Ringo Starr – Look Up (Lost Highway) 13th Floor Album Review
What better way to ring in the New Year than with Ringo Starr and his new album, Look Up? Ringo returns to Country music with help from friends like T Bone Burnette, Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle.
For many music fans of a certain age, Ringo Starr was possibly the first country singer they heard as he sang lead on The Beatles’ cover of Buck Owns’ Act Naturally along with originals such as Don’t Pass Me By and What Goes On.
That distinctive voice has aged well, as has Ringo himself, who, at 84, seems slim, trim, sober and in incredibly good shape. That’s quite an achievement in itself as young Richie Starkey was a very sickly child who suffered from an array of life-threatened ailments while growing up, including tuberculosis.
Ringo’s star has risen lately, thanks to the Peter Jackson Get Back documentary that gave fans an insight into just what a talented musician Ringo Starr is.
So, the time is right for a new, high-profile album. Of course Ringo has dabbled in country as a solo artist before…his second album, 1970’s Beaucoup Of Blues, was recorded in Nashville under the watchful eye of Scotty Moore and featured top Nashville cats like Pete Drake, Jerry Reed and Charlie McCoy.
Now, 55 years later, Ringo returns, this time with T Bone Burnette producing and contributing most of the songs.
T Bone has assembled an ace band including bass man Dennis Couch and pedal steel player Paul Franklin…T Bone plays guitar along with co-producer Daniel Tashian who, as a happy aside, is the son of Barry Tashian, leader of 60s garage band The Remains who opened for The Beatles back in ’66.
There are a slew of guest appearances including Alison Krauss, Billy Strings, Larkin Poe, and Molly Tuttle, but the focus remains on Ringo and his voice throughout the 11 tracks.
I should point out that Ringo does play drums on all songs as well.
The record kicks off with the easy-going vibe of Breathless…not the Jerry Lee tune, but an original by T Bone that gives Billy Strings an opportunity for some fancy pickin’. Ringo himself sounds exactly how he always does…charming, at ease and possibly singing better than he ever has.
One of my favourites is the title track. Look Up features Molly Tuttle on harmony vocal but it’s the slightly psychedelic feel that Burnette adds that appeals to me. Is that some subtle backward masking I hear?
For my money, the best overall song is Time On My Hands, a lovely country weeper written by Paul Kennerly, Daniel Tashian and T Bone Burnette. Burnette’s former Rolling Thunder/Alpha Band bandmate David Mansfield provides a sweet string arrangement and the pedal steel seals the deal.
Those looking for a Ringo original will have to wait til the end as his Thankful closes out the set with the help of Alison Krauss. Alison’s voice is a bit buried in the mix and I think I’d like to hear this as a duet rather than Ringo with a harmony singer.
Overall, no one is breaking any new ground here, the production is safe and solid. Only on Rosetta do things get a little dirty with a distorted sound that had me thinking of Marty Robbins’ Don’t Worry.
Its Ringo’s eternal optimism that makes this record such a joy to listen to. Songs like Thankful, String Theory and You Want Some serve as an aural equivalent of Ringo’s omnipresent raised two-finger salute and his “peace and love” slogan…and we certainly could use more of that here in 2025.
Marty Duda
Ringo Starr’s Look Up is released Friday, January 10th, 2025 on Lost Highway Records. Click here to pre-order.
