It's amusing that, due to Ringo later becoming the first Thomas the Tank Engine TV narrator/Mr. Conductor, this is probably the first Trainwreckords subject to have a substantial link to trains.
Todd comparing Ringo to Drake made my dad reach over, pause the video, stare off into the middle distance for an uncomfortably long time, take a deep breath, and whisper in his native language, "He is not wrong. I wish he was." before shutting his eyes, taking another deep breath and hitting play. Congrats on nearly breaking my dad, Todd.
Ringo's personality and role in the band are masterfully exemplified in just a single shot of the 'Get Back' documentary. John and Paul are arguing fiercely about some minute detail in a song, and Ringo is leaning back on his drum stool, hands at the back of his head, having a kip. That man is there to play the drums, and not a single thing else.
@@Adamdidit that struck me as being due to Ringo being almost like 'the kid' in the relationship, and the grown-ups not wanting to upset him with their shouting. In fact, that documentary showcases a family dynamic among the four musicians, something like: John - Dad (working away at his own projects and popping in occasionally to give an opinion) Paul - Mum (wanting things his way and trying to 'run' the 'family') George - teenage son (stroppy) Ringo - younger son (wanting everyone to stop shouting and get along)
@@PedroBenolielBonito I can't see why you went that way with it but I think you've got it backwards. He was more of the fun older brother of them all. And when he did get serious, they fell in line. Whether it be flatly ending an argument where a producer tried fo foce them to do some dumb show or stopping Lyndsey Michael Hogg in his tracks while he was trying to pursue one of his many avenues against Yoko that eventually turned into the narrative we all know.
@@Adamdidit Fun older brother, sure, but the core trio (now two senior songwriters and one struggling but blossoming songwriter) all knew from the start that they had a certain advantage and seniority over Ringo, and Ringo himself knew that when he joined. One of the myriad of character dynamics that made The Beatles so special.
"having friends is a skill" wowowow that's seriously such a good point! the celeb culture sells this idea of being a cool top dog but people forget that being kind and likeable is actually an important skill
People talk about being a good partner or lover all the time. People forget some details. One, interacting with people and being likable is a constant effort. Two, being a friend is easy. Being a good friend is an art. Three, people who are decent to people on a consistent basis are probably the most "popular" people. That's just because people won't mind being around them for long periods of time. And that's cool!
On my first day as a cameraman at a big rock gig, the director gave me two pieces of advice.... 1, never bother the acts. You hear to work, your not a fan, don't be asking them for autographs and stuff. 2. Be nice to people, no one wants to work with a dick so if your not liked you won't get rehired.
A few points to consider about Ringo. 1. Drummers traditionally tend to be the most self-effacing musician in the band. They tend not to have the ego of the front man (unless you're Phil Collins). They tend not to draw attention to themselves (unless you're Keith Moon). They play the role as the lightning rod of the group, the butt of the jokes. They take the heat so the lead guitarist and the front man don't kill each other. To take that abuse with grace and good humor should not be discounted. 2. While Ringo is not admired by the public, ask any professional drummer and you'll find massive respect for him. He was recruited by The Beatles from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes because they recognized his talent. He was the best drummer in Liverpool and they wanted the best. He is a clean drummer, always on the beat, and his fills enhance the song rather than distract from it. He also worked hard in the studio, giving his best no matter how many hours and how many takes the Beatles took to finish a song. He was reliable, and that's a virtue. 3. His use of the language inspired some of their early songs. He literally said "hard day's night," "eight days a week," and "tomorrow never knows." 4. When the band members were going through tough times and on the verge of falling apart, they were absolutely shocked when Ringo quit the band. When he returned a week later, they decorated his drum kit to welcome him back. 5. Ringo is so self-effacing that he never, ever voluntarily took a drum solo, until he was talked into one for Abbey Road. Disrespect him for his voice and for turning to disco. Diss him for not writing great songs. But as a musician and a Beatle, he's the equal of John, Paul, and George.
@BillPeschel Phil didn't have a big ego. He was the only "regular guy" in the group! The rest of them were rich, private school twats, while Phil was the one trying to keep everything light and easy. The reason his music started to dominate the band was because he was having solo hits and the rest of the band wanted to have hits.
THANK YOU! Ringo is one of the best. Many brilliant drummers cannot play some of the beats he played in The Beatles, at least not for a long time. Drummers who know their stuff have nothing but respect for him. Also, he is not only the most expensive studio drummer because he was one of the Fab 4, but mainly because of his skill.
It's worth mentioning that most of the bass on this record was played by a then relatively unknown player named Tony Levin. If you're wondering why that name seems familiar, it's because he'd go on to be a member of King Crimson and play on pretty much every Peter Gabriel solo record.
In Todd's review of CCR's "Mardi Gras" he wondered 'what would have happened if the Beatles had made an album where Ringo had to do all the work?" and now we finally have the long-awaited answer.
...or at least those like me who remember it for real reasons forgive it's existence. It was contracted and he tried, but a lot was missing from before. Of it's time and place and at least not 100 percent bad - I've heard a lot worse (looking at my crate-bought copy of The Beach Boys' LA-Light Album...maybe ELP's Love Beach, too).
It's probably because this album is more of a "meh" in quality. The music sounds good, with the only objectively bad thing about it is Ringo's vocals. But even then, it's not that bad when you compare him to other truly bad singers out there.
@@Demiglitch Problem was, _Ringo the 4th_ was his last straw as a viable solo artist, and his alcoholism at the time certainly didn't help. 1992's _Time Takes Time_ was a solid critical comeback, but I think its commercial disappointment (to the point of being out of print, but you can find it on RUclips easily) convinced Ringo for good that he should live out the rest of his days as the drummer who joyfully brings everyone together, with the occasional album here and there if enough material justifies it.
I’ll never forget Ringo walking up to me and my friend and saying “peace and love guys, peace and love!” when we were selling merch for one of his All Starr Band shows. He later stuck around and signed tons of autographs for fans, and I recently learned that he only gave up on his promise to answer every single fan letter in 2008. Say what you will about his singing and songwriting, but you’ll hardly find a more gracious rockstar in all of music history.
every trainwreckord ranked by rateyourmusic community rating: carpenters - passage: 3.16 oasis - be here now: 3.02 madonna - american life: 2.91 lauryn hill - mtv unplugged 2.0: 2.83 arrested development - zingalamaduni: 2.81 billy idol - cyberpunk: 2.79 the human league - crash: 2.67 hootie & the blowfish - fairweather johnson: 2.65 jewel - 0304: 2.59 crosby, stills, nash & young - american dream: 2.56 ringo starr - ringo the 4th: 2.53 the spin doctors - turn it upside down: 2.50 creedence clearwater revival - mardi gras: 2.42 styx - kilroy was here: 2.42 will smith - lost and found: 2.27 katy perry - witness: 2.24 “allman and woman” - two the hard way: 2.13 mötley crüe - generation swine: 2.12 liz phair - funstyle: 2.10 mc hammer - the funky headhunter: 2.09 (worth noting this is actually higher than any of the albums that came before it) run-d.m.c. - crown royal: 1.97 metallica - st. anger: 1.82 van halen - van halen iii: 1.77 edgar winter - mission earth: 1.68 (with under 100 ratings as of this writing) the clash - cut the crap: 1.60 robin thicke - paula: 1.46 the beach boys - summer in paradise: 1.03 (lol)
@@AugAug989I hate calling that album a “trainwreckord” because Karen and Richard were ambitious as fuck…and it actually worked really well in places. It’s also come to my attention that today is the 45th anniversary of Evita debuting. IYKYK.
So in this series we have the categories for Trainwreckords: *Sophomore Slumps (a.k.a. Post-flash in the pan flameouts)* : Zingalamaduni, Turn It Upside Down, Fairweather Johnson *Ego-stroking* : Be Here Now (The Gallagher Brothers), Generation Swine (Nikki, Tommy & Pamela), Summer In Paradise (Mike Love), Cut The Crap (Bernie Rhodes), Two The Hard Way (Cher & Gregg), Mission Earth (L. Ron Hubbard) *Band Drama* : St Anger, Van Halen III, American Dream, Mardi Gras *Personal drama/insecurities* : MTV Unplugged 2.0, American Life, Witness, Paula, Lost & Found *Trend-chasing that backfired on them* : 0304, Crash, The Funky Headhunter, Crown Royal, *Ringo The 4th* *Bizarre changes in direction* : Cyberpunk, Passage, Funstyle, Kilroy Was Here
@@valoregal Crown Royal seemed more like failed trend-riding to me, even though DMC's non-involvement with the album was an elephant-in-the-room problem with it
It will never not be funny to me how even in his home country, the most famous part of Ringo's solo career is narrating Thomas the Tank Engine. And maybe that Simpsons episode he guested in.
@@Thomasmemoryscentral - The Simpsons used to be a national treasure, but now it's such a shell of its former self. It's become the pop culture it used to satirize (albeit with really heartfelt, emotionally resonant stories behind the satire). Now, Lisa idolizes Elon fucking Musk of all people - someone who Lisa in the early seasons would rightfully despise as a hateful ignorant exploitative billionaire bastard.
Do remember, keeping perspective about Ringo and his "lucky, schlubby" persona, that when The Beatles APPROACHED HIM to join the band, he was widely regarded as the BEST drummer in Liverpool.
But another way of putting that was that he was the best drummer... in Liverpool. Its population never hit even a million. George Martin, who as their long-time producer was thought of as the "fifth Beatle," thought he wasn't up to snuff and forced the band to record "Love Me Do" with Andy White, who lived just outside of London. That was the version that was put on their debut album. Granted, that's one man's opinion from early on, but that man was THE man and it shows how "best drummer in Liverpool" wasn't good enough; Ringo had to up his game... and did.
@@calmbbaer Thats not the point, is it? He didn't "luck" himself into the job. They chose, for them, the very best drummer they could find....and that was Ringo!
@@calmbbaer to quote john lennon, "““Ringo was a star…before we even met, He was a professional drummer who sang and performed and had Ringo Starr-time, and he was in one of the top groups in Britain, especially in Liverpool, before we even had a drummer. Ringo’s talent would have come out one way or the other I don’t know what he would have ended up as, but whatever that spark is in Ringo that we all know but can’t put our finger on… whether it is acting, drumming, or singing, I don’t know… there is something in him that is projectable, and he would have surfaced with or without the Beatles. Ringo is a damn good drummer. "
Reminds me of the line in The Wedding Singer: “Growing up, I used to idolize guys like the Fonz and Vinny Barbarino because they got a lot of chicks. Do you know what happened to the Fonz and Vinny Barbarino?… Their shows got canceled because no one wants to see a 50 year old guy hitting on chicks.” Apparently Mike Love didn’t get the memo.
I am incredibly intrigued by this. Is it a reference to something? An inside joke? Something he actually did? This is a gateway to an unknown world, and I crave answers.
The best parts of the Get Back documentary are when it's just Ringo and George. They have such a warm dynamic and you can see George really lights up and gets more enthusiastic.
@@louisduarte8763 Not to defend her, as I get not liking Yoko for how her treatment of Julian and all, but I can't understand people fixating so hard on anything Yoko did in the Get Back documentary. Mostly because she kinda did fuck all. She was, overall, ridiculously unobtrusive in that documentary. It just feels like a weird hate boner. I mean, the whole band was fucking around constantly in spite of the time limits, singing through their teeth an' shit. She wails into the microphone like once, maybe twice, during the doc? Nobody is even shown being "begrudging" about it. Not saying that's an accurate portrait of events; it was obviously edited to hell and back, but you're real melodramatic if that seriously put you off from watching the rest of the doc.
Was he? I mean, he definitely was during the early, teeny bopper era of Beatles, when he was just a handsome bass player behind two total teenage idols. But when the sixties really kicked off, he was the one most beloved by the spiritual, new age hippie crowd. He recorded his sitar in reverse and basically introduced the world to obnoxious amounts of reverb. I mean he was the one whose music was the best to drop acid to...
ringo absolutely deserves his flowers as a drummer. he's composed some of the most iconic drum parts of all time and he had the stamina and consistent tempo to back it up. he knew how to give songs the drum part they needed. for songs like "she loves you" or "twist and shout" the drums aren't even something you notice, but you realize just how memorable they are when you listen to the drums isolated. and then there's songs like "come together" which has one of the most iconic drum parts of all time.
So fun fact about that Dune album at 22:56 that outcharted Ringo, because I thought it rang a bell - on that album there's a jazz cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Decades later, MF DOOM found that cover and sampled it for the beat for Rapp Snitch Knishes, arguably one of the best hip-hop beats of all time (personally speaking, at least). So in a weird way, that Dune album used as a side-comment had way more of an afterlife than Ringo's disco album. Great video as always Todd, love this series.
Dave Matthews was an arranger for James Brown for years. His group, The Grodeck Whipperjenny was the band that played on James Brown's only "psychedelic funk" album "Sho is Funky Down Here." I think JB was trying to move into Temptations territory but thankfully this was the sole experiment.
@@AliceFlynnSo basically: Backlash: Disco sucks. Backlash to the backlash: No, Disco is awesome, and relevant to marginalized communities, so what you tryin' to say, huh? Huh? Todd: No, Disco DOES suck, and for all the countercultural value it had, it was very much a mainstream genre populated by mediocre White artists.
You can't hate Ringo. He may not have written the best songs, but he was very humble, a solid drummer, and at the end of the day, he's still a god damn Beatle.
Plus, he only wrote two of them... one of which is a bonafide classic amongst children. It's not exactly like he had high aspirations as a songwriter or was prolific. Flying and What Goes on don't count.
Gonna get sappy here, but thanks Todd. My dad recently passed and was a huge Beatles fan his whole life. He always joked about this album and Ringo's "disco" songs and how much of a joke it was. I never got the chance to listen to it while he was still alive but he was 100% correct.
Yes! As a Beatle fan, I love the appreciation of Ringo. There’s no *way* the band could have made it without him. He was actively recruited and was able to contribute to the music in very important ways.
There’s a great alternate version of Strawberry Fields Forever on Beatles Anthology with an amazing extended drum solo. I’ve changed people’s opinion of Ringo by playing it for them
There's a lot of studio footage of Ringo just sitting around looking bored, but I generally agree. It was a weird stroke of genius that John wanted the band to play on everything, despite it seeming counterintuitive with how individual the songwriting became. It really made everyone able to adapt to a lot of more experimental ideas and help the sound in the weirder ideas be a lot more grounded and polished, unlike a lot of albums of the time where the experimentation seems trite or kinda one-take. To be able to adapt to that and fit in flawlessly like a glove is way, way more difficult that it would seem for a percussionist. And frankly no one would ever say it, but although Paul really blossomed into an excellent bassist on the last few albums, Ringo was a better drummer than the other three were guitarists.
Per Mark Lewisohn, Ringo is literally in the earliest photo of any Liverpool rock band playing anywhere (The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group). I don’t think Ringo was ever not the hottest rock drummer in the region, at least until other bands started to follow in The Beatles’ footsteps.
"Cooking in the Kitchen" sounds like something John Lennon wrote for Ringo as some type of rib. Like one of those "fun style" things, that you write when you're goofing around and bored that you decided to release anyway almost on a whim. Ringo and/or John couldn't have been serious when they made that song. I can't imagine that John himself, would release a song called "Cooking in the Kitchen" and legitimately think that it could be a Top 40 hit by himself without hurting his credibility, so he passed on to his friend for shits and giggles.
What was not mentioned was how Ringo had a shaved head. One night, he was supposedly drinking with John Bonham of Led Zeppelin and he got so drunk that someone dared him to shave his head. He first shaved his eyebrows, then his head, and then his beard. That's how bad of a drunk Ringo was. And supposedly the reason he got sober was that he woke up one morning after getting blackout drunk and noticed that his second wife Barbara Bach was beaten up. He got upset and asked her who did this to her. And she replied that he did it.
Kind of sums up the kind of rock star Ringo is. He won't do anything too crazy at first but when he gets absolutely wasted he severely crosses the line
Not gonna lie, “Drowning in the Sea of Love” has this 70’s spy thriller vibe that I kinda find goofy and charming. Like, up the tempo a bit and you have the Lupin III theme, which kicks ass. Edit: I love this album in an unbelievably guilty pleasure way.
Yeah, I actually quite like it. Sounds like off-brand Talking Heads, way before Talking Heads even started actively putting their disco and soul influences front and centre
Ringo trying to be sleazy and almost (gag) sexy on this album reminds me a lot of Hammer trying to be tough and edgy on The Funky Headhunter. Both of them were successful for their simplicity and sense of fun, and hearing them try to age up their act to stay with the times is like hearing Baby Got Back from Barney the dinosaur.
Still holding out for hope for Limp Bizkit’s “Results May Vary” to be discussed on Trainwreckords. A classic example of the destruction of Limp Bizkit’s relevance (Wes Borland’s departure didn’t help) and was one of the two albums that killed Nu Metal once and for all (the other being Korn’s “Take a Look in the Mirror”). RMV was filled with Fred Durst’s whiny tirades of self indulgence as well as the infamous cover of The WHO’s “Behind Blue Eyes” which replaced the bridge from the original version with a speak n spell and a stab at Britney Spears which Durst had a publicised affair with during the recording of the album.
I don't really get nu metal, at least not enough to tell the difference between the good and the bad. What is some god nu metal? What sets it apart from the bad? What *made* Results May Vary and Take a Look in the Mirror huge flops, beyond changing trends?
Yeah I'd love to see a review on that one. I was a teenager when that came out and it still amazes me to look back on nu-metal and how it went from being this commercial juggernaut to nonentity literally overnight.
@@royalninja2823 Nu metal as a genre has way more creativity and variety than people give it credit for. There's a lot of slap bass, jam sessions, and weird left-field influences. I'm a diehard metalhead but the genre has a conformity issue, and nu metal's status as the rejected outcast of the genre was a blessing for weirdo bands to get a platform as long as they stayed authentic. You can honestly explain most popular nu metal bands in such a way that makes it clear how odd they actually are. Even Limp Bizkit is odd: A jazz drummer and bassist, the DJ from House of Pain (yes, really), an eccentric performance artist who happens to make some truly memorable wonky yet heavy riffs, all fronted by an average white dude rapping about being a bit of a loser. Good nu metal is filled with personality, bad nu metal feels an inauthentic cash grab with no heart or passion. Compare two big songs that both came out in 1999: "Eyeless" by Slipknot and "From This Day" by Machine Head. It becomes obvious which song is from a new band with fresh ideas giving it their all and which song is a lazy attempt to cash into the new hot trend. In the case of Limp Bizkit, I was never too fond of them but their sound worked because of Fred's endearing loser relatability backed by a highly competent band. Results May Vary threw all of that away, as Wes was no longer in the band and Fred had shifted to mopey singing about miserable topics. They actively erased what made them who they were. And for Korn, their music depended so much on being raw and emotionally vulnerable that diminishing returns were inevitable once they became superstars. They couldn't successfully pivot to something else, so they descended into mediocrity before making some infamously poorly-received experiments.
It was the opposite for me. I am only a casual LB fan at best, but I really dig Results May Vary. I agree that Behind Blue Eyes was pretty cringe, but the album had some really solid tracks like Underneath The Gun and Down Another Day that I still listen to today, and the then-new guitarist did a great job imo. That said, I know it alienated a lot of long-time fans and I would happily take a Trainwreckords review of that album just to hear Todd's talk about it.
Ringo's career reminds me of Sigourney Weaver's line from "Galaxy Quest" - "Look, I have one job on this lousy ship. It's stupid, but I'm going to do it, okay?"
Ringo was an awesome drummer. He should have stuck with it and avoided trying to become a front man. His beats are very creative and song specific. And he was able to hold a steady shuffle/swing rhythm better than most drummers. All the while playing left-handed on a right-handed kit.
I was actually a little excited to hear a he did a disco album because drummers love disco. Dave Grohl has said repeatedly that he was playing disco beats in Nirvana's Nevermind album. And there's some pretty good beats in Ringo's 4th too.
Gotta disagree on the "no frontman" business. His personality made him the archetype for the "fun alternative voice" that leavens a band's repertoire; especially a band that's huge, whose every utterance is portentous with expectations. Even after the Beatles broke up, he did pretty well in that "light comedy" role for a good while. His drumming is iconic, and will always be there; and its sly musicality evoked the great fun musician he's always been.
Given how famous being in the Beatles made him, I don't think Ringo had any realistic choice but to be the front man (and, I mean, it worked for a while, as Todd notes). Becoming a supporting player in another band would have been an implicit statement that he couldn't make it on his own.
Rings being most successful in the beginning is like how Zayn got the first hits after One Direction but Harry went on to be the one with the biggest solo career. It’s arguably better to wait for the hype of the breakup to fade, if you use the time to make actually good music.
Or when Kelly Rowland had her solo album out before Beyonce, she had a couple songs and then Beyonce released her solo debut and everyone forgot who Kelly Rowland was overnight.
So I actually like the "Drowning in the Sea of Love," cover. He seems to be making it more about his alcoholism than romance, and I don't know, it works for me.
Yeah, I was kind of vibing with it too. The strained vocals, while undoubtedly a product of Ringo's limited range, come off as a drunk guy screaming his self-loathing and shame. Having an upbeat disco beat overshadow a lot of his singing could also be seen as his alcoholism and the vacuous party life overshadowing his self-reflection.
Correct. I do like this one. I was mildly disappointed that it wasn't mentioned how often Ringo chooses or writes songs that are semi or fully biographical. Or that his mood and beyond average bad singing on Ringo the 4th were due to having become completely blitzed 90% of the time with extreme alcoholism by '77. Evidenced by what I consider his best album, "Time Takes Time" which demonstrates what Ringo is capable of when he's completely sober.
Watching this, I’ve realized a recurring theme with some of the albums on TrainWreckords. Some albums, like Will Smith, MC Hammer, Katy Perry, and so on have their albums fail because it feels like they’re no longer having any fun, even if their fun is what helped them before. That’s especially the case with Ringo here. He looks absolutely miserable here, which is crazy considering he’s doing a lot of Disco! In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a musician on TrainWreckords look so bummed and out of it since Lauryn Hill. And she broke down crying on stage!
Ringo had a breakdown not long after this too, there's some pictures of it in this video. He became suicidal and shaved his head and eyebrows as a plea for attention.
While I'd agree with you, I think it's interesting you picked the three Trainwreckords that seem to fall victim to "lacking authenticity." Will Smith's album failed because no one was able to take him as a serious rapper. He had too much of a goofy, squeaky-clean image. MC Hammer's album failed because no one was able to take him as a serious rapper. He had too much of a fun, squeaky-clean image. Katy Perry's album failed because she was perceived a shallow pop princess, no one cared to hear her opinions on the world. And in all three cases, they were probably unfair. These albums failed because they weren't what we wanted, and yet at the same time, we always seem to criticize artists that never take risks or change things up.
I went on tour with 'Ringo and his all star band' back in the day. Super nice guy. In fact all of band mates (stars in their own respects) were just genuine nice people to be around. We were always offered tickets but declined due to workload. Then towards the end of the tour we had thee dates at the same venue IE down time to rest up and went to a show. WOW. The next day, we looked at them through a different lens....Rock Stars. Great memories.
I know many people have said this already, but it's important to emphasize. Ringo is celebrated not because he lucked into a gig with the world's greatest band. He is, in fact, and extremely talented, creative, and influential drummer.
I do in fact love Ringo. Just saw him in concert two weeks ago, he’s got some real charisma, and the All Star Band is still a great time. My Nana has been in love with him since 1964.
Ringo Starr jumping on disco while it was young reminded me of something. Before disco, the Bee Gees were a Beatle-like rock band themselves. Hell, their career started when they were a child act in Australia and when Beatlemania happened, the Bee Gees took advantage of it and made a name for themselves. ANYWAY, when they transitioned with the times (probably around the same time as Ringo) that's when they discovered they had a knack for this new sound. Plus it doesn't hurt that Barry Gibb was like some song writing savant. (If you don't know, look up the songs he wrote. The dude was crazy talented). I bring all this up to say that it's not unreasonable to think that Ringo could have defined what Disco would become as his peers were doing the exact same thing. It's just that... Ringo ain't no Barry.
@@pervertedalchemist9944plus Arif Mardin the producer of Ringo the 4th had worked with the Bee Gees on their earliest disco hits (Jive Talkin, Nights On Broadway).
The bee gees' first big song after moving from australia was actually sold to radio by telling stations it was by "a british band that starts with a B". It sounds super similar to paperback writer.
Not to mention the apparently awful _Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band_ movie they did with Peter Frampton, the soundtrack of which would make for a great Trainwreckords episode in and of itself.
A conversation I just had with my mom, who was there for Beatle Mania: Me: Did you know Ringo Starr had his own music career after the Beatles broke up? Mom: I think he was on the Thomas the Tank Engine soundtrack, wasn't he? Me: No I mean an actual recording career as a solo artist. Mom: Oh! Me: In the 70s he tried doing disco. Mom: Oh. Oh no.
True, but there are plenty of very good drummers who toil away in obscurity. If Starr wasn't tied to the Beatles he'd have been a happy and successful musician in the Liverpudlian music scene, but would he have had an independent musical stardom? Probably not.
@@cmbeadle2228 How many rock drummers can you name who would have enjoyed any independent musical stardom without first being in a highly successful band? Even Phil Collins was first "that guy from Genesis." As a rock drummer, you have to be tied to a successful band in order for the public to take any note of your work.
@thechaimug exactly my point. A great drummer who wasn't in the band long. Ringo won the lottery, Pete didn't. Talent wasn't what seperated their success
"Ringo Starr was the Guy Fieri of the '70s" was not a comparison I ever expected anyone to make, but it makes so much sense that I'm surprised it took me this long to hear it.
I think one of the reasons these comparisons make sense when you hear them is because you realize that despite what you might think, society changes slowly. We always move in cycles. So any particular trend, style, person in some decade will always be around in another, maybe not readily apparent. One thing I noticed from this video is Ringo nailed that "hipster" look, with the glasses, the baseball cap, etc. I saw that and said "wow, that could just be him today, he'd fit right in."
This might be the first time I understand nearly every pun and reference that Todd throws at us in the intro to a Trainwreckords. I love The Beatles, and I love Ringo! This is gonna be an interesting one.
It’s weird. Ringo made his best albums in the 90s when people were making their late-career trainwreckords, but his trainwreckord came in the beatle-heavy 70s. Great video!
One thing you left out but kind of alluded to: Ringo was the most popular Beatle in America. He got the most fan mail, the most "girlfriends," etc. His solo work outselling the other Beatles post-breakup makes more sense when you remember it was due to American sales, which are much larger than UK sales.
it is weird, a lot of older ladies i know were huge Ringo fans back in the 60s and 70s, i have no idea what exactly made him more popular than the other members with the women of America
4:28 Say what you want about the quickie records but Beaucoups of Blues is a real special easy listen. Ringo really suited country and I wish he did more of it.
There’s an Italian band called Pinguini Tattici Nucleari who did a song called Ringo Starr where the chorus translates to “in a world of Johns and Pauls I am Ringo Starr”, and that whole intro to this episode is basically an extended version of that 😂
Still holding out hope that enough time will pass for these albums to get the Todd Trainwreck treatment: Eminem - Revival Justin Timberlake - Man of the Woods Chance the Rapper - The Big Day Green Day - Father of All Motherf*cks
Oh man: "Man of the Woods" has got to be one of the next ones, considering that he waited 5 years with Paula by Robin Thicke and Witness by Katy Perry!
@@PrinzPassionsfruchtand with *NYSNC getting back together, this would be the perfect time for it. One sign of a solo artist’s career ending is launching a comeback with the band that made them big in the first place (see Chris Cornell, RIP, reuniting SoundGarden after his SCREAM album failed). So this would the perfect time to do that MOTW TrainWreckords.
@@samanteater Todd has covered albums from artist's that still had some chart success post flop album choice he covers but he has stated he does this side series to at least cover the artist's or band's last mainstream success. Katy Perry has barely charted anything worthy since 2017 from the flop of Witness and i dont believe Justin Timberlake charted any successful song since Say Something with Chris Stapleton from the 2018 Man Of The Woods album
It's an awesome album because it was fun to listen and apparently fun to make. And most of all at no point during "Ringo" did Mr. Starkey try to sing like Barry White. Yikes.
This episode reminded me of another situation when an artist/group struggles to grapple with the trends of the time. In 1981 the Village People attempted to go new-wave with um, interesting, results. It's an album with a cover that needs to be seen to be believed and it concludes with three food themed songs in a row. This is my pitch for the Village People's 7th album, Renaissance, as a potential future episode.
Oh wow. Now I'm realizing there are probably almost as many good acts ruined by an attempt to drop disco as pick it up, since the fad died even harder and faster than it had started.
23:00 Fun Fact: That Dune jazz fusion concept album is not entirely instrumental. It includes a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". This cover was sampled by MF Doom in 2004. It originates the famous guitar lick from "Rapp Snitch Knishes".
"Sneaking Sally Through the Alley" was written by Allen Toussaint who is one of the greatest soul music songwriters ever. It was originally recorded by Lee Dorsey.
Bless Ringo’s heart but he had one job. That’s his career in a nutshell. At least I’ll give him credit for writing Octopus’s Garden (flawless song on a flawless record and one of my favorite scenes in Get Back). Anyways, as a certified Beatlemaniac who is somewhat fascinated by their solo careers I had to click on this ASAP. Love to see it, keep up the good work silhouette man named after breasts.
Another trainwreckords, another chance for me to suggest Genesis' Calling All Stations. Basically the definition of a trainwreckord for what it did to the band
It should probably be covered but the bashing of it Todd would definitely do would probably hurt my soul because I honestly really like it and I think it really didn't deserve the hate it got
Amazing, how Genesis saw two distinct frontmen, who themselves became successful solo artists alongside the band’s transition from prog rock to pop rock, and yet now, the world has come to accept that their collective musical peak was the era of _Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound,_ and _The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway._
He's a great drummer! I scream all throughout the video, Ringo got unlucky because if he wasn't compared to the other 3 Beatles he would be considered a drummer that changed the way drummers were seen in the 60's and a situationaly good singer.
Hearing that bit of Robert Palmer's version of "Sneakin' Sally" made me think that Maroon 5 will probably cover it at some point. Just sounds like something they'd do.
I think we're safe there. "Sneakin Sally" is a good song and Adam Levine covering a good song would be far too much effort for the mastermind behind "Girls Like You."
I saw Ringo and his All Starr Band in 2015. Honestly, the most fun I have ever had at a concert. Not saying the best concert. It was very good, musically and technically. But the most fun.
Even if disco was the popular genre of music back in the day, why would Ringo, a man with a limited vocal range, choose to do a genre where you have to have a wide range and be able to sing greatly?
well, he was probably rather drunk, and surrounded by enablers. if you had everyone around you telling you whatever you did was great without any real critical feedback, you'd put out some crap while thinking you're doing awesome too.
@@collectibleasmrBut the Silver Connection were attractive women, and Rick Dees was a comedy act in on the joke, even if it really wasn't much of a joke. Ringo wasn't particularly attractive and wasn't a radio funny man.
Same reason why veteran R&B acts like The Whispers, Skyy, Starpoint and The O'Jays did new jack swing projects in the late 80's - it was about riding the current wave.
I am one of the biggest, most diehard Beatles fans you'll ever meet. I saw Ringo and the All-Starrs in concert last September. To say this thumbnail piqued my interest is...an understatement.
KISS is interesting because they got, like, 3 or 4 back-to-back albums that could be said to be the buildup for the failure of "The Elder". So it's kinda like the meme with the dominos growing bigger and bigger.
KISS was also mentioned on the Motley Crue "Generation Swine" Trainwreckords. Specifically, how a lot of bands would let their drummer write and record a song. It worked for KISS. It didn't work for Motley (but it did give us "Brandon.")
This 100 % just happened to me at the commercial break where Todd says "Wings" an Applebee's commercial selling their All You Can Eat Boneless Wings came on. Possibly the greatest segue of all time.
You know what they say: the great ones make it look easy. Ever seen Hendrix at Monterey? He plays behind his back and while doing backward somersaults, while chewing gum not in time with his playing. The only thing that's hard for him is getting the guitar to break into pieces at the end. Pesky Fender Stratocasters, all like well made and stuff.
People think he's mediocre because he doesn't do the stuff that impresses non drummers. To other drummers he's God. He only messed up something like 2 takes in the Beatles whole career.
Tangent. But when I was 14 I had a huge Beatles phase at the same time I was writing a Total Drama Fan Ficiton. I made one of the characters a 16 year old who is convinced he is Ringo Starr and will not hear evidence to the contrary. He makes a bunch of references to how great his solo career is but still mentions Beatles songs all the time desperate for clout. Even now as I've enter a creative writing career it's still my favorite character I've ever written.
Would love an episode on “Yes Please!” by Happy Mondays, arguably the most culturally relevant band in the UK at the time and the album caused the collapse of the band, their label and the entire Madchester scene HM were a part of. Clothes and studio equipment being sold for crack, studio tapes being held to ransom, it really has everything Would recommend the absolutely terrible movie “24 Hour Party People” for more info if you can find it anywhere
I'm happy we've at least lived long enough for the revitalization of Ringo's reputation. The Beatles don't work without a solid, steady drummrr who wasn’t a 4th megaego. At least publicly, of course
Ringo was also one of the first Beatles to have a film career - he co-starred in “The Magic Christian” with Peter Sellers in 1969. When I was 17, my then-girlfriend was a huge Beatles fan. She took me to see Ringo in 1991, and it was weird. We were the youngest people in the audience by a lot. Kind of an amazing show, though.
@@royalcrumble2384 Oh you're right. For some reason I thought that came out later. Although that was John's only acting gig, and Ringo had a few more not-appearing-as-Ringo roles.
He also played the Pope in a movie called Lizstomania, which I can only describe as a musical biopic on crack. It’s absolutely ridiculous, full of phalluses, and manages to be antisemitic despite the antagonist being Richard Wagner. The Ringo pope is probably the most normal thing about it.
I hope Todd covers Frank Sinatra’s Trilogy. That’s even more out there than the Carpenters one. Edit: expanding on this... the album that gave us his immortal rendition of New York, New York; and was nominated for Album of the Year alongside Pink Floyd's The Wall... is also the one in which Frank goes from covering Cole Porter, George Gershwin, the Beatles and Billy Joel to sing about spaceships, computers and has a 10 minute song that includes the line "Uranus is heaven".
That would be a hilarious album to cover, but would it be a good candidate for a trainwreckord? Don't think Frank could do anything to wreck his career at that point.
@@TheAndradeCS I think it would be like American Life or St. Anger. Nothing would destroyed their careers but it definitely marked the end of something. This was the last concept album by the man who's considered its creator. After that he only released two albums of standards (one with Quincy Jones right after Thriller and it did nothing) and then, of course, the duets albums.
Luckily, Ringo did manage to bounce back critically with some stellar albums afterwards, like "Time Takes Time", "Vertical Man", "Ringo Rama", "Choose Love", and "Postcards From Paradise" (those last two, and most recent Ringo albums, featuring him as a co-writer on almost every song). Also lucky he managed to bounce back commercially with his live albums featuring the All-Starr Band. It's always good to know that Ringo is doing well.
When Tom Waits covered the old R&B song "Sea of Love", at the end of each verse, instead of just singing "I wanna tell you just how much I love you", he rushed the "how much I love you", and then added "I'm drowning in the Sea of Love". I always thought it was just an awkward adjustment to twist the song's original intent, something that Waits loves to do on the rare occasions that he actually does straight covers, but now I'm discovering that it was likely a "mashup" with the Ringo song, much like Billy Idol threw that Patty Smith lyric into the Velvet Underg cover.
People like to dunk on Ringo WAY too much. He really was one of the best drummers of his time, and I don't think he was _that_ bad of a singer (especially when he was singing country songs like "Act Naturally" at 1:13). If it wasn't for Ringo, the Beatles wouldn't have had that country influence in their music to begin with. People liked him because he was cool, friendly, and humble. He didn't come across as arrogant, self-important, or even sanctimonious like his bandmates sometimes did. What I don't like about this album is that it conflicts with Ringo's "fun guy" image. This doesn't sound like music from a happy and cheerful ex-Beatle, it sounds like music to drink whiskey to after a rough night in Vegas.
It's amusing that, due to Ringo later becoming the first Thomas the Tank Engine TV narrator/Mr. Conductor, this is probably the first Trainwreckords subject to have a substantial link to trains.
Are there any others that come to mind?
I can't think of many railfan musicians... usually rock stars are into cars, not trains.
@@judgesaturn507One of The Clash's biggest songs is called "Train In Vain"
@@samanteater Also there's the band Train, but I don't think they had an album that would qualify for this show.
@@judgesaturn507Blues would probably have some good train songs
WE DID IT!!!
That was Ringo's punishment for not replying to Marge Simpson's fan letter and painting until 1991.
Gear!
" I hung it up on me wall!"
We call them chips.
"Who's the moptop with the big schnozz?" LOL!
The Dune concept album cited contains the guitar line that would be the hook for MF Doom’s Rap Snitches .
I can never remember what middle aged ringo looked like. Young ringo - easy. Old ringo - easy. Middle aged ringo? I simply cant pin it down
That's probably for the best, no one needs to bring that to mind
Andrew Tate style Ringo?
Like old Ringo, but with brown hair rather than grey
He had the most astounding mullet in the late 80's
Middle-aged Ringo was the transitional phase before he discovered Microsoft Paint.
Todd comparing Ringo to Drake made my dad reach over, pause the video, stare off into the middle distance for an uncomfortably long time, take a deep breath, and whisper in his native language, "He is not wrong. I wish he was." before shutting his eyes, taking another deep breath and hitting play. Congrats on nearly breaking my dad, Todd.
With this description… I feel like I was there 😂
I apologise for taking this comment over 69 likes, but it's too good not to like.
Uncanny
CACKLING!! I'm sorry to your dad!
good lord what a stellar comment
Ringo's personality and role in the band are masterfully exemplified in just a single shot of the 'Get Back' documentary. John and Paul are arguing fiercely about some minute detail in a song, and Ringo is leaning back on his drum stool, hands at the back of his head, having a kip. That man is there to play the drums, and not a single thing else.
Another thing stands out to me from Get Back. When Ringo DOES get involved, that's it. Everyone listens.
@@Adamdidit that struck me as being due to Ringo being almost like 'the kid' in the relationship, and the grown-ups not wanting to upset him with their shouting.
In fact, that documentary showcases a family dynamic among the four musicians, something like:
John - Dad (working away at his own projects and popping in occasionally to give an opinion)
Paul - Mum (wanting things his way and trying to 'run' the 'family')
George - teenage son (stroppy)
Ringo - younger son (wanting everyone to stop shouting and get along)
@@PedroBenolielBonito I can't see why you went that way with it but I think you've got it backwards. He was more of the fun older brother of them all. And when he did get serious, they fell in line. Whether it be flatly ending an argument where a producer tried fo foce them to do some dumb show or stopping Lyndsey Michael Hogg in his tracks while he was trying to pursue one of his many avenues against Yoko that eventually turned into the narrative we all know.
@@Adamdidit Fun older brother, sure, but the core trio (now two senior songwriters and one struggling but blossoming songwriter) all knew from the start that they had a certain advantage and seniority over Ringo, and Ringo himself knew that when he joined.
One of the myriad of character dynamics that made The Beatles so special.
Probably the reason he said (paraphrasing) "Sgt Pepper is a classic, but I did learn to play chess while making it"
You gotta give Ringo credit for one thing, nowadays he looks *amazing* for a man in his eighties
It's the peace and love and the hair dye.
And he spends his days jamming with friends. Not a bad existence for an octogenarian!
@@SnowyNightFlyer It works for Willie Nelson.
And looks amazing for someone who survived alcoholism, drugs and chain smoking
He's largely vegetarian. That certainly helps.
"having friends is a skill" wowowow that's seriously such a good point! the celeb culture sells this idea of being a cool top dog but people forget that being kind and likeable is actually an important skill
People talk about being a good partner or lover all the time. People forget some details.
One, interacting with people and being likable is a constant effort.
Two, being a friend is easy. Being a good friend is an art.
Three, people who are decent to people on a consistent basis are probably the most "popular" people. That's just because people won't mind being around them for long periods of time.
And that's cool!
On my first day as a cameraman at a big rock gig, the director gave me two pieces of advice....
1, never bother the acts. You hear to work, your not a fan, don't be asking them for autographs and stuff.
2. Be nice to people, no one wants to work with a dick so if your not liked you won't get rehired.
@@NeilLewis77Smart guy.
Thanks for pointing out the hot water
Someone should have told Drake.
A few points to consider about Ringo.
1. Drummers traditionally tend to be the most self-effacing musician in the band. They tend not to have the ego of the front man (unless you're Phil Collins). They tend not to draw attention to themselves (unless you're Keith Moon). They play the role as the lightning rod of the group, the butt of the jokes. They take the heat so the lead guitarist and the front man don't kill each other. To take that abuse with grace and good humor should not be discounted.
2. While Ringo is not admired by the public, ask any professional drummer and you'll find massive respect for him. He was recruited by The Beatles from Rory Storm and the Hurricanes because they recognized his talent. He was the best drummer in Liverpool and they wanted the best. He is a clean drummer, always on the beat, and his fills enhance the song rather than distract from it. He also worked hard in the studio, giving his best no matter how many hours and how many takes the Beatles took to finish a song. He was reliable, and that's a virtue.
3. His use of the language inspired some of their early songs. He literally said "hard day's night," "eight days a week," and "tomorrow never knows."
4. When the band members were going through tough times and on the verge of falling apart, they were absolutely shocked when Ringo quit the band. When he returned a week later, they decorated his drum kit to welcome him back.
5. Ringo is so self-effacing that he never, ever voluntarily took a drum solo, until he was talked into one for Abbey Road.
Disrespect him for his voice and for turning to disco. Diss him for not writing great songs. But as a musician and a Beatle, he's the equal of John, Paul, and George.
This 100%. I’ll never get tired of listening to his drumming on A Day in the Life and Rain.
I dunno, Roger Taylor and Lars Ulrich, HUGE egos.
@BillPeschel Phil didn't have a big ego. He was the only "regular guy" in the group! The rest of them were rich, private school twats, while Phil was the one trying to keep everything light and easy. The reason his music started to dominate the band was because he was having solo hits and the rest of the band wanted to have hits.
THANK YOU! Ringo is one of the best. Many brilliant drummers cannot play some of the beats he played in The Beatles, at least not for a long time. Drummers who know their stuff have nothing but respect for him.
Also, he is not only the most expensive studio drummer because he was one of the Fab 4, but mainly because of his skill.
Let me introduce you to one DON HENLEY!
(Hope I don’t get copyright claimed for typing his name!)
The "Uncle Ringo" moniker is fitting, because "Drowning in the Sea of Love" is like watching your drunk uncle dance at a wedding.
It's worth mentioning that most of the bass on this record was played by a then relatively unknown player named Tony Levin.
If you're wondering why that name seems familiar, it's because he'd go on to be a member of King Crimson and play on pretty much every Peter Gabriel solo record.
We need to make Six Degrees of Tony Levin a thing.
he also recorded with John on his last two albums Double Fantasy and Milk & Honey
I love watching him play during the Gabriel Live In Athens show. Also the amazing keyboard player. Gabriel's Live in Athens band was STACKED.
And metalheads would know him as the bassist of Liquid Tension Experiment.
In Todd's review of CCR's "Mardi Gras" he wondered 'what would have happened if the Beatles had made an album where Ringo had to do all the work?" and now we finally have the long-awaited answer.
Ringo got a choice here though!
And it's better than Mardi Gras. Obviously because Stu Cook is a much worse singer than Ringo.
At least in that scenario we would've had the rest of the Beatles as well and maybe something good could've come out of it
That’s my favorite train wreckord episode. Take it like a friend stays in rotation for me lol
Ouch!
"Ringo Starr is the Drake of the 70s" and "This album is the Clone Wars movie of the Beatles" were not sentences I expected to hear in the review
I guess the metaphor works because it got better later on (Harrison's records after that and wings).
who would be the kendrick lamar of the 70s?
Ringo is not like us
It’s a testament to Ringo’s legacy and charisma that he was able to make everyone forget this album
You know it's bad when he doesn't even bring up his discography.
I never knew this existed until now. I knew he had done well in the Seventies until diminishing returns set in, but NO IDEA he went moody disco.
People didn't forget about it, they never knew it existed! 😂
...or at least those like me who remember it for real reasons forgive it's existence. It was contracted and he tried, but a lot was missing from before. Of it's time and place and at least not 100 percent bad - I've heard a lot worse (looking at my crate-bought copy of The Beach Boys' LA-Light Album...maybe ELP's Love Beach, too).
Bad music typically gets forgotten pretty easily. Unless it's legendarily bad (a la Cut the Crap by The Clash).
this is one of the nicest trainwreckords ive seen, its just hard to stay really mad at ringo starr isnt it?
It's probably because this album is more of a "meh" in quality. The music sounds good, with the only objectively bad thing about it is Ringo's vocals. But even then, it's not that bad when you compare him to other truly bad singers out there.
I don’t want him to feel bad. I want him to try again next year.
I thought that 'Wings' song at 7:35 is pretty good. TERRIBLE decision in giving it that title. But the song is kinda great.
@@Demiglitch Problem was, _Ringo the 4th_ was his last straw as a viable solo artist, and his alcoholism at the time certainly didn't help. 1992's _Time Takes Time_ was a solid critical comeback, but I think its commercial disappointment (to the point of being out of print, but you can find it on RUclips easily) convinced Ringo for good that he should live out the rest of his days as the drummer who joyfully brings everyone together, with the occasional album here and there if enough material justifies it.
@@muhammadrifqi7308Tbh, I don’t think he’s a bad singer at all. He sounds a bit like Tears For Fears, but with a little more mediocrity.
I’ll never forget Ringo walking up to me and my friend and saying “peace and love guys, peace and love!” when we were selling merch for one of his All Starr Band shows. He later stuck around and signed tons of autographs for fans, and I recently learned that he only gave up on his promise to answer every single fan letter in 2008. Say what you will about his singing and songwriting, but you’ll hardly find a more gracious rockstar in all of music history.
"im warning you! With peace and love!!"
@@tonywords6713 😂
So the Simpsons episode wasn't making that up!
every trainwreckord ranked by rateyourmusic community rating:
carpenters - passage: 3.16
oasis - be here now: 3.02
madonna - american life: 2.91
lauryn hill - mtv unplugged 2.0: 2.83
arrested development - zingalamaduni: 2.81
billy idol - cyberpunk: 2.79
the human league - crash: 2.67
hootie & the blowfish - fairweather johnson: 2.65
jewel - 0304: 2.59
crosby, stills, nash & young - american dream: 2.56
ringo starr - ringo the 4th: 2.53
the spin doctors - turn it upside down: 2.50
creedence clearwater revival - mardi gras: 2.42
styx - kilroy was here: 2.42
will smith - lost and found: 2.27
katy perry - witness: 2.24
“allman and woman” - two the hard way: 2.13
mötley crüe - generation swine: 2.12
liz phair - funstyle: 2.10
mc hammer - the funky headhunter: 2.09 (worth noting this is actually higher than any of the albums that came before it)
run-d.m.c. - crown royal: 1.97
metallica - st. anger: 1.82
van halen - van halen iii: 1.77
edgar winter - mission earth: 1.68 (with under 100 ratings as of this writing)
the clash - cut the crap: 1.60
robin thicke - paula: 1.46
the beach boys - summer in paradise: 1.03 (lol)
That makes me so happy to see that Mike Love is at the bottom of this heartless sea...DROWNING
Thank god the carpenters still have a 3. Calling occupants is a fucking kickass song.
Glad to see Passage and Be Here Now at the top. Those two had the potential to be saved and have some genuinely great songs.
Truly, Summer in Paradise is the bottom of the barrel. Surprising nobody.
@@AugAug989I hate calling that album a “trainwreckord” because Karen and Richard were ambitious as fuck…and it actually worked really well in places.
It’s also come to my attention that today is the 45th anniversary of Evita debuting. IYKYK.
So in this series we have the categories for Trainwreckords:
*Sophomore Slumps (a.k.a. Post-flash in the pan flameouts)* : Zingalamaduni, Turn It Upside Down, Fairweather Johnson
*Ego-stroking* : Be Here Now (The Gallagher Brothers), Generation Swine (Nikki, Tommy & Pamela), Summer In Paradise (Mike Love), Cut The Crap (Bernie Rhodes), Two The Hard Way (Cher & Gregg), Mission Earth (L. Ron Hubbard)
*Band Drama* : St Anger, Van Halen III, American Dream, Mardi Gras
*Personal drama/insecurities* : MTV Unplugged 2.0, American Life, Witness, Paula, Lost & Found
*Trend-chasing that backfired on them* : 0304, Crash, The Funky Headhunter, Crown Royal, *Ringo The 4th*
*Bizarre changes in direction* : Cyberpunk, Passage, Funstyle, Kilroy Was Here
isn't crown royal also band drama?
I would say that Zingalamaduni counts for Ego Stroking (Speech) and band drama too. And Crash could double as a sophomore slump.
Two the Hard Way could also fit Personal Drama better.
The irony of The Human League's "Crash" album was it yielded their biggest hit- which is still played today.
@@valoregal Crown Royal seemed more like failed trend-riding to me, even though DMC's non-involvement with the album was an elephant-in-the-room problem with it
It will never not be funny to me how even in his home country, the most famous part of Ringo's solo career is narrating Thomas the Tank Engine. And maybe that Simpsons episode he guested in.
Thomas the tank engine is a national treasure
@@Thomasmemoryscentral - The Simpsons used to be a national treasure, but now it's such a shell of its former self. It's become the pop culture it used to satirize (albeit with really heartfelt, emotionally resonant stories behind the satire). Now, Lisa idolizes Elon fucking Musk of all people - someone who Lisa in the early seasons would rightfully despise as a hateful ignorant exploitative billionaire bastard.
Those of us who had Thomas on VHS and those cassette tape books got the best of both worlds: several episodes narrated by Ringo, and others by Carlin.
@@Eric_Hunt194 We had Ringo here too, for the first season. Carlin didn't take over until season 2.
Wait what??
Do remember, keeping perspective about Ringo and his "lucky, schlubby" persona, that when The Beatles APPROACHED HIM to join the band, he was widely regarded as the BEST drummer in Liverpool.
But another way of putting that was that he was the best drummer... in Liverpool. Its population never hit even a million. George Martin, who as their long-time producer was thought of as the "fifth Beatle," thought he wasn't up to snuff and forced the band to record "Love Me Do" with Andy White, who lived just outside of London. That was the version that was put on their debut album. Granted, that's one man's opinion from early on, but that man was THE man and it shows how "best drummer in Liverpool" wasn't good enough; Ringo had to up his game... and did.
@@calmbbaer Thats not the point, is it? He didn't "luck" himself into the job. They chose, for them, the very best drummer they could find....and that was Ringo!
@ - Lucky for him the biggest rock group ever was from Liverpool...
@@calmbbaer to quote john lennon, "““Ringo was a star…before we even met, He was a professional drummer who sang and performed and had Ringo Starr-time, and he was in one of the top groups in Britain, especially in Liverpool, before we even had a drummer. Ringo’s talent would have come out one way or the other I don’t know what he would have ended up as, but whatever that spark is in Ringo that we all know but can’t put our finger on… whether it is acting, drumming, or singing, I don’t know… there is something in him that is projectable, and he would have surfaced with or without the Beatles. Ringo is a damn good drummer. "
I nearly died from laughing at the Muppets comparision. It fits so perfectly
Surprised he was never on Fraggle rock lol match made in heaven 😂
@@jmann6130 Because Fraggle Rock didn't have guest stars
@@DaleyKreations really could have sworn they had guest voice actors
@@jmann6130 The new seasons have had multiple guest voice actors, but the original run was pretty insular.
It's much better to be a Ringo than a Mike Love.
Mike Love seems very happy to be Mike Love.
@@DemiglitchThe only person who wants to be Mike Love is Mike Love.
@@Demiglitch as are most narcissistic sociopaths.
Reminds me of the line in The Wedding Singer: “Growing up, I used to idolize guys like the Fonz and Vinny Barbarino because they got a lot of chicks. Do you know what happened to the Fonz and Vinny Barbarino?… Their shows got canceled because no one wants to see a 50 year old guy hitting on chicks.” Apparently Mike Love didn’t get the memo.
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 “I am very much a ladies man.”
At least he’ll always have his career as an accomplished MS paint artist
Yer Baby!
its the only legacy of his that matters in my book
if he has a hat, you can call him 'hat man'
you gotta remember that on computer you have to call them something, so he has
I am incredibly intrigued by this. Is it a reference to something? An inside joke? Something he actually did? This is a gateway to an unknown world, and I crave answers.
The reason George was Ringo's best co-writer was because, like Ringo, George was the underdog in John and Paul's shadow.
All the Beatles biopics are about John and Paul, but I’d love to see one focused on George or Ringo
The best parts of the Get Back documentary are when it's just Ringo and George. They have such a warm dynamic and you can see George really lights up and gets more enthusiastic.
@@ButlerWho I couldn't make it past the part where they begrudgingly let Yoko Ono, uh, I wouldn't call it "sing" so much as "shriek like a banshee".
@@louisduarte8763 Not to defend her, as I get not liking Yoko for how her treatment of Julian and all, but I can't understand people fixating so hard on anything Yoko did in the Get Back documentary. Mostly because she kinda did fuck all. She was, overall, ridiculously unobtrusive in that documentary. It just feels like a weird hate boner.
I mean, the whole band was fucking around constantly in spite of the time limits, singing through their teeth an' shit. She wails into the microphone like once, maybe twice, during the doc? Nobody is even shown being "begrudging" about it. Not saying that's an accurate portrait of events; it was obviously edited to hell and back, but you're real melodramatic if that seriously put you off from watching the rest of the doc.
Was he? I mean, he definitely was during the early, teeny bopper era of Beatles, when he was just a handsome bass player behind two total teenage idols.
But when the sixties really kicked off, he was the one most beloved by the spiritual, new age hippie crowd. He recorded his sitar in reverse and basically introduced the world to obnoxious amounts of reverb. I mean he was the one whose music was the best to drop acid to...
The fact he never released an album called "And Ringo was his name-o" still baffles me to this day.
😂😂😂
I just spat apple all over my keyboard, thanks lmao
Well, it's not too late yet, lmao.
Well, he released an album called “What’s My Name” in 2019. Its title song had the chorus, “What’s my name? RINGO!”
There's still time.
ringo absolutely deserves his flowers as a drummer. he's composed some of the most iconic drum parts of all time and he had the stamina and consistent tempo to back it up. he knew how to give songs the drum part they needed. for songs like "she loves you" or "twist and shout" the drums aren't even something you notice, but you realize just how memorable they are when you listen to the drums isolated. and then there's songs like "come together" which has one of the most iconic drum parts of all time.
She said she said and rain are his finest work imo
So fun fact about that Dune album at 22:56 that outcharted Ringo, because I thought it rang a bell - on that album there's a jazz cover of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Decades later, MF DOOM found that cover and sampled it for the beat for Rapp Snitch Knishes, arguably one of the best hip-hop beats of all time (personally speaking, at least). So in a weird way, that Dune album used as a side-comment had way more of an afterlife than Ringo's disco album. Great video as always Todd, love this series.
It should also be noted that from that same album, the track "Sandworms" forms the bassline of "The Mad Scientist" by Large Professor.
Dave Matthews was an arranger for James Brown for years. His group, The Grodeck Whipperjenny was the band that played on James Brown's only "psychedelic funk" album "Sho is Funky Down Here." I think JB was trying to move into Temptations territory but thankfully this was the sole experiment.
The beat to "Rapp Snitch Knishes" actually has its own name - it's called "Coffin Nails." Also, RIP MF DOOM
THAT’S WHERE THAT SAMPLE IS FROM?!
Ringo plays a part of childhood. He was Mr. Conductor. Well, he seemed very warm and fatherly, good with kids.
Yes❤
Indeed.
Amen.
But imagine an alternate universe where Ringo was a disco superstar and Barry White was Mr. Conductor. That's the vibe I get from this album.
hell yes.
His best work post Beatles was narrating Thomas the Tank Engine I said what I said
Todd being the face of the backlash to the backlash to the backlash to disco is as fascinating as it is trenchant.
The face that doesn't even have a face
it's way too late for me to comprehend this comment, i'll try again tomorrow
@@AliceFlynnSo basically:
Backlash: Disco sucks.
Backlash to the backlash: No, Disco is awesome, and relevant to marginalized communities, so what you tryin' to say, huh? Huh?
Todd: No, Disco DOES suck, and for all the countercultural value it had, it was very much a mainstream genre populated by mediocre White artists.
There it is, again, that funny feeling
Never heard the word "trenchant" before.
You can't hate Ringo. He may not have written the best songs, but he was very humble, a solid drummer, and at the end of the day, he's still a god damn Beatle.
Plus, he only wrote two of them... one of which is a bonafide classic amongst children. It's not exactly like he had high aspirations as a songwriter or was prolific.
Flying and What Goes on don't count.
Can we get a One Hit Wonderland on Dancin' Johnson?! Or at least the Duncan Sheik guy?
Duncan Sheik would be fascinating since he also wrote the hit musical Spring Awakening.
Todd would probably compare him to Bobby McFerrin as guys who were way more successful after they notched their one hit.
@@arwentheelf02 And a musical version of AMERICAN PSYCHO
@@FMAkers-jq2khyeah, Duncan Sheik has written a lot for Broadway.
Gonna get sappy here, but thanks Todd. My dad recently passed and was a huge Beatles fan his whole life. He always joked about this album and Ringo's "disco" songs and how much of a joke it was. I never got the chance to listen to it while he was still alive but he was 100% correct.
Hey, sending you love. 💓 I'm sorry for your loss.
Not the same, but I had to bury my cat of 11 years a few days ago and Todd's work has been my comfort watch/listen; so this has been balm for my soul.
Yes! As a Beatle fan, I love the appreciation of Ringo. There’s no *way* the band could have made it without him. He was actively recruited and was able to contribute to the music in very important ways.
There’s a great alternate version of Strawberry Fields Forever on Beatles Anthology with an amazing extended drum solo. I’ve changed people’s opinion of Ringo by playing it for them
Ringo was a great drummer who added a lot to their sound. He wrote unique drum patterns that made The Beatles the band they were.
There's a lot of studio footage of Ringo just sitting around looking bored, but I generally agree. It was a weird stroke of genius that John wanted the band to play on everything, despite it seeming counterintuitive with how individual the songwriting became. It really made everyone able to adapt to a lot of more experimental ideas and help the sound in the weirder ideas be a lot more grounded and polished, unlike a lot of albums of the time where the experimentation seems trite or kinda one-take. To be able to adapt to that and fit in flawlessly like a glove is way, way more difficult that it would seem for a percussionist.
And frankly no one would ever say it, but although Paul really blossomed into an excellent bassist on the last few albums, Ringo was a better drummer than the other three were guitarists.
Every time I get down on Ringo, I throw on Rain and shut myself up.
Per Mark Lewisohn, Ringo is literally in the earliest photo of any Liverpool rock band playing anywhere (The Eddie Clayton Skiffle Group).
I don’t think Ringo was ever not the hottest rock drummer in the region, at least until other bands started to follow in The Beatles’ footsteps.
In case you're wondering, a rotogravure is a type of printing press using for printing images like on magazines, stamps, and packaging.
Ah, so it's an instructional tape cassette. Now things are beginning to make sense.
gravure is known mostly for like cheap porn, so thats the joke there, glossed over that
@@dextrodemonand cheap, flashy adverts too! (Doubly self-deprecating? Wouldn't put it past Ringo.)
"Cooking in the Kitchen" sounds like something John Lennon wrote for Ringo as some type of rib. Like one of those "fun style" things, that you write when you're goofing around and bored that you decided to release anyway almost on a whim. Ringo and/or John couldn't have been serious when they made that song. I can't imagine that John himself, would release a song called "Cooking in the Kitchen" and legitimately think that it could be a Top 40 hit by himself without hurting his credibility, so he passed on to his friend for shits and giggles.
DID YOU SAY “FUNSTYLE”????
@@sonofaspyder3000YOU'RE BEING A PEÑIS
COLADA THAT IS
@@sonofaspyder3000 MY COOK STYLE DETERMINES MY DEATH STYLE
It sounds like he wrote it black out drunk with Harry Nilsson and it got left in Ringo's jacuzzi or something
@@drygnfyreYOU COOK IT YOU FRY IT YOU COOK IT YOU FRY IT
6:30 I'm sorry I'm cackling at that photo of John Lennon looking like a sorority girl on bid day.
What was not mentioned was how Ringo had a shaved head. One night, he was supposedly drinking with John Bonham of Led Zeppelin and he got so drunk that someone dared him to shave his head. He first shaved his eyebrows, then his head, and then his beard. That's how bad of a drunk Ringo was. And supposedly the reason he got sober was that he woke up one morning after getting blackout drunk and noticed that his second wife Barbara Bach was beaten up. He got upset and asked her who did this to her. And she replied that he did it.
God, that is depressing.
@@landheaux6547 To be fair, it scared him to sobriety and he hasn't had a drink in 35 years.
@@subtlebluntduality5997 A positive ending to I'm sure a harrowing experience.
@@subtlebluntduality5997how every man should react to getting blackout drunk and beating their wife
Kind of sums up the kind of rock star Ringo is. He won't do anything too crazy at first but when he gets absolutely wasted he severely crosses the line
"... imagine if Ringo did all the work. And Ringo didn't have a say in the matter"
- Todd, OhW Credence Mardi gras
And in fact, this is still better then Mardi Gras. Todd was right.
Ringo is a better drummer than Stu, Ringo is a better singer than Stu and hell, Ringo is a better bassist than Stu too.
@@Demiglitchto be fair basically anyone is mariah carey compared to stu
Not gonna lie, “Drowning in the Sea of Love” has this 70’s spy thriller vibe that I kinda find goofy and charming. Like, up the tempo a bit and you have the Lupin III theme, which kicks ass.
Edit: I love this album in an unbelievably guilty pleasure way.
The Lupin III theme - a tune by the most talented musician by the name of Ohno.
Yeah, I actually quite like it.
Sounds like off-brand Talking Heads, way before Talking Heads even started actively putting their disco and soul influences front and centre
Glad I wasn't the only one that kinda liked it, wish they didn't try to drown Ringo's voice with everythng else.
Same!
Same here honestly
Ringo trying to be sleazy and almost (gag) sexy on this album reminds me a lot of Hammer trying to be tough and edgy on The Funky Headhunter. Both of them were successful for their simplicity and sense of fun, and hearing them try to age up their act to stay with the times is like hearing Baby Got Back from Barney the dinosaur.
Still holding out for hope for Limp Bizkit’s “Results May Vary” to be discussed on Trainwreckords. A classic example of the destruction of Limp Bizkit’s relevance (Wes Borland’s departure didn’t help) and was one of the two albums that killed Nu Metal once and for all (the other being Korn’s “Take a Look in the Mirror”). RMV was filled with Fred Durst’s whiny tirades of self indulgence as well as the infamous cover of The WHO’s “Behind Blue Eyes” which replaced the bridge from the original version with a speak n spell and a stab at Britney Spears which Durst had a publicised affair with during the recording of the album.
I don't really get nu metal, at least not enough to tell the difference between the good and the bad. What is some god nu metal? What sets it apart from the bad? What *made* Results May Vary and Take a Look in the Mirror huge flops, beyond changing trends?
Yeah I'd love to see a review on that one. I was a teenager when that came out and it still amazes me to look back on nu-metal and how it went from being this commercial juggernaut to nonentity literally overnight.
Rmv is a bad album, but I will always stand up for that WHO cover. One of the best covers of the 2000s.
@@royalninja2823 Nu metal as a genre has way more creativity and variety than people give it credit for. There's a lot of slap bass, jam sessions, and weird left-field influences. I'm a diehard metalhead but the genre has a conformity issue, and nu metal's status as the rejected outcast of the genre was a blessing for weirdo bands to get a platform as long as they stayed authentic. You can honestly explain most popular nu metal bands in such a way that makes it clear how odd they actually are. Even Limp Bizkit is odd: A jazz drummer and bassist, the DJ from House of Pain (yes, really), an eccentric performance artist who happens to make some truly memorable wonky yet heavy riffs, all fronted by an average white dude rapping about being a bit of a loser. Good nu metal is filled with personality, bad nu metal feels an inauthentic cash grab with no heart or passion. Compare two big songs that both came out in 1999: "Eyeless" by Slipknot and "From This Day" by Machine Head. It becomes obvious which song is from a new band with fresh ideas giving it their all and which song is a lazy attempt to cash into the new hot trend.
In the case of Limp Bizkit, I was never too fond of them but their sound worked because of Fred's endearing loser relatability backed by a highly competent band. Results May Vary threw all of that away, as Wes was no longer in the band and Fred had shifted to mopey singing about miserable topics. They actively erased what made them who they were. And for Korn, their music depended so much on being raw and emotionally vulnerable that diminishing returns were inevitable once they became superstars. They couldn't successfully pivot to something else, so they descended into mediocrity before making some infamously poorly-received experiments.
It was the opposite for me. I am only a casual LB fan at best, but I really dig Results May Vary. I agree that Behind Blue Eyes was pretty cringe, but the album had some really solid tracks like Underneath The Gun and Down Another Day that I still listen to today, and the then-new guitarist did a great job imo.
That said, I know it alienated a lot of long-time fans and I would happily take a Trainwreckords review of that album just to hear Todd's talk about it.
Ringo's career reminds me of Sigourney Weaver's line from "Galaxy Quest" - "Look, I have one job on this lousy ship. It's stupid, but I'm going to do it, okay?"
Ringo was an awesome drummer. He should have stuck with it and avoided trying to become a front man. His beats are very creative and song specific. And he was able to hold a steady shuffle/swing rhythm better than most drummers. All the while playing left-handed on a right-handed kit.
there's an alternate universe where, after the Beatles, Ringo became a very in-demand session drummer
I was actually a little excited to hear a he did a disco album because drummers love disco. Dave Grohl has said repeatedly that he was playing disco beats in Nirvana's Nevermind album. And there's some pretty good beats in Ringo's 4th too.
Gotta disagree on the "no frontman" business. His personality made him the archetype for the "fun alternative voice" that leavens a band's repertoire; especially a band that's huge, whose every utterance is portentous with expectations. Even after the Beatles broke up, he did pretty well in that "light comedy" role for a good while. His drumming is iconic, and will always be there; and its sly musicality evoked the great fun musician he's always been.
Given how famous being in the Beatles made him, I don't think Ringo had any realistic choice but to be the front man (and, I mean, it worked for a while, as Todd notes). Becoming a supporting player in another band would have been an implicit statement that he couldn't make it on his own.
Rings being most successful in the beginning is like how Zayn got the first hits after One Direction but Harry went on to be the one with the biggest solo career. It’s arguably better to wait for the hype of the breakup to fade, if you use the time to make actually good music.
Zayn left before One Direction broke up.
That first Zayn album still slaps too, need to catch up on his other releases.
Or when Kelly Rowland had her solo album out before Beyonce, she had a couple songs and then Beyonce released her solo debut and everyone forgot who Kelly Rowland was overnight.
Saying "Tango all night" has a "Muppet-y atmosphere" had me rolling 😂
So I actually like the "Drowning in the Sea of Love," cover. He seems to be making it more about his alcoholism than romance, and I don't know, it works for me.
Yeah, I was kind of vibing with it too. The strained vocals, while undoubtedly a product of Ringo's limited range, come off as a drunk guy screaming his self-loathing and shame. Having an upbeat disco beat overshadow a lot of his singing could also be seen as his alcoholism and the vacuous party life overshadowing his self-reflection.
@@libRteedudeProto-Swimming Pools or Proto-I Took a Pill in Ibiza?
Correct. I do like this one. I was mildly disappointed that it wasn't mentioned how often Ringo chooses or writes songs that are semi or fully biographical. Or that his mood and beyond average bad singing on Ringo the 4th were due to having become completely blitzed 90% of the time with extreme alcoholism by '77. Evidenced by what I consider his best album, "Time Takes Time" which demonstrates what Ringo is capable of when he's completely sober.
Watching this, I’ve realized a recurring theme with some of the albums on TrainWreckords. Some albums, like Will Smith, MC Hammer, Katy Perry, and so on have their albums fail because it feels like they’re no longer having any fun, even if their fun is what helped them before. That’s especially the case with Ringo here. He looks absolutely miserable here, which is crazy considering he’s doing a lot of Disco! In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen a musician on TrainWreckords look so bummed and out of it since Lauryn Hill. And she broke down crying on stage!
Ringo had a breakdown not long after this too, there's some pictures of it in this video. He became suicidal and shaved his head and eyebrows as a plea for attention.
@@ChromeDestiny Didn't he shave his head after a all-night drinking session with John Bonham?
I mean Ringo around this time had a MAJOR drinking problem and sometime in the 80's he went sober and has been ever since
While I'd agree with you, I think it's interesting you picked the three Trainwreckords that seem to fall victim to "lacking authenticity." Will Smith's album failed because no one was able to take him as a serious rapper. He had too much of a goofy, squeaky-clean image. MC Hammer's album failed because no one was able to take him as a serious rapper. He had too much of a fun, squeaky-clean image. Katy Perry's album failed because she was perceived a shallow pop princess, no one cared to hear her opinions on the world. And in all three cases, they were probably unfair. These albums failed because they weren't what we wanted, and yet at the same time, we always seem to criticize artists that never take risks or change things up.
I went on tour with 'Ringo and his all star band' back in the day. Super nice guy. In fact all of band mates (stars in their own respects) were just genuine nice people to be around. We were always offered tickets but declined due to workload. Then towards the end of the tour we had thee dates at the same venue IE down time to rest up and went to a show. WOW. The next day, we looked at them through a different lens....Rock Stars. Great memories.
What was your role on the tour?
I know many people have said this already, but it's important to emphasize. Ringo is celebrated not because he lucked into a gig with the world's greatest band. He is, in fact, and extremely talented, creative, and influential drummer.
Todd impersonating Ringo singing “Addicted to Love” has got to be the funniest part of this video 😂😂😂
That "Can she do it like she dances" sounds like it belongs on CCR "Madi Gras", sung by the bassist.
Funny how, a few years after making this album, Ringo would go on to narrate a show about trains, that has a handful of episodes involving wrecks.
Foreshadowing, perhaps?
A handful? More like every single episode
We all remember his most famous line, "I'm banishing you to the shadow realm."
Oh how the turntables
@@ninjabluefyre3815That was Michael Angelis.
I do in fact love Ringo. Just saw him in concert two weeks ago, he’s got some real charisma, and the All Star Band is still a great time. My Nana has been in love with him since 1964.
My friend saw him a few weeks ago as well and they were raaaaaaaving. Ringo still has that charm, and sounds about 20 years younger than he is!
@@theproducers1967 I totally agree! He’s all over the stage joking with everyone, it’s a lot of fun
Ringo Starr jumping on disco while it was young reminded me of something. Before disco, the Bee Gees were a Beatle-like rock band themselves. Hell, their career started when they were a child act in Australia and when Beatlemania happened, the Bee Gees took advantage of it and made a name for themselves. ANYWAY, when they transitioned with the times (probably around the same time as Ringo) that's when they discovered they had a knack for this new sound. Plus it doesn't hurt that Barry Gibb was like some song writing savant. (If you don't know, look up the songs he wrote. The dude was crazy talented). I bring all this up to say that it's not unreasonable to think that Ringo could have defined what Disco would become as his peers were doing the exact same thing. It's just that... Ringo ain't no Barry.
Oddly enough, the Bee Gees were huge on disco at the time Ringo's album was released.
@@pervertedalchemist9944plus Arif Mardin the producer of Ringo the 4th had worked with the Bee Gees on their earliest disco hits (Jive Talkin, Nights On Broadway).
The bee gees' first big song after moving from australia was actually sold to radio by telling stations it was by "a british band that starts with a B". It sounds super similar to paperback writer.
Not to mention the apparently awful _Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band_ movie they did with Peter Frampton, the soundtrack of which would make for a great Trainwreckords episode in and of itself.
Now I'm imagining a weird reality where the Beatles never broke up and instead became a disco band in the mid-late 70s
The album description sounds like something you would write if you would want the record to sell really well in Japan.
I mean, Japan always loves the weird, so I get why hahaha
It does sound like something you'd say if you were trying to advertise a city pop album.
Unmistakably
*r r r r r i n g o*
A conversation I just had with my mom, who was there for Beatle Mania:
Me: Did you know Ringo Starr had his own music career after the Beatles broke up?
Mom: I think he was on the Thomas the Tank Engine soundtrack, wasn't he?
Me: No I mean an actual recording career as a solo artist.
Mom: Oh!
Me: In the 70s he tried doing disco.
Mom: Oh. Oh no.
That's crazy because he had solo hits before the others.
Ringo’s third album has appearances of all the Beatles. It’s the closest to a reunion post-Abbey Road
Post Abbey Road but before Anthology.
What about Free As A Bird, Real Love and soon to be Now And Then
@@evanorsomething909I don't know if that would count - as John had long been dead when those songs were recorded and released.
@@pervertedalchemist9944
They were built off of John’s demo recordings.
and it's dog sh*t
Perfectly placed DJ Khaled joke. Bravo to you, sir.
Saying that Ringo “won the lottery” is conveniently ignoring the fact that he was/is a great drummer.
True, but there are plenty of very good drummers who toil away in obscurity. If Starr wasn't tied to the Beatles he'd have been a happy and successful musician in the Liverpudlian music scene, but would he have had an independent musical stardom? Probably not.
@@cmbeadle2228 How many rock drummers can you name who would have enjoyed any independent musical stardom without first being in a highly successful band? Even Phil Collins was first "that guy from Genesis." As a rock drummer, you have to be tied to a successful band in order for the public to take any note of your work.
There are thousands of great drummers. There's only one Beatles Drummer
@@jamesmeow3039 Well... there's Pete. We don't talk about Pete.
@thechaimug exactly my point. A great drummer who wasn't in the band long. Ringo won the lottery, Pete didn't. Talent wasn't what seperated their success
7:14 Definitely read that as wingo instead of wings. Don't know why, but it cracked me up.
I'm sure that Ringo is not too upset over the album. He's living on royalties from his back catalogue and having fun being himself. Good on you Ringo.
"Ringo Starr was the Guy Fieri of the '70s" was not a comparison I ever expected anyone to make, but it makes so much sense that I'm surprised it took me this long to hear it.
I think one of the reasons these comparisons make sense when you hear them is because you realize that despite what you might think, society changes slowly. We always move in cycles. So any particular trend, style, person in some decade will always be around in another, maybe not readily apparent. One thing I noticed from this video is Ringo nailed that "hipster" look, with the glasses, the baseball cap, etc. I saw that and said "wow, that could just be him today, he'd fit right in."
That is not an actual beetle, that's a human being named Ringo Starr.
Source?
What? No!!! My life is a lie!!!
That is not an actual human being named Ringo Starr, that's a human being named Richard Starkey
@@deadsirius3531
Now that's just crazy talk.
This might be the first time I understand nearly every pun and reference that Todd throws at us in the intro to a Trainwreckords. I love The Beatles, and I love Ringo! This is gonna be an interesting one.
It’s weird. Ringo made his best albums in the 90s when people were making their late-career trainwreckords, but his trainwreckord came in the beatle-heavy 70s. Great video!
One thing you left out but kind of alluded to: Ringo was the most popular Beatle in America. He got the most fan mail, the most "girlfriends," etc. His solo work outselling the other Beatles post-breakup makes more sense when you remember it was due to American sales, which are much larger than UK sales.
it is weird, a lot of older ladies i know were huge Ringo fans back in the 60s and 70s, i have no idea what exactly made him more popular than the other members with the women of America
Is that why Marge Simpson was made to be a fan of his in the series?
I'm 10 minutes in an all Im getting is that Ringo has been grossly underrated this whole time
Got to meet Ringo once briefly and he was super nice and funny.
4:28 Say what you want about the quickie records but Beaucoups of Blues is a real special easy listen. Ringo really suited country and I wish he did more of it.
Agreed
"Ringo really suited country" is not a phrase I was expecting to ever read.
Still time.
As you wish
There’s an Italian band called Pinguini Tattici Nucleari who did a song called Ringo Starr where the chorus translates to “in a world of Johns and Pauls I am Ringo Starr”, and that whole intro to this episode is basically an extended version of that 😂
Still holding out hope that enough time will pass for these albums to get the Todd Trainwreck treatment:
Eminem - Revival
Justin Timberlake - Man of the Woods
Chance the Rapper - The Big Day
Green Day - Father of All Motherf*cks
Oh man: "Man of the Woods" has got to be one of the next ones, considering that he waited 5 years with Paula by Robin Thicke and Witness by Katy Perry!
@@PrinzPassionsfruchtand with *NYSNC getting back together, this would be the perfect time for it. One sign of a solo artist’s career ending is launching a comeback with the band that made them big in the first place (see Chris Cornell, RIP, reuniting SoundGarden after his SCREAM album failed). So this would the perfect time to do that MOTW TrainWreckords.
Eminem and Green Day's legacy were secure by that point and they could afford to phone it in. The other two would be interesting, though.
@@samanteater Todd has covered albums from artist's that still had some chart success post flop album choice he covers but he has stated he does this side series to at least cover the artist's or band's last mainstream success.
Katy Perry has barely charted anything worthy since 2017 from the flop of Witness and i dont believe Justin Timberlake charted any successful song since Say Something with Chris Stapleton from the 2018 Man Of The Woods album
Fleatwood Mac - Time
There's no defending this, but it should be mentioned that his 1973 album, "Ringo" is fantastic all the way through.
It's an awesome album because it was fun to listen and apparently fun to make. And most of all at no point during "Ringo" did Mr. Starkey try to sing like Barry White. Yikes.
It is the best post-Beatles album.
This episode reminded me of another situation when an artist/group struggles to grapple with the trends of the time. In 1981 the Village People attempted to go new-wave with um, interesting, results. It's an album with a cover that needs to be seen to be believed and it concludes with three food themed songs in a row. This is my pitch for the Village People's 7th album, Renaissance, as a potential future episode.
SEX OVER THE PHONE! is still a banger from late era Village People
OMG they _what!?_ That's hilariously bad, what the hell 😂 I would love to see Todd do this too
Checked the album cover.... wow... also, the entire album is less than half an hour long.
Oh wow. Now I'm realizing there are probably almost as many good acts ruined by an attempt to drop disco as pick it up, since the fad died even harder and faster than it had started.
Any album called Renaissance, Changes or Metamorphosis is bound to be the group's last album
Ringo's _Drowning in the Sea of Love_ sounds like a lost Talking Heads song instead of a disco track. One that was lost for a reason.
Yeah, I was thinking "Did Jerry Harrison write this?"
23:00 Fun Fact: That Dune jazz fusion concept album is not entirely instrumental. It includes a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity". This cover was sampled by MF Doom in 2004. It originates the famous guitar lick from "Rapp Snitch Knishes".
"Sneaking Sally Through the Alley" was written by Allen Toussaint who is one of the greatest soul music songwriters ever. It was originally recorded by Lee Dorsey.
Palmer's Sneaking Sally was incredible backed by Little Feat.
@@georgewilliams4258 is there any other way to be backed by Little Feat?
Bless Ringo’s heart but he had one job. That’s his career in a nutshell. At least I’ll give him credit for writing Octopus’s Garden (flawless song on a flawless record and one of my favorite scenes in Get Back).
Anyways, as a certified Beatlemaniac who is somewhat fascinated by their solo careers I had to click on this ASAP. Love to see it, keep up the good work silhouette man named after breasts.
care to explain your theory about Todd‘s moniker? I don‘f get it.
@@slyasleep
T odd
I n
T he
S hadows
It spells tits.
George did most of the heavy lifting on the Octopus Garden music. It is a brilliant track however.
@@slyasleepTodd In The Shadows = T.I.T.S.
@@Cpayne30 yeah. Octopus’s Garden is is great because of the chord progression, which was entirely George.
Another trainwreckords, another chance for me to suggest Genesis' Calling All Stations. Basically the definition of a trainwreckord for what it did to the band
It should probably be covered but the bashing of it Todd would definitely do would probably hurt my soul because I honestly really like it and I think it really didn't deserve the hate it got
@@YoItsEvanAdamsIf it's any consolation, Todd himself is a huge Genesis fan.
@@ironicdivinemandatestan4262 the funny thing is genesis fans are actually usually the ones who hate the album the most
Amazing, how Genesis saw two distinct frontmen, who themselves became successful solo artists alongside the band’s transition from prog rock to pop rock, and yet now, the world has come to accept that their collective musical peak was the era of _Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, Selling England by the Pound,_ and _The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway._
@@YoItsEvanAdams I just hope that he gives Congo a pass, a genuine bop of a song, whose largest sin is mixing down the cool part at the end way early
He's a great drummer! I scream all throughout the video, Ringo got unlucky because if he wasn't compared to the other 3 Beatles he would be considered a drummer that changed the way drummers were seen in the 60's and a situationaly good singer.
Hearing that bit of Robert Palmer's version of "Sneakin' Sally" made me think that Maroon 5 will probably cover it at some point. Just sounds like something they'd do.
*the monkeys finger curls*
"holy fucking fuck, Sally, that body of yours is absurd"
I think we're safe there. "Sneakin Sally" is a good song and Adam Levine covering a good song would be far too much effort for the mastermind behind "Girls Like You."
Well, now it's gonna be Morgan Wallen.
I saw Ringo and his All Starr Band in 2015. Honestly, the most fun I have ever had at a concert.
Not saying the best concert. It was very good, musically and technically. But the most fun.
Even if disco was the popular genre of music back in the day, why would Ringo, a man with a limited vocal range, choose to do a genre where you have to have a wide range and be able to sing greatly?
Artists like The Silver Connection and Rick Dees would like a word. Plenty of artists who got a disco hit who could barely sing in tune.
@@collectibleasmrRick Dees had a hit making fun of disco. His shitty singing fit the shtick.
well, he was probably rather drunk, and surrounded by enablers. if you had everyone around you telling you whatever you did was great without any real critical feedback, you'd put out some crap while thinking you're doing awesome too.
@@collectibleasmrBut the Silver Connection were attractive women, and Rick Dees was a comedy act in on the joke, even if it really wasn't much of a joke.
Ringo wasn't particularly attractive and wasn't a radio funny man.
Same reason why veteran R&B acts like The Whispers, Skyy, Starpoint and The O'Jays did new jack swing projects in the late 80's - it was about riding the current wave.
every new trainwreckords video is like waking up on christmas morning
I am one of the biggest, most diehard Beatles fans you'll ever meet. I saw Ringo and the All-Starrs in concert last September. To say this thumbnail piqued my interest is...an understatement.
KISS gets mentioned on "Trainwrecords"?! Which means we're one step closer to Todd making an episode for "Music of the Elder!"
Don’t tease me
KISS is interesting because they got, like, 3 or 4 back-to-back albums that could be said to be the buildup for the failure of "The Elder". So it's kinda like the meme with the dominos growing bigger and bigger.
KISS was also mentioned on the Motley Crue "Generation Swine" Trainwreckords. Specifically, how a lot of bands would let their drummer write and record a song. It worked for KISS. It didn't work for Motley (but it did give us "Brandon.")
This 100 % just happened to me at the commercial break where Todd says "Wings" an Applebee's commercial selling their All You Can Eat Boneless Wings came on. Possibly the greatest segue of all time.
His “does she do it like she dances” makes me feel like I need to call HR
I'm gonna need my pepper spray...
RINGO CAN GO PLATINUM WITH NO FEATURES 💪
and it's funny, because in his tenure in the Beatles, he didn't SEEM to be trying very hard, but he is a brilliant drummer
You know what they say: the great ones make it look easy. Ever seen Hendrix at Monterey? He plays behind his back and while doing backward somersaults, while chewing gum not in time with his playing. The only thing that's hard for him is getting the guitar to break into pieces at the end. Pesky Fender Stratocasters, all like well made and stuff.
Agreed. A drummer I work with, a brilliant prog elder of 67, ranks Ringo highest of all his influences.
People think he's mediocre because he doesn't do the stuff that impresses non drummers. To other drummers he's God. He only messed up something like 2 takes in the Beatles whole career.
@@FakemormonCatwallada like that time he had blisters. How unprofessional!
Tangent. But when I was 14 I had a huge Beatles phase at the same time I was writing a Total Drama Fan Ficiton. I made one of the characters a 16 year old who is convinced he is Ringo Starr and will not hear evidence to the contrary. He makes a bunch of references to how great his solo career is but still mentions Beatles songs all the time desperate for clout.
Even now as I've enter a creative writing career it's still my favorite character I've ever written.
If I wrote a character half as genius, id hold on to it as well
Adapt this premise into a satire novel or something lol
Y'know, the sad part is that there's official characters on that show that manage to out-bonkers that concept. (God, Pahkitew was a weird season)
Let him cook
Would love an episode on “Yes Please!” by Happy Mondays, arguably the most culturally relevant band in the UK at the time and the album caused the collapse of the band, their label and the entire Madchester scene HM were a part of. Clothes and studio equipment being sold for crack, studio tapes being held to ransom, it really has everything
Would recommend the absolutely terrible movie “24 Hour Party People” for more info if you can find it anywhere
The Happy Mondays don't even qualify for One Hit Wonderland in the US, let alone Trainwreckords. ;)
I'm happy we've at least lived long enough for the revitalization of Ringo's reputation. The Beatles don't work without a solid, steady drummrr who wasn’t a 4th megaego. At least publicly, of course
Ringo was also one of the first Beatles to have a film career - he co-starred in “The Magic Christian” with Peter Sellers in 1969.
When I was 17, my then-girlfriend was a huge Beatles fan. She took me to see Ringo in 1991, and it was weird. We were the youngest people in the audience by a lot. Kind of an amazing show, though.
I think john was in How I Won The war in 68 or 67?
@@royalcrumble2384 Oh you're right. For some reason I thought that came out later. Although that was John's only acting gig, and Ringo had a few more not-appearing-as-Ringo roles.
He also played the Pope in a movie called Lizstomania, which I can only describe as a musical biopic on crack. It’s absolutely ridiculous, full of phalluses, and manages to be antisemitic despite the antagonist being Richard Wagner. The Ringo pope is probably the most normal thing about it.
Um, they were all in two major movies already? And one movie doesn't make a "film career."
I’m 19 and I saw Paul in concert a couple years ago, some people were younger but the majority of the audience was around 50 years older than me lol
I hope Todd covers Frank Sinatra’s Trilogy. That’s even more out there than the Carpenters one.
Edit: expanding on this... the album that gave us his immortal rendition of New York, New York; and was nominated for Album of the Year alongside Pink Floyd's The Wall... is also the one in which Frank goes from covering Cole Porter, George Gershwin, the Beatles and Billy Joel to sing about spaceships, computers and has a 10 minute song that includes the line "Uranus is heaven".
Ah yes, the Grammy-nominated Trilogy. The first two discs are typical Sinatra stuff, but the Future disc needs to be heard to be believed.
That would be a hilarious album to cover, but would it be a good candidate for a trainwreckord? Don't think Frank could do anything to wreck his career at that point.
@@TheAndradeCS I think it would be like American Life or St. Anger. Nothing would destroyed their careers but it definitely marked the end of something. This was the last concept album by the man who's considered its creator. After that he only released two albums of standards (one with Quincy Jones right after Thriller and it did nothing) and then, of course, the duets albums.
Wait, Frank Sinatra made a sci-fi concept album?
Uranus Is Heaven, Sounds like Boney M songs 😆
11:21 Todd's perspective on mainstream Disco is very true and well written.
Luckily, Ringo did manage to bounce back critically with some stellar albums afterwards, like "Time Takes Time", "Vertical Man", "Ringo Rama", "Choose Love", and "Postcards From Paradise" (those last two, and most recent Ringo albums, featuring him as a co-writer on almost every song). Also lucky he managed to bounce back commercially with his live albums featuring the All-Starr Band. It's always good to know that Ringo is doing well.
When Tom Waits covered the old R&B song "Sea of Love", at the end of each verse, instead of just singing "I wanna tell you just how much I love you", he rushed the "how much I love you", and then added "I'm drowning in the Sea of Love". I always thought it was just an awkward adjustment to twist the song's original intent, something that Waits loves to do on the rare occasions that he actually does straight covers, but now I'm discovering that it was likely a "mashup" with the Ringo song, much like Billy Idol threw that Patty Smith lyric into the Velvet Underg cover.
WOOO! New Trainwreckords! And I cannot wait to see how you’ll handle this, because I didn’t know Ringo ever made bad music-
Edit: Disco Ringo? Oh my-
He never has and he never will long live Ringo god bless peace and love
Come for the comment...
Stay for the edit. ;-)
Drowning in the sea of love by ringo actually slaps idc idc
17:01 "sneaking with Sally through the alley". I prefer the follow up song "peeking at Rhonda behind the rotonda"
People like to dunk on Ringo WAY too much. He really was one of the best drummers of his time, and I don't think he was _that_ bad of a singer (especially when he was singing country songs like "Act Naturally" at 1:13). If it wasn't for Ringo, the Beatles wouldn't have had that country influence in their music to begin with.
People liked him because he was cool, friendly, and humble. He didn't come across as arrogant, self-important, or even sanctimonious like his bandmates sometimes did.
What I don't like about this album is that it conflicts with Ringo's "fun guy" image. This doesn't sound like music from a happy and cheerful ex-Beatle, it sounds like music to drink whiskey to after a rough night in Vegas.