It is genuinely exciting to review this. The reason for this statement is that Ringo, for me, is forever the Ringo that I watched in ‘Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Help’ – he was very much a focal point for the image of The Beatles and he remained so. He was the drumbeat/the heartbeat of the band.
Let’s face it, Ringo has nothing to prove to anyone. Yet he still possesses the desire to make new music and the creator of “Octopus’s Garden” and the voice of “With a Little Help from My Friends” has been earning new plaudits for his recent work. I have his “What’s My Name” album in my vinyl collection and his last album “Look Up” moved into country territory, was extremely well received and reached number 1 in the UK Country Music charts. It is notable that The Beatles often did more than flirt with country music, especially on the “White Album,” and Ringo always had that voice that was almost ideal for a country festival.
I will share the press release and then move onto my review.
“Forthcoming album “Long Long Road” (released April 24), was co-written and produced by T Bone Burnett, the 10-song album also includes collaborations with Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow and St Vincent and is the highly anticipated follow-up to last year’s chart topping Look Up.
“I’m blessed to have T Bone in my life right now and working with me on these records,” Ringo stated. “After we did the last record, which I love listening to, this one just sort of happened. I like to say sometimes I make the right moves, like you can go left or right at any point, and one of the right moves was hooking up with T Bone for Look Up, and now for this one, which I’m calling Long Long Road, because I’ve been on a long long road.”
As the title implies, and like Ringo’s own journey, Long Long Road has solid roots in Country and Americana, and evolved into something broader, creating an aural mosaic of Starr’s musical legacy and influences, including Carl Perkins. “I recorded two Carl Perkins songs with The Beatles, and both T Bone and I wanted one on this record,” Ringo explained, “and he found this beautiful track I’d never heard before, ‘I Don’t See Me In Your Eyes Anymore’.”
Recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles, this record sees the return of many of the Look Up musicians including the core band (that T Bone affectionately dubs The Texans after the 1959 band Ringo played with in Liverpool) featuring Paul Franklin, David Mansfield, Dennis Crouch, Daniel Tashian, Rory Hoffman, Patrick Warren and Colin Linden.
“I’ve loved Ringo’s playing and his singing for my whole life,” T Bone stated. “And then one night we were at a poetry reading together and he said, why don’t you write a song for me? So I wrote him a Gene Autry type song because I always heard Ringo as a Texas artist, the way he played felt just like Texas music to me. Ringo Starr is a recording artist of the highest caliber, and I wanted to surround him with these young masters, bringing in some of this extraordinary young energy that’s happening around Nashville for both of these records.”
Their first collaboration, Look Up, released January 10, 2025, brought overwhelming success and acclaim. It was Ringo’s first Country record in 50 years, and it earned him his first Top 10 on Billboard’s all genre Top Album Sales chart, as well as landing him on multiple other Billboard Charts. In the UK, the album reached a significant career milestone garnering him his first solo #1 album on the Official Country Chart. In February 2025 Starr made his Grand Ole Opry debut after being invited by Emmylou Harris during the first of his two-night run at the legendary Ryman, which was recorded for a 2-hour special still streaming on CBS/Paramount Plus.
Here are the 10-songs, 6 written or co-written by T Bone Burnett, two co-written by Ringo and Bruce Sugar, one written by Ringo Starr, Mark Hudson, and Gary Burr and one by Bernie Benjamin and George David Weiss and recorded by Carl Perkins.”
My Review:
The album was released April 24, 2026.
“Returning Without Tears” – opens the album with a track that resonates of the prairie and the open land in front of that old frontier! It is a song about walking away from that old gamble of love and it sits us down around the late campfire to sing tales of lost love.
“Baby Don’t Go” – “I don’t know where I am, but I’m glad to be here” sings Ringo in lyrics that are reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat! I enjoyed the slightly deeper tones here, the touches of Elvis in the beat. Actually, the rhythm is neat here, a solid sound.
“I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Any More” is the puzzlement of the man who can’t put a smile in his loved one’s eyes any more. It has a sway built in and these backing singers doing the “shoo wap” sounds. It’s perfectly fine and enjoyable.
“It’s Been Too Long” turns a bit of rock into the country vibes, it is a little edgier and has some great backing harmony vocals to lift it up. It’s a fizzy little number, the coke on the rocks addition to the album.
“Why?” has a sing-along feel to it. The guitar sound is firmly in the country lane and the song has that bounce to it that shows Ringo relaxed and enjoying making music. He has a good team around him here who are all clearly having a great time in the studio too.
“You And I” (Wave of Love) is a song with a smile, the wave of love to the one you are dreaming of tonight. The track is a lovely male/female duet and carries us nicely into the night. Maybe my favourite on the album so far, it is a radio-friendly number, the sort of thing I would expect to hear on Radio 2 or a country channel.
“My Baby Don’t Want Nothing” – at 4.11 this is the longest track on the album, it is a slight outlier in sound. A little slower in beat, it has those late night vibes as the love of your world just wants love! Listening to it a second time, it also would have a place on commercial radio, I’d be pleased to listen to this popping up on the late slot!
“Choose Love” has always been the message from Ringo and this is one of the album’s standout tracks with some wonderful instrumental touches bringing in those interesting extra sounds on that ‘Long and Wandering Road.’ It reminded me of the Incas, some South American touches in a world where if only a few more would choose love, not war. Yes, I liked this one!
“She’s Gone” is a lament to the girl who never got your letter or accepted your call. A sad song, Ringo singing the blues in a country lane.
“Long Long Road” closes the album with the song that gives the album its title. This long road leads us somewhere, but (again turning to the Cheshire Cat), it might depend if you know where you want to go before the road itself matters. I loved the promo video (below) complete with a yellow submarine and so so many cool memories.
The album is distinctively Ringo. It is also fresh, warm and full of energy that completely belies his years. More importantly, he still clearly wants to make music, entertain people and spread peace and love in a troubled world. At just 34 minutes, it is an enjoyable, easy-going listen packed with charm, melody and heart. Ringo sounds as spirited as ever — and if the broccoli story is true, pass me a plate.
The road has been long, legendary and unlike any other, but Ringo is still travelling it with a smile — and still inviting us along for the ride.
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The album was produced by T Bone Burnett and co-produced by Daniel Tashian and Bruce Sugar and will be released on UMe.
You can stream music from Ringo here
Artist Website here
By Lorraine Foley
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