Sentimental Journey

by

Ringo Starr

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The fact that Ringo Starr is often deemed "the luckiest man in show business" for having joined the Beatles shortly before they were to start conquering the world is quite an apt one. As Ringo himself often claimed, he was never the cracker-jack songwriters his 3 fellow Beatles were (John & Paul were already wonderful, while George struggled a bit before becoming a fabulous songwriter), and often relied on them to write songs for Ringo to sing on Beatles' albums to compensate for his unique, limited voice. When the Beatles disbanded, Ringo was fearful of the future without guys like them to help him along. So when he began work on his first solo album, he opted to go a sort of safe route by covering the classics, songs that were popular before or just after he was born. Hence, 1970's SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY.

Ringo wanted to record the album for his parents and relatives, who were always proud of his success, and wanted to pay them back for inspiring his love of music. While Ringo would often call on his former Beatle mates & other famous friends to help him record future efforts, SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY only features a cast of thousands in the arranging department. All of them help a singer like Ringo wrap his voice around songs that may have been recorded numerous times before, but it is always interesting to see which singer is the one giving them a fresh face.

The title track was the song that made Doris Day a huge star, and I'll bet she was proud to hear Ringo acquit himself well on here. The arranger of the moment is Richard Perry, who would graduate to producer on Ringo's first "original" solo albums 1973's RINGO & 1974's GOODNIGHT VIENNA. With the oodles of standards albums that came out last year, it is surprising this one was not as attempted so much as say "Night & Day" or "Stardust" (yes, Ringo would do those, too).

Cole Porter's "Night & Day" was one of his most seductive works, and you would think that Fred Astaire owns this song & nobody else can touch it. Well, that is true in Ringo's case, but again, he does not embarrass himself at all, and with it being the first song he recorded for SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY, the tone was probably set for the rest of what came.

"Whispering Grass [Don't Tell The Trees]" is a real diamond in the rough simply for it being one of the least-known tunes on the album. Because of this, Ringo actually manages to make this song one of his own, having a 36-piece orchestra behind him to help out. I wonder if the Ink Spots' original classic was what spurred Ringo to try this one.

Joe Cocker had already done a distinctive version of Eddie Cantor's "Bye Bye Blackbird" the previous year, but Ringo still manages to do the same with a more traditional approach, banjo and all. However, the double-tracking of Ringo's voice does modernize the song a little bit, especially since such a recording trick was pure science-fiction in Cantor's day.

Ted Daffan is one of country music's most underheralded personalities, having been a big star in the 1940s, back when it was still called "hillbilly music". He was also a fine songwriter, with "I'm A Fool To Care" being one of his jewels. Perhaps it was Les Paul & Mary Ford's hit recording that caught Ringo's ear, and encouraged him to try this country-tinged one on for size. Somehow, Ringo's offbeat voice is perfectly suited for this genre.

Where to begin with "Stardust", that Hoagy Carmichael song that is truly the standard of

standards? Surely, Ringo knew he would never steal this song from anyone, least of all, Nat King Cole, whom Hoagy claimed did it the best. However, Ringo has never tried to be earth-shattering with his music, just simply wanting to have fun. If that was the case with his "Stardust", mission accomplished. At least Ringo had Paul McCartney as the arranger in question, with more than a little help from producer George Martin.

Fats Waller's "Blue, Turning Grey Over You" is much more like it, with another lost classic of sorts, and a brassy, swinging approach that finds Ringo succeeding again beyond all expectations. Louis Armstrong had popularized this song, and seeing as he was still alive when Ringo recorded it, I wonder if he dug Ringo's cover of a truly forgotten classic.

The Four Aces' "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing" was one of Ringo's favorite songs growing up, as he mentioned in THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY book, so recording this probably was a labor of love for him. With master producer & arranger Quincy Jones at the helm, Ringo again does his best to put his signature on it, getting some ample help from organist Billy Preston & a smaller 16-piece orchestra along the way.

Ringo's delivery of "Good Night" on the WHITE ALBUM showed he could do the "Uncle Ringo" persona with a lullaby to soothe the listener on their way to dreamland. He does so again on Johnny Mercer's "Dream", which also seems to exemplify the easygoing nature of Ringo himself. Even with the Beatles becoming a thing of the past, Ringo could not have been that scared of what he was going to do next. Not when he had old friends like George Martin to arrange this classic.

"You Always Hurt The One You Love" was co-written by Doris Fisher, who also collaborated on "Whispering Grass", and here Ringo gets a bit more melancholy with a song that is the polar opposite of the one coming after this. However, the much more upbeat instrumentation is rather jarring, making for an ill fit. Perhaps the only song on here that does not succeed totally.

"Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" is my favorite entry on SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY because, this time around, a peppy lyric is matched wonderfully with an equally-so arrangement by the late film composer Elmer Bernstein. Ringo's enthusiasm is beyond infectious, and I bet he enjoyed particularly the ending with the violin and bird noises. Cute!

SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY then heads for home with "Let The Rest Of The World Go By", written by Ernest Ball of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" fame. Obviously, Ringo is no Dick Haymes, though they have similarly deep voices, but Ringo still creates an appropriate sense of contentment with a song again playing to his real-life happy-go-lucky attitude, albeit with a more sedate arrangement that still manages to fit.

Ringo Starr would continue going the covers route on his follow-up of country greats BEAUCOUP OF BLUES (1970), so even if he was unsure of what to do after the four-headed monster of the Beatles separated, he was at least not going to stay idle. Although Ringo did begin work on his song "It Don't Come Easy" during the sessions with George Martin producing, that version remained unreleased, and when released as a single the next year, it would be a complete overhaul from what I have heard. While Ringo's post-Beatles solo career would not really get underway for 3 more years, SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY shows that Ringo was at least going to succeed on his enthusiasm and his aim to keep working somehow or another. In the end, I am sure Ringo's parents were prouder still to see their song sing the songs they enjoyed for a change.

For Ringo Starr's first solo project, he chose to record an album of standards. It might have seemed like an odd choice at the time, but these are songs he grew up with, being favorites of his mum and dad. To give the project some variety, every song was arranged by a different person. Naturally, some of the arrangements are more interesting than others. "Bye Bye Blackbird", arranged by Maurice Gibb, has an almost vaudevillian feel to it. Many of the other songs have swing arrangements that really cook. As for Ringo himself, well, he's no Frank Sinatra. But they wisely chose songs that were within his rather limited range and he managed to acquit himself rather well. Fans of Ringo that have an appreciation for the old standards should get a kick out of this album.