Sentimental Journey (Ringo Starr album)

Sentimental Journey is the debut album by English rock musician and soon to be former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, released in 1970 as the band was breaking up. Starr was the third member of the group to issue a solo recording (after George Harrison and John Lennon), and Sentimental Journey is notable for being the first studio album of what might be termed "conventional" music by a member of the band, compared to the experimental, soundtrack or live releases of his two bandmates. Paul McCartney's debut, McCartney, would follow three weeks after Sentimental Journey's release. Recording of the album was completed in early March 1970, with Sentimental Journey being rushed out a few weeks later to avoid clashing in the shops with the Beatles' impending final album Let It Be in May.

Sentimental Journey
Studio album by Ringo Starr
Released	27 March 1970
Recorded	27 October – 26 December 1969 and 14 January – 6 March 1970
Studio	Abbey Road, Trident, Wessex Sound, Olympic, De Lane Lea and Morgan, London; A&M, Los Angeles
Genre	Traditional pop jazz
Length	34:03
Label	Apple
Producer	George Martin
Ringo Starr chronology
Sentimental Journey (1970) Beaucoups of Blues (1970)

Background

The idea for a solo album first came from the rest of the Beatles, who said that Starr should do a solo record, despite his minimal songwriting abilities,[1] and later from his mother Elsie Starkey and step-dad Harry during one day at their Liverpool home.[1][2] His mother said that Starr had good vocals.[1] The plan was to create an album of standards that would reflect his mother's favourite songs,[3] even asking them and other members of his family to choose the tracks. Starr engaged the services of Beatles producer George Martin to helm his solo debut,[4] shortly after the Beatles' Abbey Road (1969) came out.[2]

I wondered, what shall I do with my life now that it's over? I was brought up with all those songs, you know, my family used to sing those songs, my mother and my dad, my aunties and uncles. They were my first musical influences on me. So I went to see George Martin and said: 'Let's do an album of standards, and to make it interesting we'll have all the arrangements done by different people".[5]

— Ringo Starr

Recording

Starr had one song each arranged by different musicians, ranging from fellow-Beatle Paul McCartney, and Martin himself to Richard Perry,[nb 1] Quincy Jones, The Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb, Klaus Voormann, and Elmer Bernstein among others, as Starr thought the album would have a flavour to it.[2] Author Bill Harry states that on 1 October 1969, Starr asked Count Basie to write an arrangement score for "Night and Day"; the finished score arrived to Starr on 6 October.[7] However, Chico O'Farrill received credit for the arrangement.[7]

Sessions for the album began on 27 October,[8] on which Starr, backed by an orchestra, recorded the track "Night and Day" at Abbey Road Studios.[9] The track was also mixed the same day.[10] The next session didn't take place until over a week later, on 6 November at Wessex Sound Studios, recording a track that currently remains unreleased, "Stormy Weather".[9] The following day, the backing track for the McCartney-arranged "Stardust" was recorded,[11] which nearly earned the album the title of Ringo Stardust.[2] On 14 November, Starr added his vocal to that track, and started developing the track "Dream";[9] arranged by Martin, the song was finished on 18 November at Trident Studios.[12] The backing track for "Blue, Turning Grey Over You" was recorded 10 days later on 28 November, and then completed on 4 December, the vocals for the track weren't recorded until later in the new year.[9]

Shortly after recording "Blue, Turning Grey Over You" Starr went on a trip to the US,[13] and went on to record lead for the Jones-arranged "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" on 26 December, at A&M Studios.[14] The first session in the new year, 1970, for the album was held on 14 January, at Olympic Sound Studios.[9] There, vocals for "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" and "Sentimental Journey" were laid down,[9] the latter was arranged by Perry.[15] The next session took place nearly a month later on 3 February 1970, at Abbey Road Studios, where the backing track for "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" was remade, featuring an orchestra, and Starr laying down a new vocal track for the song.[9] Starr re-recorded his vocals for the song on the 5th.[9] Starr recorded vocal overdubs on "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" on both 9 and 18 February 1970,[9] the track was arranged by Elmer Bernstein.[15] On 11 February, the orchestra for "I'm a Fool to Care" was conducted by Voorman,[9] who also arranged his version of the song[16] at Starr's request.[17] On the same day, Starr added his vocal track to the song.[9] A day later, the backing track, and Starr's vocal, for "Let the Rest of the World Go By" were recorded;[9] the track was arranged by Les Reed.[18] Nearly a week later, on 18 February, overdubs were added to the song.[18]

That same day, the vocals for both "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" and "Let the Rest of the World Go By" were re-recorded.[9] Following this, "It Don't Come Easy" was recorded during a late-night part of the session,[9] under the title "Gotta Pay Your Dues".[nb 2][5] Two days later, "I'm a Fool to Care",[20] "Let the Rest of the World Go By"[18] and "Sentimental Journey" were mixed.[6] On 24 February, over a week later, Starr's vocal was recorded for "Blue, Turning Grey Over You".[9] Now moving to De Lane Lea Studios a day later, the Johnny Dankworth-conducted orchestra had made the backing track for "You Always Hurt the One You Love", on to which, Starr added his vocal track the same day.[9] Some time in February, the unreleased tracks "Autumn Leaves" and "I'll Be Looking at the Moon" were recorded; eventually finding their way onto bootleg albums.[21] Moving again, this time to Morgan Sound Studios on 5 March, at McCartney's suggestion, the orchestra-laden "Whispering Grass (Don't Tell the Trees)" and "Bye Bye Blackbird" (the latter arranged by Maurice Gibb) were taped.[9] On 6 March, work was done on "You Always Hurt the One You Love" by Dankworth adding drums, piano and saxophone; this and four other tracks were mixed on the day.[9] The following day, further overdubs were added to "I'm a Fool to Care".[20]

Release and aftermath

The Empress pub, which was pictured on the album cover.

Sentimental Journey was released in the UK on 27 March 1970,[nb 3] and in the US on 24 April 1970.[nb 4][23] It received fair reviews upon its release, although many critics found the idea of Starr covering standards a bit odd considering his musical background.[24] His fame in the Beatles was all that was required, however, to get it all the way to number 7 in the UK – with no single release to promote it – and number 22 in the US.[25] The album sold 500,000 copies in the US within the first two weeks of release.[26][27]

Among his fellow Beatles, in an interview with BBC Radio's Johnny Moran,[28] George Harrison described Sentimental Journey as "a great album" and "really nice".[29] Conversely, John Lennon told Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner in December 1970 that he was "embarrassed" by Starr's debut.[30] Starr later said of Sentimental Journey: "The great thing was that it got my solo career moving – not very fast, but just moving. It was like the first shovel of coal in the furnace that makes the train inch forward."[31]

The album cover consisted of a photograph by Richard Polak,[32] showing a pub, The Empress in Dingle, Liverpool, located close to Starr's place of birth.[33] The superimposed figures in the windows of the pub are Starr's relatives.[34] To promote the album, Starr appeared in a promotional film, which was directed by Neil Aspinall, of the album's title track. The clip aired on the TV show Talk of the Town on 15 March, and on Frost on Saturday, hosted by David Frost, two weeks later.[9] In the US, it appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

A budget edition was released in February 1981 by Capitol.[nb 5][6] Sentimental Journey was remastered and reissued on CD in 1995, on 1 May in the UK,[nb 6] and on 15 August in the US.[nb 7][23] The music video for the title track appeared on the CD/DVD version of Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr.[36]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[37]
Christgau's Record Guide	C–[38]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[39]
The Essential Rock Discography	5/10[40]
MusicHound	3/5[41]
Rolling Stone	(negative)[42]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[43]

In his review for Rolling Stone, Greil Marcus called Sentimental Journey "horrendous" but "classy".[42] John Gabree of High Fidelity considered that the impressive cast of musical arrangers were merely "compensating for the fact that Ringo can't sing" and dismissed most of the material as "some of the tiredest junk ever written".[44]

Music critic Robert Christgau said it was "For over-fifties and Ringomaniacs".[38] In The Beatles: An Illustrated Record, authors Roy Carr and Tony Tyler called the album "a gawky, badly sung, overly sentimental selection of moribund mambos. All are dispensable."[45]

Reevaluation

More recently, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic has written of the album: "Savaged by some critics, it's really not all that bad. But it ain't rock & roll, it's not what Ringo does best, and it's not an essential part of anyone's collection, Beatles fan or otherwise".[37]

NPR music critic Tim Riley also reacted more favourably: "Backed by full jazz band and occasional strings, Ringo poses as a Liverpudlian Jack Jones, with surprisingly good results." Riley added that that album had "a deceptively easy feel, and the strongest moments ... ('Dream' and 'Blue Turning Grey Over You' ...) confirm his fundamental appeal as a personality."[46]

Track listing

Side one No. Title Writer(s) Arranger Length 1. "Sentimental Journey" Bud Green, Les Brown, Ben Homer Richard Perry 3:26 2. "Night and Day" Cole Porter Chico O'Farrill 2:25 3. "Whispering Grass (Don't Tell the Trees)" Fred Fisher, Doris Fisher Ron Goodwin 2:37 4. "Bye Bye Blackbird" Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson Maurice Gibb 2:11 5. "I'm a Fool to Care" Ted Daffan Klaus Voormann 2:39 6. "Stardust" Hoagy Carmichael, Mitchell Parish Paul McCartney 3:22

Side two No. Title Writer(s) Arranger Length 1. "Blue, Turning Grey Over You" Andy Razaf, Fats Waller Oliver Nelson 3:19 2. "Love Is a Many Splendoured Thing" Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster Quincy Jones 3:05 3. "Dream" Johnny Mercer George Martin 2:42 4. "You Always Hurt the One You Love" Allan Roberts, Doris Fisher John Dankworth 2:20 5. "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" Scott Wiseman Elmer Bernstein 2:44 6. "Let the Rest of the World Go By" Ernest Ball, Karen Brennan Les Reed 2:55

Personnel

• Ringo Starr – vocals
• All instruments performed by the George Martin Orchestra

References

Footnotes

1. Perry would later work with Starr on two of his studio albums.[6]
2. "It Don't Come Easy" would appear as a single in 1971.[19]
3. UK Apple PCS 7101[9]
4. US Apple SW 3365[22]
5. US Capitol SN-16218[6]
6. UK EMI CDPCS[35]
7. US Apple CDP 7 98615 2[22]

Citations

1. Blake, John (1981). All You Needed Was Love: The Beatles After the Beatles. Middlesex: Hamlyn Paperbacks. p. 78. ISBN 0-600-20466-9.
2. Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980 (illustrated ed.). New York: Backbeat Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
3. Schaffner, Nicholas (1980). The Boys from Liverpool: John, Paul, George, Ringo (1st ed.). New York: Methuen. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-416-30661-3.
4. Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1977). All Together Now – The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975 (2nd ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 212. ISBN 0-345-25680-8.
5. Sentimental Journey (Booklet). Ringo Starr. Apple, Apple Corps / Capitol, EMI. 1995 [1970]. CDP 0777 7 98615 2 1.CS1 maint: others (link)
6. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
7. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
8. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
9. Miles, Barry (1998). The Beatles a Diary: An Intimate Day by Day History. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-6315-3.
10. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
11. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
12. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
13. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
14. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
15. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
16. Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980 (illustrated ed.). New York: Backbeat Books. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
17. Browne, David (2001). Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970 (1st Da Capo Press ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-306-81986-5.
18. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
19. Schaffner, Nicholas (1980). The Boys from Liverpool: John, Paul, George, Ringo (1st ed.). New York: Methuen. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-416-30661-3.
20. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
21. Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1977). All Together Now – The First Complete Beatles Discography 1961–1975 (2nd ed.). New York: Ballantine Books. p. 264. ISBN 0-345-25680-8.
22. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
23. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. pp. 184, 185. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
24. Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980 (illustrated ed.). New York: Backbeat Books. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
25. Rodriguez, Robert (2010). Fab Four FAQ 2.0: The Beatles' Solo Years, 1970–1980 (illustrated ed.). New York: Backbeat Books. pp. 22–23. ISBN 978-0-87930-968-8.
26. Cross, Craig (2004). Beatles-Discography.com: Day-By-Day, Song-By-Song, Record-By-Record. New York: iUniverse. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-595-31487-4.
27. Badman, Keith (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001. London: Omnibus Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-7119-8307-6.
28. Miles, Barry (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 1: The Beatles Years. London: Omnibus Press. p. 371. ISBN 0-7119-8308-9.
29. Harrison, George (30 March 1970). "The Beatles Today" (Interview). Interviewed by Johnny Moran. BBC Radio 1. Event occurs between 15:45 and 16:16.
30. Badman, Keith (2001). The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After the Break-Up 1970–2001. London: Omnibus Press. p. 16. ISBN 978-0-7119-8307-6.
31. Clayson, Alan (2003). "A Starr Is Born!". Mojo: The Beatles' Final Years Special Edition. London: Emap. p. 117.
32. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
33. Frame, Pete (1999). Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain. London: Omnibus Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-0-7119-6973-5.
34. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 196. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
35. Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. London: Virgin Books. p. 184. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
36. "The Official Ringo Starr Site | News". Ringostarr.com. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
37. Unterberger, Richie. "Ringo Starr Sentimental Journey". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
38. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 13 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
39. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 1984. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
40. Strong, Martin C. (2006). The Essential Rock Discography. Edinburgh, UK: Canongate. p. 1028. ISBN 978-184195-827-9.
41. Gary Graff & Daniel Durchholz (eds), MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, Visible Ink Press (Farmington Hills, MI, 1999; ISBN 1-57859-061-2), p. 1083.
42. Marcus, Greil (14 May 1970). "Sentimental Journey". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. Archived from the original on 20 December 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
43. Brackett, Nathan, with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Fireside. p. 777. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
44. Gabree, John (August 1970). "Review: The Beatles Let It Be; Paul McCartney McCartney; Ringo Starr Sentimental Journey". High Fidelity. p. 110.
45. Carr, Roy, and Tony Tyler. The Beatles: An Illustrated Record. New York: Harmony Books, 1975.
46. Riley, Tim, "Ringo Starr: The Act You've Known for All These Years," in Tell Me Why: A Beatles Commentary (New York: Vintage Books, 1989), p. 343.

External links

• JPGR's Sentimental Journey site