Ringo the 4th
| Ringo the 4th | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Studio album by Ringo Starr | ||||
| Released | 20 September 1977 | |||
| Recorded | February and June 1977 | |||
| Studio |
Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles; Atlantic Studios, New York |
|||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:05 | |||
| Label |
Polydor (UK) Atlantic (US) |
|||
| Producer | Arif Mardin | |||
| Ringo Starr chronology | ||||
|
||||
| Singles from Ringo the 4th | ||||
|
||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | D |
| The Essential Rock Discography | 4/10 |
| MusicHound | |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated) |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Ringo the 4th is the sixth studio album by English musician Ringo Starr, released in 1977. Its title refers to the fact that it is his fourth rock album. Ringo the 4th has a more dance-oriented context.
After the commercial disappointment of Ringo's Rotogravure (1976), Starr decided to shift his formula of using his well-known musician friends (notably his fellow ex-Beatles) to write songs and appear on his albums. Instead, he intensified his partnership with Vini Poncia, with whom he wrote several of the songs featured here, while using the input of different musicians. Sessions began on 5 February 1977, at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles, produced by Arif Mardin. The first songs recorded were two unreleased tracks, "Lover Please" and "Wild Shining Stars". Near the end of the month, Starr recorded "Out on the Streets", "It's No Secret" and "Gypsies in Flight". In June, recording sessions were held at Atlantic Studios in New York. where the tracks that ended up on the album were recorded. In addition, the B-side "Just a Dream", as well as an unreleased track, "By Your Side", were recorded. Starr moved back to Cherokee Studios, where he held more sessions towards the end of the month, where a few more unreleased tracks were recorded: "Birmingham", "This Party", and a different version of "Just a Dream".David Foster played keyboards on a couple of songs, while Melissa Manchester and Bette Midler occasionally appeared on backing vocals.
"Wings", backed with "Just a Dream", was released as a single in the US on 25 August 1977. On 5 September Starr promoted the single by having an interview with Los Angeles DJ Dave Herman. On 16 September, "Drowning in the Sea of Love", backed with "Just a Dream" was released in the UK.Ringo the 4th was released on 20 September in the UK, and 10 days later in the US. The album was a failure upon its release, both commercially and critically. Never touching the UK charts, the album managed to make it to number 162 in the US. The "Drowning in the Sea of Love" single, originally planned as the first US single, was released in the US on 18 October. Shortly thereafter, Atlantic dropped Starr from their roster. In the UK, Polydor fulfilled its three-album contractual requirement by following up with a children's album, Scouse the Mouse (1977) which featured Starr, in the lead role, performing around half of the material.
...
Wikipedia