Album Reviews
By trying to elevate the tone of the party, Mardin has succeeded only in underscoring Ringo's ineptitude. The setting for "Drowning in the Sea of Love" is so massive that Ringo sounds like he's in peril. It's not an intentional joke; the tracks demand a singer of consequence. "Out on the Streets" and "Simple Love Song," two of six Ringo collaborations with Vini Poncia, barrel along in the style of "Oh My My." But where the prototype sounds genuinely high-spirited, these seem elaborately contrived. "Wings," a simple blues, is done up in the lofty style of B.B. King's studio work with Bill Szymczyk. But unfortunately, Ringo and David Spinozza, not King, are the singer and guitarist.
The paradox in recording Ringo is that he requires substantial arrangements to compensate for his voice; at the same time, a light touch is needed to accent his drollness. Mardin supplies plenty of substance, but no real humor, only gusto. Lacking humor, Ringo the 4th adds up to little more than the seedy extravagance of an exiled aristocrat whose legend resounds ever more faintly.
(Posted: Nov 17, 1977)
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- Drowning In The Sea Of Love
- Tango All Night
- Wings
- Gave It All Up
- Out on the Streets
- Can She Do It Like She Dances
- Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley
- It's No Secret
- Gypsies in Flight
- Simple Love Song
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