Old Wave

Produced by Joe Walsh, Old Wave was a well-put-together collection of good pop/rock songs that was all wrong for Ringo Starr. The songs required interpretive abilities simply not found in a singer of Ringo's pleasant, but limited voice and phrasing. "She's About a Mover" and "I Keep Forgettin"' were appropriate covers, but Ringo was out of his depth on reflective songs like "Picture Show Life" and "As Far as We Can Go." There was also a throwaway instrumental, "Everybody's in a Hurry but Me," featuring Eric Clapton and John Entwistle. Neil Bogart, the head of Boardwalk, Ringo's record label, died during the making of this album, and the closest it got to an American release was on RCA Canada, which was just as well. [Originally released in Canada on June 8, 1983, as RCA 3233, as well as in Japan, South America, and Germany, Old Wave was finally released in the U.S. by The Right Stuff/Capitol on September 6, 1994, with one extra bonus track, an orchestral version of "As Far as We Can Go."]