Ringo's Rotogravure

Ringo's Rotogravure
Studio album by Ringo Starr
Released 17 September 1976 (UK)
27 September 1976 (US)
Recorded April–July 1976
Studio Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, CA and Atlantic Studios, New York
Genre Rock
Length 34:23
Label Polydor (UK)
Atlantic (US)
Producer Arif Mardin
Ringo Starr chronology
Blast from Your Past
(1975)		 Ringo's Rotogravure
(1976)		 Ringo the 4th
(1977)
Singles from Ringo's Rotogravure
  1. "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll"
    Released: 20 September 1976 (US); 15 October 1976 (UK)
  2. "You Don't Know Me at All"
    Released: 15 October 1976 (Europe only, except UK)
  3. "Hey! Baby"
    Released: 22 November 1976 (US); 26 November 1976 (UK)
  4. "Las Brisas"
    Released: 1976 (Mexico only)

Ringo's Rotogravure is the fifth studio album by Ringo Starr, released in 1976. It would turn out to be the last album featuring active involvement from all four former Beatles before John Lennon's death in 1980. Following the end of his contract with EMI, Starr signed on with Polydor Records worldwide (Atlantic Records handling US distribution).

Background and recording

It was reported in December 1975 that ABC Records in the US was to sign former-Beatle Ringo Starr for a 5-year recording contract, worth $5 million.[1] However, on 26 January 1976, when Starr's recording contract with EMI ended, he signed with Atlantic for the US and Polydor for the UK, on 10 March.[2] As stated in the deal, Starr was expected to release 7 albums within 5 years, with the first album planned for release in June.[1] Starr's original intention was to get Richard Perry to produce the album, before he had switched labels.[3] Starr thought "since we were trying another label, we'd try another producer."[3] It had been suggested by Atlantic to Starr that he work with Arif Mardin, who was the in-house producer for the label at the time.[3] Mardin met up with Starr in London to see what they were like together and, pleased with the encounter, Mardin told Starr he'd be happy to work with him.[3] Starr's intention was to work in Los Angeles as his friends were there.[3]

Well, Paul asked to write a song. I asked John and [...] eventually he came up with 'You Got Me Cooking'(sic). [...] I also asked George to write one, but there was an old one of his that was never released by anybody that I always loved. [...] I asked him if instead of writing one, could I have that old one? He said fine; it saved him a job. It's called 'I Still Love You', a big ballady thing.[1]

– Ringo Starr, upon being asked how he got material from his former-bandmates

Starr again stuck to his tried-and-true formula of having friends write songs and play on the recordings. This time, Eric Clapton took part, in addition to his old friend Harry Nilsson, and Peter Frampton, Melissa Manchester, Dr. John, and former Beatles John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison.[4] Sessions began in April at Sunset Sound Recorders in Los Angeles,[1] and eventually moved on 12 June to Cherokee Recording Studios.[2] Starr was joined at this session by Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono, recording "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll", which featured Lennon on piano,[2] and the Lennon-penned "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)".[nb 1][1][4]

McCartney, while on break from his Wings Over America tour with Wings, made the backing track to "Pure Gold" along with his wife Linda McCartney, which McCartney got Starr to sing over,[4] on 19 June.[2] Harrison donated a song too, but because of his commitments to get his album Thirty Three & 1/3 (1976) done on schedule, he couldn't take part in any recording for Ringo's Rotogravure.[5][6] Harrison's contribution was a song previously known as "When Every Song Is Sung",[6] which he had attempted to record first with Ronnie Spector in 1971, then with Cilla Black (on which Starr also played), and later still with Leon Russell's wife Mary.[5] Eric Clapton played guitar on the track "This Be Called a Song".[7] Several unreleased tracks were recorded during the sessions: "Where Are You Going",[nb 2] "All Right", "It's Hard to Be Lovers"[1] and a track Starr co-wrote with Nilsson, "Party".[9]

Music and lyrics

"Pure Gold" had been influenced by Starr's then-girlfriend Nancy Andrews.[4] "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)" was written specifically for Starr by Lennon.[10] "Las Brisas", a track co-written between Starr and Andrews[11] in Mexico,[3] features a local Mexican Mariachi band[8] with Starr on maracas.[3] Starr claimed that he had "looked around all these Mexican restaurants and found this band who were sensational."[3] "Lady Gaye" was based on Clifford T. Ward's "Gaye", which in turn gave him co-credit on the Starkey–Poncia composition.[12] "Spooky Weirdness" is an ad-libbed piece that closes the album.[13]

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Robert ChristgauC[15]
The Essential Rock Discography5/10[16]
MusicHound[17]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[18]

Ringo's Rotogravure was released on 17 September 1976 in the UK,[nb 3][2] to a lukewarm response. Despite letting him record the song, Harrison was not pleased with Starr's version of "I'll Still Love You", and proceeded to take legal action against Starr, which was soon settled out of court.[1] The album's title came from the film Easter Parade (1948).[20] At the time living as a UK tax exile, Starr promoted the album with interviews in Denmark, France and Italy.[2] The album was packaged with a free magnifying glass so that those who bought the album could read the graffiti that was featured on the album's back cover.[1] The "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" single, backed with "Cryin'", on 20 September in the US,[2] reaching number 26.[nb 4][21]

Released in the US on 27 September,[nb 5][22] the album performed poorly, only reaching number 28 in America and quickly falling off the charts, while it never even appeared in the UK charts. The promotional film for "You Don't Know Me at All" aired on Dutch TV, in the Netherlands, on the show Voor De Vuist Weg.[1] On 15 October the "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" single was released in the UK.[nb 6][23] In between this and the next single, Starr records the track "I Can Hear You Calling" at Atlantic Studios on 15 October.[23] The follow-up single, his cover of Bruce Channel's "Hey! Baby", backed with "Lady Gaye", was released on 22 November in the US and stalled at number 74.[nb 7][23] The single was released in the UK on 26 November.[nb 8][23] A single comprising "Las Brisas" and "Cryin'" was released in Mexico. Ringo's Rotogravure was issued on CD, on the same day as Ringo the 4th, on 16 August 1992, in the US[25] by Atlantic.[nb 9][22]

Track listing

Side one
  1. "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" (Carl Groszman) – 3:24
  2. "Hey! Baby" (Margaret Cobb, Bruce Channel) – 3:11
  3. "Pure Gold" (Paul McCartney) – 3:14
  4. "Cryin'" (Vini Poncia, Richard Starkey) – 3:18
  5. "You Don't Know Me at All" (Dave Jordan) – 3:16
Side two
  1. "Cookin' (In the Kitchen of Love)" (John Lennon) – 3:41
  2. "I'll Still Love You" (George Harrison) – 2:57
  3. "This Be Called a Song" (Eric Clapton) – 3:14
    • features Eric Clapton on guitar and background vocals by Melissa Manchester
  4. "Las Brisas" (Nancy Andrews, Starkey) – 3:33
  5. "Lady Gaye" (Poncia, Starkey, Clifford T. Ward) – 2:57
    • features Dr. John on keyboards and Harry Nilsson on backing vocals
  6. "Spooky Weirdness" – 1:26
    • an uncredited track featuring studio sounds

References

Footnotes
  1. ↑ This session would be Lennon's last until 1980, for his Double Fantasy (1980) album.[1]
  2. ↑ "Where Are You Going" was one of two songs that was co-written between Starr and Billy Lawrie in the early 1970s.[8] The other was "Rock & Roller", a track that would be recorded by Lawrie at Starr's Startling Studios in May 1973 for his album, Ship Imagination (1973).[8]
  3. ↑ UK Polydor Deluxe 2302 040[19]
  4. ↑ US Atlantic 45-3361[21]
  5. ↑ US Atlantic SD 18193[22]
  6. ↑ UK Polydor 2001 694[21]
  7. ↑ US Atlantic 45-3371[24]
  8. ↑ UK Polydor 2001 699[24]
  9. ↑ US Atlantic 7 82416-2P[22]
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Miles; Badman 2001
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Harry 2004, p. 122
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Robinson 2005, p. 112
  4. 1 2 3 4 Rodriguez 2010, p. 37
  5. 1 2 Harrison 2002, p. 228
  6. 1 2 Rodriguez 2010, pp. 37–38
  7. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 174
  8. 1 2 3 Harry 2004, p. 235
  9. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 256
  10. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 176
  11. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 9
  12. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 234
  13. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 320
  14. ↑ William Ruhlmann, Ringo's Rotogravure at AllMusic (retrieved 19 July 2012).
  15. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide Reviews: Ringo Starr". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
  16. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 1028. ISBN 978-184195-827-9.
  17. ↑ Gary Graff & Daniel Durchholz (eds), MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999; ISBN 1-57859-061-2), p. 1083.
  18. ↑ Brackett, Nathan, with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Fireside. p. 777. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  19. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 184
  20. ↑ Harry 2004, p. 295
  21. 1 2 3 Harry 2004, p. 188
  22. 1 2 3 4 Harry 2004, p. 185
  23. 1 2 3 4 Harry 2004, p. 123
  24. 1 2 Harry 2004, p. 215
  25. ↑ Harry 2004, pp. 144–145
Sources
  • Harrison, George (2002). I Me Mine. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. 
  • Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. ISBN 9780753508435. 
  • Miles, Barry; Badman, Keith, eds. (2001). The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 (reprint ed.). London: Music Sales Group. ISBN 9780711983076. 
  • Robinson, Lisa (2005). "A Dose of Rock'N'Roll". NME. NME Originals. 2 (3). 
  • Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980. New York: Backbeat Books. ISBN 9780879309688. 
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