| VH1 Storytellers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 20 October 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 13 May 1998 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 51:56 | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | Mark Hudson | |||
| Ringo Starr chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[3] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
VH1 Storytellers is a live and video album by Ringo Starr recorded and released for the popular music program in 1998. Unlike his previous live recordings, this release places Starr in an intimate environment where, as per the show's requirement, he tells the genesis of the songs being performed.
Recording
[edit]Recorded a month before the release of Starr's new studio album Vertical Man – and performed in promotion for it – VH1 Storytellers features Starr's contemporary musical collaborator Mark Hudson (who produced the album) and Starr's current band, dubbed "the Roundheads". Aside from songs that appeared on Vertical Man, much of the set is devoted to Starr's Beatles and early solo successes.
Release and reception
[edit]This marked the last time a full length Ringo Starr album was released on cassette in the United States, according to journalist Peter Palmiere. However, some countries in the Far East still issue cassettes of recent Ringo Starr material including Ringo Rama, Choose Love, and Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr.
VH1 Storytellers was released by Mercury Records in the US on 20 October 1998.[nb 1][5] The album failed to chart. Entertainment Weekly's reviewer wrote: "It's his yarns, though, that are most engaging … A nice retrospective of an under appreciated composer."[3]
Track listing
[edit]| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "With a Little Help from My Friends" | Lennon–McCartney | 4:18 |
| 2. | "It Don't Come Easy" | Richard Starkey | 3:18 |
| 3. | "I Was Walkin'" | Starkey/Mark Hudson/Dean Grakal | 4:21 |
| 4. | "Don't Pass Me By" | Starkey | 5:40 |
| 5. | "Back Off Boogaloo" | Starkey | 3:40 |
| 6. | "King of Broken Hearts" | Starkey/Hudson/Steve Dudas/Grakal | 7:42 |
| 7. | "Octopus's Garden" | Starkey | 2:51 |
| 8. | "Photograph" | Starkey/George Harrison | 4:10 |
| 9. | "La De Da" | Starkey/Hudson/Dudas/Grakal | 5:04 |
| 10. | "What in the... World" | Starkey/Hudson/Dudas/Grakal | 5:31 |
| 11. | "Love Me Do" | Lennon–McCartney | 3:42 |
| 12. | "With a Little Help from My Friends (Reprise)" | Lennon–McCartney | 1:19 |
| 13. | "I've Got Blisters..." | 0:13 | |
| 14. | "The End" | 0:03 |
Personnel
[edit]- Ringo Starr – lead vocals, drums, piano on "Don't Pass Me By"
- Joe Walsh – guitar, backing vocals
- Mark Hudson – guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
- Gary Burr – guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
- Steve Dudas – guitar
- Jack Blades – bass, backing vocals
- Jim Cox – keyboards, backing vocals
- Scott Gordon – harmonica
- Simon Kirke – drums, percussion
References
[edit]- Footnotes
- Citations
- ^ VH1 Storytellers at AllMusic
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 1984. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ a b "Ringo Starr VH1 Storytellers Album Review". Entertainment Weekly. 6 November 1998. p. 89.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan, with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Fireside. p. 777. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 186. ISBN 9780753508435.
