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In 1970, no one could imagine a solo career for Ringo Starr. To everyone, he was a metronomical drummer but not very imaginative and without the desire for dazzling solos, a decidedly terrible singer with no hope of improvement. But good old Richard surprised everyone right from the start with the timid "Sentimental Journey," an album of old '40s and '50s standards that marked his childhood and was recorded to make his mother happy. The album sold very well, riding the emotional wave caused by the end of the fab-four, and the big-nosed drummer suddenly realized he could also make his mark in the post-Beatles world.
Then Ringo tried again the same year with a second LP, "Beaucoups Of Blues", a country music album put together thanks to guitarist Peter Drake, who was able to gather a repertoire for the drummer in a short time. Recorded in Nashville, it is a work full of tear-jerking songs (in the good sense of the word), relaxed and not taking itself too seriously with slow, fluid compositions, and in the end, it proves to be an album worth listening to. Critics received it very well, Ringo's voice perfectly suits the style amid smooth acoustic chords and bouncing violins. However, the public remained indifferent, declaring it a total failure, but over the years "Beaucoups Of Blues" has become a rare LP, reissued on CD and now hard to find.
After 1970, Ringo will start writing songs on his own, achieving unexpected success with "I Don't Come Easy" already in '71, the album "Ringo" in '73 will be a best seller. Then the slow decline with a series of forgotten works that might be worth (partly) recovering.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Beaucoups of Blues ()
By Buzz Rabin
I LEFT LOUISIAN, I HAD ME BIG PLANS
TO GO OUT AND TAKE ME ALL OVER THIS LAND.
TO SEE ME THE WORLD, I LEFT MY SWEET GIRL
AND GAVE IT A WHIRL BUT NOW HERE I STAND,
ALONG SIDE THE ROAD WITH HOLES IN MY SOUL AND MY SHOES
AND BEAUCOUPS OF BLUES.
OH, SWEET MAGNOLIA,
BREATH CARRIED OVER THE MARSH BY A BREEZE FROM THE GULF.
I'M COMING HOME, (coming home)
I'VE HAD ME ENOUGH.
OH, WHERE ARE THE THINGS I SAW IN MY DREAMS?
WHERE'S THE HAPPY THAT FREEDOM SHOULD BRING?
I SEE ME TODAY AND KNOW YESTERDAY
THAT I THREW AWAY MY MOST PRECIOUS THINGS.
I SEE ME A MAN WHO'S LONELY, WANTS ONLY TO LOSE
BEAUCOUPS OF BLUES.
OH, SWEET MAGNOLIA,
BREATH CARRIED OVER THE MARSH BY A BREEZE FROM THE GULF.
I'M COMING HOME, (coming home)
I'VE HAD ME ENOUGH.
I'M COMING HOME, (coming home)
I'VE HAD ME ENOUGH.
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