Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
The public understand that they are in a fortunate position when they see the curtain rise, when the first chord is struck, when the radiant smile of appreciation, groove, and love is flashed across the stage like a returning hero, for how often can we expect an all-time legend, arguably one of four men to whom their name shall be revered long after music history eats itself, and one to whom fills a room with more than just a song and a memory, but a vibe as well, to keep producing fantastic nights for the crowd given that time is always against us.
We should acknowledge that our heroes don’t last forever, a reminder every year of the fragility of the being, but never, not once, of the soul that persists. The skin may become rough, but the memory is always smooth, suave, and forever in tune with its present surroundings.
Ringo Starr is smooth, but humble with it, there is something intensely likeable about him, that he arguably is one of the most content, and real, of all musicians to be playing today, and if proof be needed as we enter the third decade of the 21st Century, to bear witness still with genuine affection how the man widens the music appreciation of the audience with his All Starr Band dominating the evening as they release the superb Live At The Greek Theatre 2019.
All Starr Band, the clue is in the name, for no matter the incarnation, the line-up, the souls on stage, what is unmistakable is the sense of persuasion and deep joy that emanates from them all, and this particular live recording is no different; the faces and the ensemble may have altered from the last time that Ringo’s troupe was captured live for posterity in 2008, but the truth of the occasion remains stoic and fearsome, it remains as lively and as groovy as it ever has.
Ringo may be the leader, the originator of this tight family like experience, but it a shared dominion and with Gregg Bissonette assisting on drums, Colin Hay and the renowned Steve Lukather on guitar, Hamish Stuart on bass, Gregg Rolie on keyboard, and Warren Ham on sax, keys, and percussion, this jukebox offering sees seminal songs and tracks such as Matchbox, What Goes On, Boys, Pick Up The Pieces, Don’t Pass Me By, Yellow Submarine, Black Magic Woman, Overkill, I Wanna Be Your Man, and through the beauty of Mr. Lukather’s involvement, Toto anthems such as Rosanna, Africa, and Hold The Line increase the sense of panache and the glory of Help From My Friends rounding off a perfectly enamoured listen, a dramatic being driven by warmth and beauty.
Live At The Greek Theatre 2019 is energetic, forceful, charming, and full of love, and that is the point of the changeable company, it matters at any given moment, any given time, and the reminder that we must hold what first brought us together a little more carefully, for music lives on, but the moment can be taken away without by or leave.
A pleasure of the elder statesman and his troupe, live and unfiltered, a truth forever.
Ian D. Hall