Copyright 1992 The San Diego Union-Tribune   
The San Diego Union-Tribune
May 28, 1992
SECTION: ENTERTAINMENT; NIGHT & DAY 8
LENGTH: 787 words
HEADLINE: 'Time' has lots of Beatles flavor Charm overcomes vocal
shortcomings
SERIES: ALBUM REVIEWS
SOURCE:  Pop Music Critic
BYLINE: GEORGE VARGA
BODY:
"Time Takes Time," Ringo Starr (Private Music) ***
     As a singer, Ringo Starr still makes a great drummer.
     But on his first new studio album since 1984's
released-only-in-Canada "Old Wave" (and his first since assuming a
sober lifestyle three years ago), the ex-Beatle sounds very much
like a man with a renewed sense of purpose.
     True, his vocal technique 1 is unlikely to cause Don Henley or
any other famous singing drummers to start losing sleep.  But the
warmth and charm the nearly 52-year-old Ringo displays on the 10
songs here largely compensate for his decidedly limited rang
e and rough-hewn delivery.
     For those wondering if the man who sang "I Wanna Be Your Man"
and "With a Little Help From My Friends" all those years ago has
plunged into the music of this new decade, the answer is yes -- and
no.
     Because while he clearly hasn't paid the slightest attention
to hip-hop, acid house, speed metal or any other au courant styles,
Ringo has clearly been listening to the likes of Jellyfish, the
Posies and other recent American and English bands that owe a
 considerable debt to the Liverpool quartet he now refers to as
"those other chaps."
     And it is the music of "those other chaps" that provides "Time
Takes Time" with much of its appeal and instant, if not timeless,
familiarity.  That is why Beatles fans will enjoy picking out the
musical reference points that are liberally sprinkled throu
ghout.
     Witness the George Harrison-styled slide guitar on the "It
Don't Come Easy"-like "Don't Know A Thing About Love"; the "Lucy in
the Sky" meets "Dear Prudence" crescendo on "What Goes Around"; and
the delightful Lennon & McCartney-esque lilt on "I Don't Be
lieve You," which features impeccable, Beatles-inspired vocal
harmonies by Jellyfish's Andy Sturmer and Roger Manning (who also
wrote the song).
     Sturmer and Manning are also featured on three other tracks,
including the album's opening song and first single, "Weight of the
World," which features jangly, Byrds-ish guitar work and more
harmony vocals that sound just like you-know-who. On the Stan L
ynch/Richard Feldman-penned "Don't Know a Thing About Love," Ringo
sings with the two Jellyfish members and ex-Knack-men Doug Fieger
and Berton Averre, marking a union of one of the
most-Beatles-influenced bands of the 1970s with its '90s
counterparts.
     The Posies' Jonathan Auer and Kenneth Stringfellow wrote the
"Carry That Weight"-like "Golden Blunders," while Diane Warren's
"In a Heart Beat" features Brian Wilson singing multitrack
five-part vocal harmonies.  What results could easily have been
unear
thed from a 1966 time capsule buried by "those other chaps,"
following a jam session 1 with the Beach Boys.
     The Beatles flavor is furthered by producers Don Was, Jeff
Lynne, Phil Ramone and Peter Asher, who clearly see this as an
opportunity to pay tribute to the "chaps" while taking subtle
advantage of modern recording technology.
     Ringo co-wrote three of the songs here -- "After All These
Years," the overly earnest "Runaways," and the
semi-autobiographical "Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go," which
alludes to his past drug problems and contains lyrical references
to "It Don't Come 
Easy" and "Yesterday." (For the record, there are also a few
non-Beatles allusions, such as the T. Rex-ified guitar vamp that
anchors "After All These Years.")
     Unifying the entire album is Ringo's rock-solid, no-nonsense
drumming, which will also anchor the concerts on his impending tour
with his new All Starr Band, on which Ringo will share drum duties
with his son, Zak. (The tour, which plays L.A.'s Greek The
atre Aug. 10 and 11, has yet to schedule a San Diego date.)
     Those concerts, like this album, will probably not boast much
in the way of hand-clenching profundity.  But "Time Takes Time"
succeeds quite well, albeit modestly, precisely because it doesn't
take itself too seriously while striking a tone both timely a
nd nostalgic.

GRAPHIC: 1 PHOTO; ; Ringo Starr has a renewed sense of purpose on
his latest "Time Takes Time" album.