely ruined by Arif Mardin's disco strings and disco girlie choruses.
("Just a dream" could have been a decent song, though). Most of
the song are co-written by Ringo, but somehow they don't sound completed,
like they gave up finishing the songs. "Gypsies in flight", for
instance, is in desperately need of a middle eight and a chorus and "Gave
it all up" is in need of everything. I kind of like the song "Wings",
which is a good song that deserves a better destiny than being
hidden away on this LP. It could easily be a great song for the All-Starrs
(or the Roundheads). "Can she do it like she dances" is also quite
funny, and "It's no secret" could have been charming. It seems
to me like this is the album where Ringo lost control over what he was doing,
he sounds completely lost and under the guidance of people who didn't know
what he was all about, I'd give Ringo the fourth 1 1/2 out of 10.
~ Robert Djurhuus Wasa
Ringo's fourth Ringo album, or Ringo the
fourth Beatle? This is a much underrated album and misunderstood.
For the most part, I believe Ringo was responsible for the direction of
the album. Instead of a cast of characters, this one went for more
of a band sound. Instead of begging for songs, Ringo wrote more of
this album than any other up until "Vertical Man". (The
rest seem to be songs Ringo was familiar with, instead of extras from his
friends.) And the mix is a lot tighter, harder and clearer than on "Rotogravure"
(with the exception of "Just A Dream" which should have
been a bonus track).
There are points in their careers when artists
wish their records didn't sound like their records. Randy Meisner
wondered why the Eagles didn't sound like Motown. Chrissie Hynde wondered
why the Pretenders didn't sound like Madonna. Rather than trying to jump
on the disco bandwagon, this seems to be Ringo's attempt to not make a Ringo
album, but something more like what he was hearing in the clubs in Monte
Carlo and LA. Lyrically, this is at least as honest as anything
John Lennon had done.
Around this time, Ringo had described himself
as manic depressive. Both sides of his personality are addressed.
The more upbeat Ringo is presented in "Wings" and "Out In
The Street". (And has anyone ever noticed the reference to the
Dakota and its inhabitants called "just like two people you'd meet
out in the street"?) The darker side is shown in "Gave It
All Up". One can picture Ringo sitting at the bar after hours
with this. Both sides appear in "Simple Love Song". "Cheap
thrills when I have my pills." Even John left out "I'm stoned"
from "Scared".
For anyone who doesn't take Ringo seriously,
this actually holds up better than a lot of music from that era.
~ Steven B. Topping
Ringo the 4th is yet another example of Ringo Starr's work that is vastly
underrated. From what I had read about this, I expected this to be
an awful album, probably his worst, but I don't think it is. This
album does have several disco-type songs, but it's not really a full-fledged
disco album. I think what is shocking about this album is that people
think of Ringo as a good natured, happy-go-lucky guy, and this album paints
a completely different portrait of him. Ringo the 4th
is filled with references to bars, drinking, women, and sex, subjects one
probably wouldn't have expected Ringo to sing about. Because he sings
about these things, listening to Ringo the 4th is a lot different than listening
to the happy "Ringo" album of 1973. I obviously wasn't with
him, but from what I've read, Ringo the 4th probably does reflect Ringo's
lifestyle of the time. On some songs he sounds very lonely and sad,
yet on others he sounds excited and thrilled like some sort of crazed party
animal, and this probably is the way his life was. Like another reviewer
said, and I agree, this was an honest album. I don't think any of
the songs are terrible, most are just very mediocre. I think "Sneaking
Sally Through the Alley" is the most entertaining and probably my favorite.
I also like "Gypsies in Flight," the album's country song, because
Ringo seems like such a natural country singer. If I had bought this
album in 1977, I probably would have thought it was pretty good. Ringo
the 4th doesn't compare to the likes of Ringo, Time Takes Time, Vertical
Man, or VH1 Storytellers, but it is an album that is much better than what
you've probably heard about it. I would rate this album as a 5.
~ Travis Truitt
We get a kick out of this one. We'll be driving
along the highway singing along with such stupid songs as "Sneaking
Sally"{My wife likes this one{!!!!}}. His voice is shot{a.k.a."Gave
it all up"}.Must've been the partying. Remember,This came out at a
time when almost everything was
cheesy. Although!!!!!!! There are 3 songs from this project that rank in
my all time favorite Ringo category:
1. Simple love song
2. It's no secret
3. Just a dream {Why wasn't this a bonus track on the CD?}
I remember when it showed up in stores in 1977.
I borrowed it from the library. I couldn't believe he was doing Disco!!!!!!!!
This made me sad. I'll tell you now, I'd rather listen to this one than
"Vertical Man".At least the production on this doesn't hurt your
ears and there is more than
1 1/2 good songs on it!
~ Gary Owen
Return to The Ringo Home
Page.