The opener 'A Dose Of Rock 'N Roll' is vintage Ringo. Play Loud as the Plastic Ono Band once said. Great guitar solo from Peter Frampton by the way. The second track, a cover of the classic 'Hey Baby' also is perfectly suited to Ringo. What great drumming, even if the legendary Jim Keltner had a hand in here! The McCartney track 'Pure Gold' is fairly lightweight but still of considerable charm. McCartney excels in writing such irresistable melodies. Like no other mortal. The next track 'Crying' is actually co-written by Ringo and is an incredibly moving commentary on the failure of his first marriage. Presumably. It's moving anyway. 'You Don't Know Me At All' was to have been the first single but was replaced at the last minute by 'A Dose Of Rock 'N Roll' at the last minute. It is nevertheless a very catchy infectious Ringo number full of charm and pleasant melody. Remember Ringo albums are not meant to impress on any supersonic scale. They are meant to please the listener and make him/her feel good. This album does that pretty much throughout and hence it is an album I return to quite often. Particularly if I'm a little down.

Side 2 (vinyl record) is less impressive it must be said but still contains a few gems. Lennon's track 'Cookin' not being one of them. Not often you call a Lennon song ordinary. But this is one example. The George track 'I'll Still Love You' is great althought Hari Georgeson is nowhere to be heard on the track, somewhat of a surprise. Eric Clapton contributes the pleasant but pretty lightweight 'This Be Called A Song', noteable really only for a great Clapton solo. 'Las Brisas' is quite pleasant, showing that Ringo Can write a good song if he puts his mind to it. The album closer 'Lady Gaye' is far better and is full of that Ringo sense of humour and infectious melody we all know and love.

All in all this is a thoroughly creditable effort. Unfortunately it came out when interest in the Ex Beatles was on the wane. But history will judge this one kindly. It is among Ringo's most enjoyable solo records. And he has recorded quite a few in my book.

For die hard fans only
Review date: 2001-05-06 Rating: 4 out of 10

The plan for this album, originally released in 1976, follows that of the two previous best selling albums 'Ringo' and 'Goodnight Vienna' - lots of famous names, ex-Beatle contributions. The only problem is that this album fails to live up to the expectations of those two previous albums. John Lennon contributes and plays on Cookin'(In The Kitchen Of Love), his last trip into a recording studio for 4 years. Paul McCartney offers 'Pure Gold' and sings backing vocals, whilst George Harrison pens 'I'll Still Love You'. Eric Clapton also turns up with 'This Be Called A Song'. Two singles were tried 'A Dose Of Rock 'N' Roll' and the cover version of 'Hey Baby', to no chart success. Ringo shares drumming duties with Jim Keltner. No one track stands out as representing anything new. In fact the best thing about the album is the photograph on the rear of the sleeve of the front door of the former Apple building in Savile Row. For die hard fans only.

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