REVIEWS

Over the years since The Beatles broke up, who would’ve guessed that Ringo Starr would end up releasing almost as many solo studio albums as his fellow ex-Fab Paul McCartney? For What’s My Name is Starr’s 20th, while McCartney’s released 25 album (though note that this figure doesn’t include any of Sir Paul’s side ventures, like his forays into classical music).

This 10-track release is a laid back, pleasant album that’s essentially just Starr and a some famous friends relaxing and having fun together as they hang out in his home studio. “I don’t want to be in an old-fashioned recording studio anymore, really,” Starr explains in the album’s press release. “I’ve had enough of the big glass wall and the separation. We are all together in here, whoever I invite over. This is the smallest club in town. And I love it … it’s just been good for me and the music.”

The title track is a phrase that will be familiar to anyone who’s attended one of Starr’s concert appearances; it’s the chant he leads the crowd in, prompting the gleeful reply, “Ringo!” So it’s fitting that it’s