Review by Shawn Perry
If someone had told me 40 years ago I’d be attending a Ringo Starr concert in 2010 to see the 70-year-old Beatle singing his old hits, I would have giggled at the very notion. Will he be singing from a wheel chair? Hardy har har. In those days, rock music was strictly a young man’s game and the idea of seeing your musical heroes age into old farts on a concert stage seemed preposterous, out of the question. Oh my, how times have changed.
It’s actually been 20 years since Ringo Starr started gathering famed musicians for his All Starr tours. Everyone wants to play with a Beatle, so finding capable musicians to accompany the affable drummer isn’t too much trouble. Most who sign on have already passed their peak, and are more interested in just playing than pushing forward any kind of career-oriented agenda. Which isn’t to say they’re ready for the has-been bin.
Various naysayers and rock pundits may think Ringo is digging around the bottom of the barrel to recruit bandmates, but the lineup he brought together for the 2010 tour is just as prolific, of historical consequence and nimble in the fingers and toes as previous All Starrs. The tour featured Edgar Winter and Gary Wright on keyboards, Rick Derringer and Wally Palmar (of the Romantics) on guitar, Mr. Mister’s Richard Page on bass and Gregg Bissonette on drums.
The hits of each musician (aside from Bissonette, who has kept time with everyone from Maynard Ferguson to David Lee Roth) were rolled out, but as always, it was Ringo’s show. That meant a mixture of solo hits, newer tunes, and a handful of Beatles classics, which is probably what most of the audience came to hear.
The two-hour set started off with what is arguably Starr’s greatest song, “It Don’t Come Easy,” which came rather…uh…easily. The band settled around the familiar chord sequences and Winter piped in with a joyful sax solo. From there, it was on to “Honey Don’t,” a Carl Perkins song the Beatles recorded in 1964. Derringer worked in a stinging lead before yielding to Winter, who was now behind the keyboards. Before the night was over, Edgar Winter would play practically every instrument on stage.
“Choose Love,” the title track from Ringo’s 13th studio album, didn’t seem to faze the crowd one way or the other (when he performed “Peace Dream” and “The Other Side of Liverpool,” both from his 2010 studio album Y Not, there was a similar reaction — or lack of). Good thing because it was then that he handed the baton over to the next All Starr: Rick Derringer.
Truly coming to the fore in the 70s, Derringer’s musical history stretches back to the mid 60s when he was with the McCoys. The Midwest band had a hit with “Hang On Sloopy,” which, Derringer reminded the audience, displaced the Beatles momentarily from the top of the singles chart in 1965. Within five minutes, Ringo and Bissonette were pounding out a measurable beat and Derringer had the whole place screaming out the chorus to “Hang On Sloopy,” a song that is also, according to Derringer, the state anthem of Ohio.
Winter was next and he took a brave stab at “Free Ride,” a song originally sung by Dan Hartman when he was part of the Edgar Winter Group. Winter strapped a set of keys around his neck — something he claims he invented — and gave the tune a spirited and solid read. Palmar followed, delivering the wispy 1983 Romantics Top 5 hit, “Talking In Our Sleep,” with Winter and Derringer trading the lead spotlight. Seeing these two, who have an extended working history, play together was definitely a highlight of the evening.
Ringo returned with “I Wanna Be Your Man,” and sang the last verse from behind his drum kit. Not bad for an old-timer. Gary Wright took over with a dreamy “Dream Weaver.” Ringo commented that Wright sang the song better than ever before ceding the stage over to Richard Page, who performed the Mr. Mister hit, “Kyrie.”
You can imagine “Yellow Submarine” was the one that really kicked the show into high gear, but that honor actually goes to Winter’s “Frankenstein.” It might have been cool to see Ringo get his licks in on this one, but he left the heavy lifting to Bissonnette, who showed off his rock-steady abilities in a call-and-response drum-off with Winter (he brought along his own set of timbales). If the show had ended after “Frankenstein,” everyone would have had their fill.
But then we wouldn’t have gotten “Back Off Boogaloo,” “What I Like About You” (from Palmar), “Rock ’n’ Roll, Hoochie Koo” (from Derringer), “Broken Wings” (from Page) or the finale of “With A Little Help from My Friends” and “Give Peace a Chance.” After Ben Harper and Joe Walsh came on and joined in on the background vocals, where else could you go?
If you would have asked me five years ago whether or not Ringo Starr would be touring in his 70s, I would have said without hesitation: “No way!” By the looks of it, I might be wrong. The guy looks as trim and fit as ever. His voice may not be up to scruff, a little lower in the register, but it bears a certain charm and, frankly, was never that great to begin with. As long as Ringo can bring great musicians together, who am I, or anyone else, to stand in the way? I mean, as long as the All Starrs, in any form, are around, all is right with the world and the dream still isn’t over.
