| Beaucoups of Blues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Ringo Starr | ||||
| Released | 25 September 1970 | |||
| Recorded | Late June - 1 July 1970 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 33:25 | |||
| Label | Apple/EMI | |||
| Producer | Pete Drake | |||
| Ringo Starr chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated)[2] |
| This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information. | |
Beaucoups of Blues is the second album by former Beatles member Ringo Starr, and also his second full-length release in 1970, coming after his debut Sentimental Journey. However, Beaucoups of Blues is very far removed in style from its predecessor.
While playing on sessions for George Harrison's All Things Must Pass (the recording of which began on 26 May), Starr—a long-time country and western fan—met Pete Drake, whom Harrison had called upon to play pedal steel guitar. Realizing Drake's deep connection to country (having also played on Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline), Starr asked him if they could collaborate on an album together. Drake promptly told Starr his musician friends could compose more than an album's worth of material from which Starr could pick his favourites and record his vocals. Starr was very keen and agreed. He flew to Nashville on 22 June to begin working on the project.
While most of the tracks were cut in two days (30 June and 1 July), Drake had produced some earlier sessions with The Jordanaires on backing vocals so that Starr could add his lead on top. The sessions went exceedingly well, and it was clear to all that Starr's vocals were much more suited to genre of country than the old standards that characterised Sentimental Journey. For Starr, making Beaucoups of Blues had fulfilled a lifelong ambition.
Beaucoups of Blues was released that September to a fan base that was once again bemused with Starr's abrupt change in style. While the album is more acclaimed than Sentimental Journey, Beaucoups of Blues did not perform nearly as well, missing the UK charts and reaching only #65 in the US. The album did do a little better in Norway, peaking at #21.
In light of the tepid commercial reaction, Starr would refrain from further album releases for the time being, preferring to concentrate on his second vocation: film acting.
Even though it was moderately successful at the time, in retrospect many critics have stated that this may be Ringo's masterpiece, and surely one of his best albums.
Beaucoups of Blues was remastered and reissued on CD in 1995 with the addition of two bonus tracks: "Coochy Coochy" (a Starr original that appeared as the B-Side to the single release of "Beaucoups of Blues") and a jam with all the musicians entitled, appropriately enough, "Nashville Jam" (similar in vein to the "Apple Jam" on the fifth and sixth sides of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass).
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