Ringo Starr - "Choose Love"(KOCH Records, 2005) - * * *

Ringo's back and for the most part listening to "Choose Love" is like listening to anything else Starr has recorded. This is pop music at its barest and most vulnerable, no bells and whistles just simple melodic songs that revel in simplicity. Perhaps that's why he's able to slide under the radar with a release like this. If you aren't a fan, you're not going to hate it, and if you are, you're sure to want to keep listening but it's not the kind of album that you'll shout about from the rooftops. Songs like "Give Me Back The Beat" mix country with pop in a way that stands out. "Give me back the beat / Give me back the beat / Give me back the only thing that makes my life complete / If you come back to me / I'll be dancing in the street ..." It's like flashing back to an age where songwriting wasn't all frills and overproduction; it was about the song itself. The bottom line is when I'm listening to "Choose Love" I'm not thinking about anything but the blissful pop of Ringo Starr. Which is the point entirely. And the bluesy swagger of that title track is worth the price of admission on its own. Bravo, Ringo!