Last year was a busy one for the three surviving ex-Beatles, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. Paul worked on a new album, and George is scheduled to come out with a live double album of one of his Japan concerts. This leaves us with Ringo. So what has he done? He had his third consecutive summer tour. Besides that, he has come out with a new album. It's his first studio album in 11 years! Entitled, "Time Takes Time," it could be the best of all the albums he has put out since The Beatles broke up in 1970.

The album starts with "Weight of the World," which is the album's first single. It deals with everyday troubles of the world, and how its weight is bringing us down. In it, Ringo advises us to get the weight of the world off our shoulders. "Don't Know a Thing About Love" begins with Ringo proclaiming, "Let's start swinging!" He has a way with words, and the song swings along just fine. "Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go" is Ringo's personal favorite from the album. It could be the rock highlight of the album (or all his albums). It deals with his past problems with alcohol. "Golden Blunders" breaks out with Ringo and a gently strummed acoustic guitar. The basis of the song is simple (just look at the title, folks). "All in the Name of Love" is one of Ringo's best ballads. When I heard the cowbell intro, however, I thought it would be another country Ringo hoe-down, like his 1970 album, "Beaucoup of Blues." The cowbell was just a percussive count in, and after the fifth hit, one of his most charming melodies began.

"After All These Years" is another good rocker with more interesting lyrics. It was produced by ELO's Jeff Lynne, who also played several instruments on this track. "I Don't Believe You" is a country-flavored tune, and it does roll along quite nicely. It harkens back to Ringo's early vocals with The Beatles, like "What Goes On," from 1965.

"Runaways" starts off with the sounds of a city's streets at night, and tells about children who have run away from home and are living on the streets. "In a Heartbeat," along with "All in the Name of Love," are definitely top-rate ballads. I prefer "In a Heartbeat" slightly more than the latter. "What Goes Around" is the album's last song, and clocks in at 5: 50 (quite long for a Ringo song). It's a good song to end with, as it deals with the "what goes around comes around" concept.

I highly recommend Ringo Starr's "Time Takes Time." It's a lot different from Ringo's earlier works, and should appeal to Beatles/Ringo fans who grew up in the 1960s, and to people of our own generation. n