Liverpool 8

For the song, see Liverpool 8 (song). For the Liverpool postal district, see Toxteth.

"Pasodobles" redirects here. For traditional dance from Spain, see Pasodoble.

Liverpool 8 is the 15th studio album by Ringo Starr, released worldwide on 14 January 2008.^[1] Received with mixed reviews, it marked Starr's return to EMI for the first time since leaving the label in 1975, following the end of the Beatles' recording contract with the company.^[2]

Liverpool 8
Studio album by Ringo Starr
Released	14 January 2008
Recorded	2006 – 2007
Studio	Roccabella, UK; Whatinthewhatthe?, Los Angeles
Genre	Rock
Length	45:28
Label	Capitol
Producer	Ringo Starr Mark Hudson Dave Stewart
Ringo Starr chronology
Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage (2007) Liverpool 8 (2008) Ringo 5.1: The Surround Sound Collection (2008)
Singles from Liverpool 8
"Liverpool 8" Released: 4 December 2007

Background

Liverpool 8 was originally planned for release in June 2007, and began as another production by the collaborative team of Mark Hudson and Starr (the two had previously co-produced Vertical Man, I Wanna Be Santa Claus, VH1 Storytellers, Ringo Rama, and Choose Love). However, the release date was pushed back to the beginning of 2008 when Hudson was replaced by Dave Stewart after a falling out with Starr. The album's production credits read, "Produced by Ringo Starr and Mark Hudson; Re-Produced by Ringo Starr and David Stewart."

All of the songs but one were written with the Roundheads, although Stewart also has several co-writing credits. Starr's attorney Bruce Grakal told journalist Peter Palmiere that the partnership between Hudson and Starr was over and they would never work together again. This happened after Hudson dropped out of Starr's 2006 tour as musical director to do the television special The One: Making a Music Star. According to Palmiere, Hudson claimed that the split was over Starr's insistence on using synthesized sounds, for which Stewart is known, whereas Hudson wanted real guitars, pianos, strings etc.^[3] However, concerning the parting of ways with Hudson, Starr commented, "The separation between Mark Hudson and myself was a question of trust and friendship and had nothing to do with synthesizers."

Release

Liverpool 8 was released worldwide by Capitol Records. The title refers to the postal district of the Toxteth area of Liverpool in which Starr was born. The album was released on CD, MP3, and USB Wristband. It was available as a free audio stream at www.vh1classic.com before its release date. The title track was released on CD and digital download as the first single from the album on 7 January 2008. Liverpool 8 entered the UK Album Chart at number 91,^[4] and reached a peak of number 94 in the US.^[5] The album sold 7,000 copies within the first week of release^[6] and as of January 2010, 31,000 copies have been sold.^[7]

A few weeks later after the album release, readers of the New York Daily News were offered a non-album track called "It's Love", which was recorded during the sessions for Liverpool 8.^[8]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	59/100^[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
about.com	^[10]
AllMusic	^[11]
Billboard	(favourable)^[12]
The Music Box	^[13]
The Phoenix	^[14]
PopMatters	^[15]
Record Collector	^[16]
Rolling Stone	^[17]
The Times	^[18]
Uncut	^[19]

Liverpool 8 has a 59 percent "mixed or average" rating from Metacritic.^[9] Billboard gave the album a positive review, calling it "full of nostalgia for the good ol' days".^[12] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that "it's nothing too flashy and it has not one tune that calls attention to itself".^[20] In a particularly unfavourable review for The Times, Pete Paphides wrote that "it’s hard not to boggle at Liverpool's susceptibility to flattery", and "Just because [the album] was fun to make, it doesn’t follow that you might enjoy listening to it."^[18]

Track listing

All tracks written by Ringo Starr, Mark Hudson, Gary Burr and Steve Dudas except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Liverpool 8" (Richard Starkey, David A. Stewart)	4:51
2.	"Think About You"	3:40
3.	"For Love" (Starkey, Hudson)	3:49
4.	"Now That She's Gone Away" (Starkey, Hudson, Burr)	3:02
5.	"Gone Are the Days" (Starkey, Hudson, Stewart)	2:49
6.	"Give It a Try" (Starkey, Hudson, Dudas)	3:26
7.	"Tuff Love"	4:33
8.	"Harry's Song"	4:00
9.	"Pasodobles" (Starkey, Hudson, Burr, Dudas, Dean Grakal)	4:17
10.	"If It's Love That You Want"	3:06
11.	"Love Is"	3:52
12.	"R U Ready"	3:59

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.^[21]

Musicians Ringo Starr – drums, vocals, percussion, backing vocals, claps, organ Sean Hurley – bass David A. Stewart – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, orchestra arrangement, backwards fabulousness, slide Guitar Gary Burr – backing vocals, claps, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, whistle, keyboards, mandolin Steve Dudas – backing vocals, claps, electric guitar, classical guitar Brent Carpenter – backing vocals, claps Mark Hudson – backing vocals, claps, bass, electric guitar, piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar, bongos, harmonica, mellotron Bruce Sugar – backing vocals, claps Keith Allison – backing vocals, claps Suzie Katayama – orchestra arrangement, conductor Zac Rae – keyboards Dave Way – bass Jesse Davey – electric guitar

Production Ringo Starr, Mark Hudson – producers, except on "Liverpool 8" Ringo Starr, David A. Stewart – producers on "Liverpool 8" Mark Hudson – additional production Ringo Starr, David A. Stewart – re-producers Bruce Sugar – engineer Steve Dudas, Gary Burr, Ned Douglas – additional engineers Bill Malina – mixing Ted Jensen – mastering Tom Recchion – art direction Paul Moore – design Brian Griffin – photography

Charts

Chart	Peak position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)^[22]	207

References

1. Jackson, Andrew Grant (2012). Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of the Beatles' Solo Careers. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 292. ISBN 9780810882232.
2. . ringostarr.com. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2006.
3. bbc.co.uk
4. . Zobbel.de. Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
5. Mulligan, Kate Siobhan (2010). The Beatles: A Musical Biography. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. p. 146. ISBN 9780313376863.
6. Stanislawski, Ethan (1 July 2008). "After poor album sales, Ringo speaks out against music press | Prefix". Prefixmag.com. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
7. Shriver, Jerry (15 January 2010). "Ringo Starr turning 70: Fab drummer talks about life, music - USATODAY.com". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
8. . Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2009.
9. "Reviews for Liverpool 8 by Ringo Starr". Metacritic. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
10. Fontenot, Robert (January 2008). . about.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
11. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Ringo Starr Liverpool 8". AllMusic. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
12. Liverpool 8
13. John Metzger (10 January 2008). "Ringo Starr – Liverpool 8 (Album Review)". Musicbox-online.com. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
14. Milano, Brett (28 January 2008). . The Phoenix. Boston. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
15. Lenser, Barry (24 January 2008). "Ringo Starr: Liverpool 8". PopMatters. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
16. Staunton, Terry (April 2008). "Ringo Starr – Liverpool 8". Record Collector. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
17. Sheffield, Rob (7 January 2008). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2014.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
18. Paphides, Pete (11 January 2008). "Ringo Starr Liverpool 8". The Times. London. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
19. Quantick, David (March 2008). . Uncut. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
20. allmusic ((( Liverpool 8 > Review )))^{[permanent dead link]}
21. Liverpool 8 (Booklet). Ringo Starr. Capitol, Capitol Music Group. 2008. 509995 17388 22.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. "想い出のリヴァプール" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 10 December 2020.

External links

• Liverpool 8 at Discogs (list of releases)