Ringo Starr

5.1 The Surround Sound Collection (2008)

 

  1. Fading In, Fading Out
  2. Never Without You
  3. Choose Love
  4. Imagine Me There
  5. Oh My Lord
  6. Memphis In Your Mind
  7. Give Me Back the Beat
  8. Love First, Ask Questions Later
  9. Don't Hang Up
  10.Eye to Eye
  11.Some People
  12.Elizabeth Reigns
  
  
  

A curious one, this. In the early 2000s, Ringo Starr—ever the industrious underdog of the solo Beatle alumni—found himself signed to the modestly scaled Koch Records. The albums produced under that banner, Ringo Rama and Choose Love, received little in the way of fanfare and even less in the way of promotional support. Which is a shame, as both were strong, well-crafted records that found Ringo in unusually fine songwriting form.

Sensing an opportunity to do something with this overlooked material, Koch compiled a selection from both albums and issued it under the not-particularly-catchy banner of Ringo 5.1: The Surround Sound Collection. The hook? A new surround sound mix, tailored for audiophiles and home theater enthusiasts—presumably the subset of listeners who wanted to feel as if Ringo was actually in their living room, grinning and pounding the snare.

In terms of concept, it's an intriguing idea. In terms of execution—well, that depends entirely on whether one owns a surround sound setup. Without the hardware, the novelty is largely academic. Still, even in plain stereo, the strength of the material comes through. These are not odds and ends; they’re selections from two of Ringo’s most consistent solo efforts. As such, this release might serve as a rather effective gateway for listeners who missed the original albums first time around—which, to be fair, was almost everyone.

There's little new here, and certainly nothing essential if one already owns the parent albums. But as a sampler, Ringo 5.1 holds together well, offering a reminder that Ringo’s 21st-century work was quietly carving out a second act worth hearing. No bells, no whistles—unless, of course, you’ve got the surround sound system to bring them to life.