On his first new studio album to be released in the U.S. in 11 years,
Ringo Starr
made a neo-'60s-sounding record that, if it didn't feature his
Beatle
-mates, certainly evoked them.
Don Was
, the king of creative retro, produced half the album, bringing in bands like
Jellyfish
and
the Posies
, who devote their careers to trying to sound like
the Beatles
of 1965-66. Here, with a real
on drums and vocals, they came much closer. Of course, it's always a little weird when a veteran star makes what is essentially clone music meant to resemble the sound of his glory days. But
Ringo
remains a distinctive drummer and an engaging singer, so even when he was singing something called
"Golden Blunders,"
it was hard to blame him. Besides, there are worse things to copy than
. ~ William Ruhlmann