Ringo 2012

Ringo 2012 is the seventeenth studio album by English singer-songwriter Ringo Starr, released on 30 January 2012 in the United Kingdom and 31 January 2012 in the United States. It was released on CD, LP and digitally by Hip-O Records and UM^e.

Ringo 2012
Studio album by Ringo Starr
Released	30 January 2012
Recorded	2011
Studio	Roccabella West, Los Angeles
Genre	Rock
Length	28:55
Label	Hip-O, UMe
Producer	Ringo Starr Bruce Sugar
Ringo Starr chronology
Live at the Greek Theatre 2008 (2010) Ringo 2012 (2012) Icon (2014)
Singles from Ringo 2012
"Wings" Released: 10 January 2012

History

Starr had considered calling the album Motel California, then Another #9, and finally Wings, before settling on Ringo 2012.^[1] The album was recorded in Los Angeles, and mixed in England, produced by Starr and Bruce Sugar.^[2] The title is a reference to Starr's most successful solo album, Ringo, which was released in 1973.^[3] At less than 29 minutes in length, it was his shortest album to date.

Ringo 2012 includes new recordings of two songs that Starr had issued on previous albums: "Step Lightly", from Ringo, and "Wings", from 1977's Ringo the 4th. His cover of Buddy Holly's "Think It Over" was released on the Listen to Me: Buddy Holly tribute album before its appearance on Ringo 2012. The new version of "Wings" was released as a single a few weeks in advance of the album.^[4]

The inclusion of the track "In Liverpool" meant that Ringo 2012 was Starr's third consecutive album to include a song about Liverpool, his hometown. Asked why this was, he told Alan Light of Newsweek: "I came to the conclusion a while ago that I do not want to write an autobiography, because all anybody wants is those eight years from 1962 to 1970, and I would have ten volumes before we got there. So I thought I'll do it in song, and do vignettes of certain aspects of my life."^[5]

The cover photograph and as well as other photographs within the album's artwork were taken by rock photographer Rob Shanahan, who had worked closely with Starr for seven years.^[6]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	59/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Goldmine	[8]
Los Angeles Times	[9]
New Zealand Herald	1.5/5[10]
The Observer	[11]
PopMatters	[12]
Record Collector	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]

At Metacritic, Ringo 2012 holds an average Metascore of 59 out of 100, based on five professional reviews, indicating a "mixed or average" reception. The album debuted at numbers 80 and 181 in the US and UK, selling 6,348 and 752 copies respectively, as of February 2012.^[15]

Track listing

CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Anthem"	Richard Starkey, Glen Ballard	5:01
2.	"Wings"	Starkey, Vini Poncia	3:31
3.	"Think It Over"	Buddy Holly, Norman Petty	1:48
4.	"Samba"	Starkey, Van Dyke Parks	2:48
5.	"Rock Island Line"	Traditional; arranged by Starkey	2:59
6.	"Step Lightly"	Starkey	2:44
7.	"Wonderful"	Starkey, Gary Nicholson	3:47
8.	"In Liverpool"	Starkey, Dave Stewart	3:19
9.	"Slow Down"	Starkey, Joe Walsh	2:57

DVD edition

Amazon.com Exclusive DVD Version

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Introduction" (Inspiration for the Album)	0:37
2.	"Anthem" ("... The First Words That Came to Me ...")	2:02
3.	"Wings" ("Doing It My Way")	1:41
4.	"Think It Over" (Peter Asher's Suggestion ... The Steel Drum Button ... "It's Like a Shuffle ...")	1:48
5.	"Samba" (The Crazy Record Track with Van Dyke Parks ... And Hanging Out with Really Good People)	0:58
6.	"Rock Island Line" (Skiffle, Rock and "Where I Came In ...")	1:15
7.	"Step Lightly" ("... I Can Do This Different Now ...")	0:41
8.	"Wonderful" ("When It Gets to the Gong ..." Directing the Sentiment)	1:56
9.	"In Liverpool" ("... It's As Easy As Peaches and Cream ..." The Mini-Biography)	2:13
10.	"Slow Down" ("'Cause It Rhymed" ... And "... We Can Rock")	1:10
11.	"Peace Dream" (From "Y Not" / "The Dream Keeps Unfolding")	1:00
12.	"End Credits"	0:30

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.^[16]

Musicians Ringo Starr – lead and backing vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards, acoustic guitar Joe Walsh – guitar Kenny Wayne Shepherd – guitar David A. Stewart – guitar, keyboards Steve Dudas – guitar, bass Don Was – bass Michael Bradford – bass Charlie Haden – double bass Ann Marie Calhoun – violin Matt Cartsonis – mandolin Bruce Sugar – keyboards, piano, horn, arrangement, organ, synth horns Van Dyke Parks – keyboards, accordion, string arrangement Benmont Tench – organ Edgar Winter – Saxophone, organ Amy Keys – backing vocals Kelly Moneymaker – backing vocals Richard Page – backing vocals

Production Ringo Starr – producer Bruce Sugar – recording Ned Douglas – recording assistant Ringo Starr, Bruce Sugar – mixing Chris Bellman – mastering Barry Korkin – UMe A&R coordination Christine Telleck – production manager David Tashman – legal Adam Starr – product manager Vartan – art direction Rob Shanahan – photos Mike Fink, Philip Manning, Meire Murakami – design

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17]	75
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[18]	69
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[19]	110
US Billboard 200[20]	80
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21]	21