Ringo Starr: Y Not

Forty years after his first solo excursion, and almost half a century since he joined the Beatles, Ringo Starr has started producing his own material. Hence, perhaps, the title of his 15th album, to which one might justifiably respond: "But Y?" It's not a complete write-off. "The Other Side of Liverpool" is an endearingly simple recollection of Starr's difficult childhood, and the lead single "Walk With You", written with Van Dyke Parks, features a neat vocal cameo from Paul McCartney. The nicest thing you could say about the rest of the album is that it's upbeat. Banal optimism reaches its apotheosis on "Peace Dream", which plays like a bad parody of "Imagine".