Choose Love

Choose Love
by Ringo Starr

Don't expect a major artistic statement, but if you're one of the many who enjoy Ringo Starr's brand of bouncy, good-natured, All-Starr band pop, Choose Love won't disappoint. Granted, the songs (true to the title, mostly about love) break no new ground, lyrically or musically, but Ringo's in exceptionally good voice throughout and Mark Hudson's production--a mix of Magical Mystery Tour-era Beatles, a good helping of Traveling Wilburys, and a bit of rockabilly--is well suited to the tracks. High points are the shuffle of "Give Me Back the Beat"; the 12-string jangle of "I Do"; the circus psychedelia of the Chrissie Hynde duet, "Don't Hang Up"; and the entirely sincere "Oh My Lord," which, featuring Billy Preston on organ, Robert Randolph on wailing steel, and the Rose Stone Gospel Choir, is a page right out of the Quiet Beatle's songbook (in fact, Ringo considers it his "My Sweet Lord" and played Olivia Harrison an early demo because he felt "George would have loved it"). The Beatles aesthetic is all over Choose Love, and, with a few exceptions ("The Long and Winding Road is more than a song / Tomorrow Never Knows What Goes On"), it's all for the best. Ringo fans will be delighted and listeners to oldies stations may have a new item for their wish lists. --Benjamin Lukoff

The liner notes for Choose Love include a mention of Harry Nilsson: "The Best Rock Band In Heaven: John, George and Harry."

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