GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD

Martin Scorsese's George Harrison documentary, Living In The Material World, has been in the making for a long time. It was worth the wait.  The first half seemed like watching The Beatles Anthology documentary from a George-centric view, but there were some great scenes.  I'd never seen the footage of an older, wiser George in the '70s, watching video of The Beatles performing.  Also, there was a great story of John Lennon and George Harrison visiting Stu Sutcliffe's girlfriend Astrid (who was interviewed for the special) after Stu died.  She took some photos of them in the area where Stu did his paintings. I'd never seen those photos before, they were incredible.  The second half covered the Beatles breakup and the years after.  There was a lot about All Things Must Pass, and from there it concentrated more on his relationships with Monty Python's troupe, his friendship with Ravi Shankar, and his life at home.  Which is fine, I didn't like many of his albums between All Things Must Pass and Cloud 9. I wish the doc  talked more about Cloud 9, which was the album that introduced him as a solo artist to a younger generation (myself included).  I would have loved to see Jeff Lynne talk more about the making of that album... and also George's final record, Brainwashed.

I wish there was more Traveling Wilburys footage - pretty much everything here is the same footage included on the DVD that comes with the recent Traveling Wilburys collection that compiled both of their albums. And speaking of them, it would have been great if they got Bob Dylan in this doc (especially since Scorsese did a wonderful Dylan doc, No Direction Home).

But I really loved watching it. The interviews with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were great.  It was cool to see Tom Petty talking about him, and the interviews with Olivia Harrison, Dhani Harrison, Eric Clapton added a lot to the picture of George.

If you missed it, I think it comes out on DVD (with extra footage) in six months, and it is still airing on HBO - if you want to see it, check out HBO.com and search for George Harrison.

BEN HARPER - GIVE TILL IT'S GONE

It's no secret to No Expiration readers that I'm a huge Ben Harper fan.   I've been looking forward to this album for a while - it was originally supposed to come out in the fall, but I guess it got pushed back because of Ben's Fistful Of Mercy project with Dhani Harrison and Joseph Arthur. 

The new album, Give Till It's Gone, is billed as a "solo" album - I'm not sure why, since Relentless7 (his backing band on 2009's White Lies For Dark Times) is on the album. But whatever, it's a great album, and I think it is an improvement on White Lies (which was one of my favorite albums of that year). 

The album will probably be seen as "the divorce album," due to recent events in Ben's life.  I'll leave that alone, I don't need to know what every song was actually based on, and I respect the man's privacy.  

My favorite moments on the album are actually pretty positive. The first single, "Rock and Roll Is Free" being one of them. I would think that by now, all rock and roll songs that are about rock and roll are kind of cliche - it seems like Lenny Kravitz territory (with all due respect). I've read interviews where Ben said that he was inspired to write the song after seeing Neil Young perform "Rockin' In The Free World." He wanted to write a song with the words "rock" and "free." It's not his most profound moment, but it's a lot of fun, and it makes me feel energized.  It reminds me of a Matthew Sweet song (he's another artist that I dig). 

The other moment I can't get enough of is "Spilling Faith" which goes right into the instrumental jam "Get There From Here." Both songs were co-written with Ringo Starr, who plays drums on them. It's a bit psychedelic and Beatles-esque. (Ben and R7 were Ringo's backing band on his promo tour last year - I wish he'd use them on a full tour instead of another All-Starr Band). Apparently, Ringo asked Ben to do a positive song (we know Ringo loves to say "peace and love!").  I'd love to hear King's X cover this one, the song made me think of them for some reason. 

There are much darker moments, on the album, like "Don't Give Up On Me Now," "I Will Not Be Broken" and "Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn" (featuring Jackson Browne on backing vocals, the album was recorded at his studio). 

The album actually has a lot of range, and it makes me wonder how Ben decides what songs go where (is a song a Relentless7 song, or a Fistful of Mercy song or something he'll hold for The Innocent Criminals?).  "Waiting On A Sign," for instance, would sound great done by The Innocent Criminals. 

Well, Ben Harper is at the peak of his powers, and it feels like he's been there for damn, over a decade, and he's gonna be staying there for the foreseeable future. I am looking forward to seeing this tour (he's playing Terminal 5 in NY in the fall, yes I have my tickets) and what he'll do next. 

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: WE DISCUSS THE BEATLES

2009 was a great year for Beatles fans: it saw the long-overdue remastering of the band's catalog. Also, their mono recordings were available on CD for the first time. Plus, there was their edition of the popular video game Rock Band.

2010 isn't going to top that. But there are some cool releases from The Beatles and their members that we'll be talking about tomorrow morning on SIRIUS XM OutQ's Morning Jolt with Larry Flick.

First off, the reissues of the "Red" and "Blue" albums. Released in 1973, "Red," or 1962-1966, is a double album which includes their biggest hits from the first half of their career. "Blue," or 1967-1970, is a double album that covers the rest of their career. My parents had "The Blue Album," and I still have that copy.  That's one of the first albums I remember listening to. There is nothing on "Red" or "Blue" that wasn't reissued last year, but for people looking to start getting into the band, these are great places to start (there's also the single CD best of 1, but that's a bit too short for my tastes). Both collections hit stores next week.

Out now is The 4 Complete Ed Sullivan Shows Featuring The Beatles 2 DVD set which I just wrote about. Of course the highlights of these are The Beatles world-changing performances. But it is interesting to watch the rest of the shows, to see what passed for entertainment back then.  I don't mean that in a snobby way: it's just that, compared to the rest of the entertainers on Sullivan, The Beatles were totally wild and radical.  These days, The Beatles are part of the cultural language.  But watching these shows, you get a better sense for why they had the effect that they had.

This past weekend, the whole world seemed to be celebrating the life and music of John Lennon, as he would have turned 70 on Saturday. The official John Lennon page on YouTube featured video messages from Ringo Starr, Aerosmith, DMC, Jeff Bridges, David Gray and many others, plus lots of non-celebs, just fans. And of course, his catalog has just been reissued, including a box set.  But what interested me the most is the new version of 1980's Double Fantasy, which has the original album, and a "stripped down" version of the album, kind of un-re-mixed by Yoko Ono and Jack Douglas (who produced the original).

Meanwhile, Paul McCartney is reissuing what is arguably his finest post-Beatles work Wings' 1973 album Band On The Run. It comes out November 2, and will have extra discs with bonus tracks and a DVD with video footage from the era.

The Beatles have long been holdouts in the digital music marketplace: you still can't download thier music (legally) anywhere. But they are thawing a bit: they are going to reissue the non-Beatles Apple Records catalog on October 25, including music by Badfinger, James Taylor (his first album) and Billy Preston.

IT CHANGED EVERYTHING: THE BEATLES ON SULLIVAN

You can see what they saw, but you can't really feel what they felt. I can't imagine any cultural happening that could equal the excitement of that very first Beatles performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. The world was a different place, most people had never seen a rock band. There were three or four channels (which signed off at the end of the night). It's been said before, but The Beatles weren't just a band, they were a cultural revolution. And by the way, I'm saying this as someone who was born five years after the fact. But ask anyone who was, say, seven years old or older when The Beatles played Sullivan, they'll probably not only remember it, but how it changed everything.

I was glad to find out that Universal (not Apple Corp) was putting out a 2 DVD set including all four episodes that The Beatles appeared on: February 4, 16 and 23 1964 and September 12, 1965. It doesn't just include The Beatles' performances, it includes the entire broadcasts for all four shows, commericals included.  In a way, I just want to see The Beatles. On the other hand, it is so interesting to see what else passed as entertainment back then: acrobats, magicians, puppets.  It's quaint, but you watch it and realize just how radical The Beatles were (which is easy to forget these days, when they are still so ubiquitous, 40 years after their breakup. Some of the other performances are of note: comedian Soupy Sales (whose sons, Hunt and Tony, would years later play in Iggy Pop's backing band, and then join David Bowie in Tin Machine), Frank Gorshin (who went on to play The Riddler on the Batman TV kitch-fest) and Cab Calloway.

But of course The Beatles' performances are what you want to watch for, and they aren't just intersting as a historical document, you can feel the joy and excitement, even now. A couple of weeks ago, after a blackout, we had power but not cable. Instead of watching whatever was on TV that night, I popped in disc 1 and watched the performance that I'd seen clips of umpteen times and was blown away.  Maybe not blown away like those lucky 73 million people who watched live in 1964, but blown away nonetheless.

BEN HARPER AND R7 HAVE A NEW ALBUM!

Well, this is surprising news.  Just as Ben Harper and Relentless 7 have released their great live CD/DVD Live from the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Ben has announced that their next studio album, Give 'Til It's Gone, is coming out in the fall. Their recent "boss," Ringo Starr (they were his backing band on his recent promo tour - I wish he was using them this summer instead of his umpteenth "All-Starr Band") guest on the album, as does Jackson Browne, according to Rolling Stone.

I am kind of surprised: I thought after one album and tour he'd reunite with his long time backing band The Innocent Criminals. But I guess he's really digging R7, and Ben is the type of artist, like Springsteen or "Young Neil," who follows his artistic impulses and right now I guess he's feeling the guitar rock. I'm sure he'll get back with the Criminals at some point.

TOMORROW ON OUTQ: PETER GABRIEL'S "SCRATCH MY BACK"

For those of you who are new to No Expiration, every Wednesday morning at 9 am ET I go on the SIRIUS XM channel OutQ. I am a weekly contributor to The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick. We talk about - surprise! - music.

Tomorrow the main topic will be Peter Gabriel's new album, Scratch My Back. It is an orchestral album of covers.  I am a huge, huge Peter Gabriel fan, but I have to say, so far I don't like it. What I like better - so far - is the companion piece he has been curating, I'll Scratch Yours, where the bands that he covers on the album return the favor. iTunes has Stephin Merritt of Magnetic Fields' cover of "Not One Of Us" (recorded right after California voted down gay marraige), and also Paul Simon's cover of "Biko." I hate to be negative about Peter Gabriel, but I can't help it, I don't like this album. It may actually be the first thing he ever did that I don't like. But I'm also kind of annoyed at him: I can't believe that he won't even show up at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction as a member of Genesis. I bet he wouldn't miss it if he was being inducted as a solo artist.

I suggested lots of other songs, I don't know what Larry will pick: there's a long out-of-print Bill Withers album 'Justments, which just was reissued, a song from Peter Wolf's next album, songs from a new live album by The Pretenders, Live in London, a song from Ringo Starr's new album and stuff from Santana's Supernatural.

AWESOME: RINGO STARR WITH BEN HARPER & R7 + JOAN OSBORNE

Wow, today I had a real treat. It was an absolute privlege to get to see Ringo Starr backed up by Ben Harper & Relentless7 (and accompanied on some songs by Joan Osborne) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Artists Den, a TV program that airs on Public Television. The premise of the show is to have great artists perform in unusual locations.

It must be fun to be Ringo. You just walk into the room and people are happy just to see you. If that idea bugs you, you may not want to see Ringo live. Oh, also: get a life! Lighten up. Have a yoo-hoo!

Ringo and the band (which also included a violinist and two keyboardists, making the Relentless 7 an actual seven person band), accompanied by Joan Osborne, opened with "Photograph." I used to think of this merely as a great pop song. I hear it differently these days: Ringo wrote it with George Harrison, and the line "all I've got is a photograph, and I realize you're not coming back any more" hits me where it hurts (George has become an increasingly important figure in my life in recent years). The other thing that struck me during this song: now this would be a great "All-Starr Band."

They also did Ringo's lovely new song "Walk With You" (the album version features great vocals by Paul McCartney). And The Beatles' classic "I Wanna Be Your Man," which featured Ringo singing from behind the drums. It's fun watching Ringo the frontman, but watching him behind the drums... it's really something. People have joked about him being really "lucky" to have been in The Beatles, but the fact is, he was the perfect drummer for them. Charlie Watts wouldn't have worked, Keith Moon definitely wouldn't have. His style was perfect for the band, and he was a hot drummer. Today's performance of the song rocked. "I Wanna Be Your Man" is not given its due as one of the most important rock and roll songs of all time (as Little Steven tells it, John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote it for The Rolling Stones who couldn't get a hit at the time, and it gave them their first hit single... The Beatles recorded it later).

Ringo took a break and Ben his own mini-set. No Expiration readers know that I am a huge fan of Ben's, I've been attending his concerts since 1994, when he was opening for other people in bars. It's pretty amazing to see him playing in Ringo's band, and seeing Ringo cede the stage to him.  I was wondering how it would go over: safe to say that probably 80% (or more) of the audience weren't too familiar with Ben. I thought he should have gone with his more anthemic songs ("With My Own Two Hands," "Better Way," "Shimmer And Shine" or even "Burn One Down" but that may have been too easy).  He once told me that putting together set lists was an art form that he still didn't have a handle on. But still, "More Than Sorry" and  "Morning Yearing," went over well. But he really won people over with "Up To You Now," the only Relentless 7 song he did. In fact, when Ringo returned to the stage, he said, "I have to follow that?" That came from a Beatle! (Ben did four songs, but it's late, I can't remember, I forgot to bring a pen... the other one may have been "Waiting On An Angel" UPDATE: it was "Walk Away" thank you Morgan).

They played a pretty heavy song from Y Not?, "The Other Side Of Liverpool," which is a bit dark for him, and deals with his youth (including his father leaving the family). They also did the classic "It Don't Come Easy," and of course, "With A Little Help From My Friends" (with help from Joan Osborne). They left the stage, and then Ringo came back out in his coat, and said "I was this close to the car!" and threw off his coat, got behind the kit, and they did a rocking version of "Boys" (a song The Beatles did,  I don't know who did the original).

Everyone left the auditorium pretty exhilarated. My friend and I (he is the biggest Beatle fan I've ever met, and I've met many) were discussing how, wow, it would be so great if Ringo would tour with this band. Ringo, Ben, Relentless 7, Joan Osborne. It would be incredible, and go way farther towards bringing Ringo to a younger generation than any of his All-Starr tours do. Between Ringo, Ben and Joan, that's a full set.  Not of the boring classic rock radio hits, but of some of the best songs you'll ever hear! But the fact is, that probably won't happen. So I'm glad I got to see what was probably a once-in-a-lifetime deal. I can't wait to see it when it airs.  Thanks to the folks who helped me get my ticket.

GUEST POST: A REVIEW OF PAUL McCARTNEY'S GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY

I have been wanting to invite some other bloggers who don't normally write about music to do guest posts on No Expiration, and for my first one, I am honored and fortunate enough to have Melanie Nayer, who taught two blogging classes that I took via Media Bistro. She keeps reminding me that "I am NO music critic." But that's generally who I'd like to hear from the most. I was bummed when I missed Paul McCartney's CitiField shows this summer; Melanie saw one of Sir Paul's concerts in Boston around the same time. So thank you, Melanie, for contributing to No Expiration. And without further intro...

I grew up in a house where Simon & Garfunkel provided sermons and The Supremes sang life's lessons; where Jerry Garcia was ruler of an unknown (but totally far out) universe and Michael Jackson was a way of life. I had a pair of blue suede shoes and memorized the entire dance number for “Jailhouse Rock.” But above all I knew that in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. The Beatles - as far as this Midwestern girl was concerned - were simply the best. I was too young to remember the day John Lennon was shot, but I very vividly remember the first day I heard Paul McCartney sing "Yesterday" on the radio and I haven't been the same since.

Fast forward 25 years and I finally got my chance to see Sir Paul in concert at Fenway Park in Boston. It was a magical night full of inspiration, excitement and some of my favorite songs. To watch your musical idol come to life on stage is an awesome moment - it's a reminder of how powerful music is in our lives. So when McCartney released the CD of his latest tour, Good Evening, New York City, I snatched it up. I popped the two-disc set into my car's CD drive and set off for a three-hour drive to Vermont, just me and Paul.

The CD is a compilation of all his songs from the concert, but it's void of one thing: personality. While the songs were the same, the live concert CD cut out the best part of the live show: Paul talking to the audience between songs. I waited anxiously after track one, then track two, then track three, eager to hear him speak to the crowd. I was disappointed, but trudged on with disc one and sang along as if I were back at Fenway.

I sang my way through "Eleanor Rigby," "Blackbird" and swooned to "My Love." I flipped to disc two and grooved to "Back in the USSR" before holding my own moment of silence for George Harrison during "Something." Paul crooned into "Paperback Writer" and then gracefully lingered into Track 6, "A Day in the Life." I sang along as the riffs changed chords and went into "Give Peace a Chance." I was taken back to my night at Fenway when McCartney, the band and the thousands of fans held up peace signs and symbols and sang effortlessly, yet passionately, to the four words that could save any nation. I was reminded that once there were four young men from Liverpool who had a dream and, not without their battles, set out to rule the world. Despite the struggles and the tragedies, they had a mission not unlike any of us -- to just be at peace. While the concert was, of course, much better than any live CD could ever be, the words and music of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr still give me hope.

RINGO AND PAUL'S NEW SONG

Ringo Starr's new album Y Not won't be out until next month, but you can get the first song, "Walk With You," featuring Paul McCartney, on iTunes now. They've played on each other's albums often over the years, and even performed with each other earlier this year, and couple of years before that at a tribute to George Harrison.

Y Not is the first time Ringo has produced himself (or anyone else, for that matter), I wonder what the dynamic was like for that. Paul taking orders from Ringo. This is a lovely song, you should really check it out. (And ditto for Paul's new song "I Want To Come Home" from the film Everybody's Fine.)

Whenever Ringo puts out an album, people roll out the red carpet because they love to be around him, he's a cool guy and a Beatle. They take a cursory listen to the album, and then forget it once he's out the door. And, fair enough, all of his albums aren't great.  On his last album, Liverpool 8, the very last song "R U Ready?" was also really good, and he has gems scattered throughout his recent solo career. But who knows, this album may be a creative rebirth for him (I heard rumors that Ben Harper & Relentless7 are the backing band on the album, but I don't know if that's true).

BEST OF THE '00s: THE BEATLES

Yes, The Beatles. Yes, they broke up four decades ago. And yet, they had the best selling album of the decade, 1. It had no new songs on it, nothing new at all. What it did have was 27 of the greatest songs of all time, and gave a great jumping-on point for young fans (by the way, one thing that The Beatles - or their estate - didn't do, was to make their catalog available digitally.  The USB drive doesn't count, I'm talking a la carte).

The Beatles did Vegas, albeit in a much cooler way than some of their peers and idols. The Beatles Cirque du Soleil show, Love, was a huge hit. The Beatles-fuelled film Across The Universe, genuinely did introduce a whole new audience to the band.  I saw proof of that in my young barely teenage cousins who know lots of Beatles songs thanks to that film.

The Beatles Rock Band game will also turn on lots of younger kids (although I imagine that lots of copies of the game and its accessories have been purchased by adults). Oh yeah, the same day that was released, so was the remastered Beatles catalog, as well as two box sets - and the Fab Four sold 600,000 CDs in one week. All of this can be attributed to the power and timelessness of The Songs. Yes, they were well marketed back then, and are really well marketed now. But it's really The Songs.

Of course, not everything was great this decade: we lost The Quiet Beatle, George Harrison. All Things Must Pass. His final album, Brainwashed, produced by his fellow Traveling Wilbury Jeff Lynne and his son Dhani Harrison, is a great album and an awesome final statement. You should check it out. I didn't love Paul McCartney's music as much, but I love his mandolin-heavy song "Dance Tonight," and I also really enjoyed Ringo Starr's "R U Ready?"

Today I finally ordered The Beatles box set (in mono) from Newbury Comics, and I can't wait to hear it.  Few things can inspire such unabashed joy in so many as the music of The Beatlees. I don't care that it was created 40 years ago or more. It sounds just as fresh and just as relevant today.

More Best Of The '00s: Bob Dylan
Willie Nelson
Aimee Mann
Jeff Tweedy
David Johansen
Levon Helm

PAUL McCARTNEY AND ERIC CLAPTON: "SOMETHING"

A new friend reminded me of how moving this performance was. It was from "The Concert For George," the George Harrison tribute concert from a few years ago. Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton did a duet on George's Beatles classic, "Something," backed by an allstar cast, including George's Wilbury brother Jeff Lynne and Ringo Starr. I never really get into the personal lives of rock stars, but I have to wonder what went through their minds here. There must have been... regret. It's no secret that Paul (and John Lennon) bullied George a bit, looking back, was he sorry about it? And Clapton, on one hand a close friend of George's was also George's rival for Patti Boyd. Most people wouldn't still be friends after that - these guys played on each other's albums and even toured together. That's a deep relationship!

Below the "Something" video is another performance from the same concert, Paul doing George's solo song "All Things Must Pass," the title track from George's first post-Beatles album. The Beatles actually turned that song down! I think George actually wrote it about The Beatles, but of course it can take lots of other meanings - including about life. Life being a "thing" that "can pass." To me, it is the most moving performance by Paul I've ever seen. Also moving: Beatles sideman Billy Preston on keyboards and Traffic's Jim Capaldi on percussion, both no longer with us.

RINGO STARR TO RELEASE Y NOT IN JANUARY

Ringo Starr's new album, Y Not, due in January, has some exciting points about it, but none more than this: there are a few songs with Paul McCartney. Paul and Ringo have played on each others albums over the years, but there's still something cool about the idea of them still working together. Who knows, maybe it will lead to another performance together - I doubt it, but it's nice to be able to hope!

Ringo's last album, Liverpool 8, had a great song on it, the last song on the album, "R U Ready?" Hopefully there will be more great songs like that. On this album, other than Paul, guests include Ben Harper, Joss Stone and Joe Walsh. It's also the first time Ringo has produced one of his albums. I'd heard a rumor that Ben Harper & Relentless7 was the backing band on a lot of the songs (they backed him at a benefit concert in April). That would be cool!

LETTER TO THE BEATLES: PLEASE LEAVE THE YELLOW SUBMARINE AT THE DOCK

Lots of bad ideas going around lately! Bono and The Edge doing songs for a Spider-Man musical. Steven Tyler maybe quitting Aerosmith. The other four guys from Aerosmith thinking about working with another singer. Now, filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, and creepy sorta animated films like Polar Express and A Christmas Carol) wants to remake The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. Dear Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr: don't let him. The Beatles didn't want to really be involved in it the first time around - it is actually voice actors playing the roles of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Being involved in this one wouldn't make up for it. The Beatles have handled their legacy exceedingly well in the past decade or so: everything they've done has been cool (with the possible exception of Let It Be ... Naked) and well executed. The greatest hits album 1 sold millions, Love is a hit in Vegas, Across The Universe turned young kids on to their music, etc. But this would most likely come off as lame, so don't do it!

THE FAB TWO

Last weekend, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr shared the stage for the first time since the George Harrison tribute concert, and for the first time in America since The Beatles last performed here (actually, I seem to remember Ringo joining Paul onstage in the early '90s, but I could be wrong). Supposedly a mind-blowing show. Paul also performed a super-rare song that he's never even properly released.  Plus, Ben Harper, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow and the rest of the performers were great. Everyone from Howard Stern to Papa Bear Bill O'Reilly enjoyed it. A friend of mine was there and said that they shot everything, so here's hoping it will be out on DVD so it can raise more funds for David Lynch 's foundation. 

OK, IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO GET TICKETS FOR THIS

Ben Harper sold out two nights at Radio City Music Hall in the summer of 2007. Eddie Vedder could easily sell out Radio City on his own. And Paul McCartney? He could probably play a year worth of dates there and sell them all out. So the fact that all three guys are playing there ensures an instant sell-out. But let's make it crazier: we'll add Ringo Starr! Both suriving Beatles at the same concert!

The show is Change Begins Within, a benefit for David Lynch 's foundation, that has the goal of teaching a million at-risk kids to learn how to meditate. The show is on April 4 at Radio City. Sheryl Crow, Bettye LaVette, Moby and Jim James of My Morning Jacket are on the bill too. Good luck getting tickets for that one!

RINGO TO HIT THE ROAD WITH NEW ALL-STARRS

I thought Ringo Starr decided that he wasn't going to tour anymore, but, alas, he's assembled another All-Starr Band. I think most of these guys have played with him before: Colin Hay of Men At Work, Billy Squier, Hamish Stuart of Average White Band (and formerly of Paul McCartney's band, back in the late '80s and early '90s), Edgar Winter and Gary Wright - yes, the "Dream Weaver" guy. I've never seen an "All-Starr show, this one seems kind of fun. I did see Ringo once at New York's Bottom Line - he was basically warming up for VH1 Storytellers the next night, and it was a lot of fun. You just gotta love the guy. I just hope that if he does one new song, it is "R U Ready," from Liverpool 8.

RINGO'S RETURN

I think it's cool that Ringo Starr seemed to recapture his love of making music back in the early '90s. He hadn't done an album since 1983, and hadn't done a good album in an even longer time. I imagine he cleaned up his act, and remembered how much he loved making music. In 1989 or so he went on his first ever post-Beatles tour, the first of many that he'd embark on with an "All-Starr Band." Everyone in these bands had hits of their own, and the concerts were kind of like a revue. Dr. John, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Billy Preston, John Entwistle, Jack Bruce and Sheila E. are among those to have played in these bands over the years.

After that tour, he started working on a new album, Time Takes Time. On that album, he started working with producer/multi-instrumentalist Mark Hudson, who would work on Ringo's next few albums, Vertical Man, Ringo Rama and Choose Love. Ringo's a smart guy: he knows where his bread is buttered, and that his albums aren't going to make him much dough. I believe he has made these records for the love of making music. He likes being a part of a band, and Hudson had used a core of musicians on most of these albums.

Ringo's latest album, Liverpool 8, just came out. (Oddly, he returned to Capitol Records after decades away from the label, just as Paul McCartney left the label after spending decades there.) Also, oddly, it seems to mark his split from Hudson: the credits read Produced by Ringo Starr and Mark Hudson/ Re-produced by Ringo Starr and David A. Stewart. (Stewart is the other half of The Eurythmics.)

Anyway, like his other recent albums, it's fun, if not earth-shaking. It's fun to listen to a guy like him, who was part of a band that wasn't just a band but a cultural phenomenon, who after all these years, just loves to sing and play the drums.

However, I'll call particular attention to the last song on the album, "R U Ready." I've been thinking about making a iPod mix of George Harrison songs about acceptance about the end of this life. Look through his solo songs, as well as the ones he wrote for The Beatles and The Traveling Wilburys. I might tack Ringo's "R U Ready" on the end of that, I think George would be OK with it. It's sweet. Not in the Napoleon Dynamite way, it's actually sweet. I know Ringo is really proud of all the albums he's done since Time Takes Time, but this might be his finest song since the '70s. (I also loved "Never Without You," an ode to George from Ringo Rama that featured an Eric Clapton guitar solo). Good job, Ringo!

BEATLES '62?

There are stories going around the internet that some tiny label has a tape of an early Beatles performance from 1962, from right after Ringo Starr joined the band. It's hard to imagine that Apple Records will ever allow this to come out, and even if does come out, how good could it possibly sound? Still, it's cool to think that maybe there will be some "new" Beatles music coming out. Other than the documentary film Let It Be, I don't see what they still have left to release.

But speaking of Ringo, I just got his latest album, Liverpool 8. I have to listen to it some more before writing about it.

GIVE THE DRUMMER SOME

A few weeks ago, there was a rumor that Ringo Starr would be on the ballot for this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class (it didn't happen though). With all due respect to the man, I don’t think that he would get my vote (if I was a voter), as much of a fan as I am. I think people love him, and The Beatles, so much that they figure, “Well, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison are all in for their solo careers, why not Ringo?” That’s not a great argument for someone to be voted into the Hall of Fame. A few years ago, George Harrison was inducted. I think that he deserved it, based only on his solo debut, All Things Must Pass. But it was interesting that, at the ceremony, they performed two of George’s songs – The Beatles’ “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and The Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care.” Neither of which came from a George solo album, which was ostensibly what he was being inducted for.

Back to Ringo: I think he could be inducted in the “sideman” category, for playing drums on other people’s albums – mainly John's and George’s. He’s a very solid and underrated drummer. I just don’t think his solo career is Hall of Fame caliber.

That said, his new compilation, Photograph: The Very Best Of Ringo Starr has some great moments. It has his early classics like the title track and what I consider to be his greatest solo moment, “It Don’t Come Easy.” His early solo stuff basically relied on his charm and charisma, and the contributions of his friends (John, George, Paul, Elton John, Stephen Stills, etc.) who were all at the peak of their powers. His earliest stuff was great, and as he descended further into substance abuse, predictably, the music got worse. Then, in the early ‘90s, after getting clean and touring for the first time as a solo artist (with his very retro-leaning “All-Starr Bands”) he starting making pretty good records, starting with 1993’s Time Takes Time. This collection includes album from pretty much all of his albums, including one of my favorite Ringo songs, a sweet tribute to George, called “Never Without You,” featuring a guitar solo by Eric Clapton – or as Ringo refers to him in the liner notes, “It’s by that guy who does ‘Layla,’ what’s his name?”

I’ve never seen a Ringo show with the All-Starrs, but I did see a rare non-All-Starr gig at the late Bottom Line in NYC once. It was actually the first time Ringo had ever performed at a club in the U.S. His band included Joe Walsh, Free/Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke and some of the guys who work on his solo albums but who never tour. It was great. I wish he’d do more of that.

So, I'm giving the drummer - one of the most underrated drummers ever - some credit. He deserves it. But I just don't think I'd vote for him to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, especially while The Stooges, Metallica, Tom Waits, Emmylou Harris, Warren Zevon, Alice Cooper, KISS, Motorhead, The New York Dolls, The Replacements, Bad Brains, Sonic Youth, Husker Du and X all aren't in yet (to name a few).