Nine of the 11 songs on Look Up were written in collaboration with Burnettone from Billy Swan and the other written by Starr e Bruce Sugar. Ringo he sang and played drums on all the songs and made the album's closing track, “Thankful“, together with Alison Krauss.
Burnett recruited some of Nashville's biggest talent for this project, including Billy Strings, Larkin Poe, Lucius, Molly Tuttle and Alison Krauss. The album's opening song, “Time On My Hands,” written by Paul Kennerly and Daniel Tashian (who also co-produced the album with Sugar) and Burnett, is out today.
The passion of Ringo Starr for country music has always been evident throughout his prestigious career. He performed and wrote numerous country – or country-influenced – songs during both his years with the Beatles (e.g. “Act Naturally”, “What Goes On”, “Don't Pass Me By”) than with previous group Rory Storm and The Hurricanes. Also, his second solo album Beaucoups of Blues of 1970 it was country.
His love of country music and the blues took him from London to Texas when he was still a teenager, after reading that Lightnin' Hopkins lived in Houston. Ringo Starr's new album comes after a chance meeting with Burnett at an event in Los Angeles in 2022 (the two had met in the 1970s), where Starr asked Burnett to write a song for an EP he was recording. Taking the task to heart, Burnett returned with nine songs, all in the country style, that happily put Starr on the path to recording Look Up: his first country album in 50 years and his first full-length album since 2019.
“I've always liked country music. And when I asked T Bone to write me a song, I didn't even think it would be a country song, and when it came it was incredibly beautiful.” Remember Ringo. “At the time I was making EPs so I thought we were going to make a country EP, but when he brought me nine songs I knew we should put out a whole album! And I'm so glad I did. I want to thank and send Peace & Love to T Bone and all the great musicians who helped make this record. It was a pleasure to do it and I hope it is equally pleasant to listen to it.”
“I have appreciated Ringo Starr and his playing, singing and style for as long as I can (or care) to remember.”says Burnett. “Ringo, with his creative approach, managed to change every drummer's way of playing, and always sang a killer rockabilly, as well as being an incredible ballad interpreter. Composing this music with him was like realizing a dream that I have lived for 60 years. None of the work I have produced in my long life in music could have existed if it weren't for him and his band. Among other things, this album is a way to thank him for everything he has given to me and to us.”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
