Every Ringo Starr album is a concept album. The concept is: Man, Ringo, what a good dude. These nine buoyant, no-frills tunes could've been recorded anytime in the past 40 years. But they're knocked out with unchanging bonhomie, steeped in the nice vibes he generates with pals like Dave Stewart and his brother-in-law Joe Walsh. From the cute plea for peace, "Anthem," to a smiling evocation of his Cavern Club days, "In Liverpool," his 17th solo album proves that even after so many things have passed, some things – and some dudes – stay pretty much the same.

Listen to "Wings":

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“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.