Ringo Starr - Ringo's Rotogravure

Released in 1976, Ringo's Rotogravure shows the former Beatle once again getting by with a little help from his friends, this time including Dr. John, Van Dyke Parks, Levon Helm, Peter Frampton, Jesse Ed Davis, Klaus Voorman, and Melissa Manchester. Unfortunately, the track listing doesn't quite measure up to the guest list. George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon try to help their old mate by penning a song apiece, but none of their efforts are remotely memorable; ditto for "This Be Called a Song," a hand-me-down from Eric Clapton. The plodding "Dose of Rock 'N' Roll" actually made it into the U.S. top 30, which only proves that DJs and consumers alike were still willing to cut an ex-Beatle some slack in 1976. That would all begin to change in another year. --Dan Epstein Amazon.com

Ringo's Rotogravure

This is Ringo Starrs' first LP in 1976 when he and the other three Fabs become free agents and were no longer bound to record and release their new music for Capitol/Apple.It contains some great tunes, as once again he seeks out a little help from his friends. Track 1, A Dose of Rock n'Roll features Peter Frampton on guitar, Track 3, Pure Gold has P & L Mac on backing vocals, Track 6, Cookin'In The Kitchen Of Love is written by and features the piano of Dr. Winston O'Boogie himself, Track 7, I'll Still Love You, is written by his old roommate named George H. Track 8 is written and played by The Master Guitarist named Eric. I always have loved this album simply because I do. When my old vinyl album became too much like rice krispies, a/k/a/ snap,crackle & pop, I decided that the CD version would definitely fill the bill. I was right! February 12, 2007

Not Great. Not Horrible.

Ringo's Rotogravure is truly a huge step down from "Ringo" and "Goodnight Vienna". His 3 brothers from the Beatles each penned a song and to me, at least, "Pure Gold" was the best of the three.

Rotogravure isn't really a bad album (Ringo the 4th takes the cake there). I found myself putting a couple of the tracks on repeat (Pure Gold, A Dose of Rock 'n Roll and Cryin') while some of the other tracks I didn't care for that much such as Cookin'.

I bought the album because from the samples, it sounded OK for $11 (bundled with Ringo the 4th). That, and I love Ringo to death and feel he is an underappreciated talent. But this album is only for HUGE Ringo fans and completists. June 17, 2006

Nostalgic fun

I always had a soft spot for the sad Beatle, and bought his vinyl albums when they came out back in the 1970's. The first few were fun, but right around this album - Rotogravure - they started to lack a little of the soul that the early ones had, which made up for Ringo's limited singing ability. Arif Mardin produced this one and is not as good as "Ringo" or "Goodnight Vienna', which were both produced by Richard Perry. I enjoyed hearing the songs on Rotogravure, which I had not heard for 20 years. Which says something. And I may not reach for this album again anytime soon. But it was fun from a nostalgia point of view. If you are looking for a good album to hear for the first time, I would have to say you should look elsewhere. February 17, 2006

Pretty Good

Well, I admit this is not my favorite album, but it is my favorite artist! For some reasons, I do think every beatles fan should buy this album. Why? Here are the reasons.

I know it's been said many, many times, but, Ringo realized this album with a little help from his friends. But was it really necessary? I don't Think so. Sure, the songs Paul McCartney gave him is sweet, John Lennon's quite funny and Geroge Harrison's a real masterpeice, (In fact, it's better than anything who's in his All Things Must Pass album pherhaps it has been written in the same period) The songs that really catch my attention are the little variety numbers that Ringo had fun makin' and writin'. Just think of Cryin', a little blues number (it makes us regret that he let others write the country songs on Beaucoup Of Blues) and Las Brisas. Otherwise, there's a cool cover of Hey Baby and the beautiful balld You Dn't Know Me At All.

OVERALL: Ringo's voice won't reach his peak until his recent records but it's ok, Production by Arif Madrin isn't the best fittin' for Ringo's work, the large variety of musical styles shows Ringo's very polyvalent and there's a lot of funny photographs in the booklet, so enjoy! ^^ March 30, 2005

Maybe not Abbey Road but surely better than unfinished music

HAVE WE ALL GONE NUTS? This fun album has an average customer rating of 2 1/5, while Unfinished music part two has an average customer rating of three. WHAT?!!! This album has the same customer rating as Two Virgins, GOOD GRIEF! This album is far better than it's low reputation.

I think everyone is missing the point. Take this album for what it is, HEAPS of fun. Like, this album is SO much fun. It's a throback to fifties pop. Remember the vocal groups of the fifties, most of these songs are a throwback to that. There's also a lot of doo-wop and even 50's country-ish ballads represented. Actually, I could compare a lot of this material to the Tommy Edwards version of 'It's all in the game'. My favourte songs are Pure Gold, You don't know me, This be called a song, A dose of rock n roll, Las Brisas and Crying. July 19, 2004

More reviews at Amazon.com ...