Description
Ringo Starr – Change the World – 10 Inch Vinyl Record
Change the World gives Ringo Starr a compact four-song setting for pop, reggae, country and rock and roll. Released in 2021, the EP was recorded at his Roccabella West studio and follows Zoom In, which appeared earlier the same year. Starr worked with familiar collaborators and new partners, including Steve Lukather, Joseph Williams, Bruce Sugar, Linda Perry, Trombone Shorty and Joe Walsh. The small program is central to its appeal: each song introduces a different musical setting while Starr’s voice and easygoing personality provide continuity. This UMe edition presents the complete four-track release on a limited 10 inch vinyl record.
Let’s Change the World opens the EP with an optimistic pop song written by Joseph Williams and Steve Lukather. Both writers also perform on the recording, with backing vocals adding to the sense of a shared musical effort. The song’s hopeful perspective fits naturally with Starr’s longstanding public emphasis on peace and goodwill. It also establishes the EP as a collection made through collaboration, with the lead performer giving the contributors room to bring their own strengths. The opening track supplies the broadest statement of the project’s outlook before the following selections move into more specific musical styles and a different range of moods.
Just That Way turns toward reggae and was written by Starr with his longtime engineer Bruce Sugar. Tony Chen plays guitar, Fully Fullwood contributes bass and Ed Roth plays Hammond B3, creating a distinct instrumental setting beside the opener. The change of rhythm gives Starr another way to deliver a relaxed vocal, while the combination of organ, guitar and bass keeps the arrangement clearly connected to the song’s reggae character. Its place as the second selection makes the EP’s variety apparent early. Rather than extending one sound across all four pieces, the collection lets each collaboration establish its own musical terms.
Coming Undone marks Starr’s first collaboration with Linda Perry, who wrote and plays on the track. Trombone Shorty also appears, bringing another recognizable instrumental voice into the recording. The song has a country-leaning character and a more tender perspective than the opening selection. That contrast is valuable within such a short release, allowing the EP to move from an outward-looking message into a more personal emotional setting. Perry’s contribution also gives the collection a new songwriting partnership alongside the musicians Starr had worked with previously. The result is a third distinct part of the program, with its own tone and a carefully chosen group of contributors.
Rock Around the Clock closes the EP with a return to an early rock-and-roll standard. Joe Walsh plays guitar, joined by Nathan East on upright bass and Bruce Sugar on piano, making the ending a lively change of scale after Coming Undone. The song connects Starr’s contemporary recording work with music from the formative period of rock and roll, and its familiar framework gives the players a direct setting for their contributions. The 10 inch vinyl edition contains all four selections in the original order. Change the World offers a concise account of Starr’s collaborative approach in 2021, with contrasting styles and a closing performance rooted in the music that helped shape his generation.
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic
Track Listing
Let’s Change the World
Just That Way
Coming Undone
Rock Around the Clock
