Holy cow: Ringo produced by T Bone Burnett!

Ringo did more than just provide the necessary backbeat, as important as that is. Young drummers---who have yet to learn the wisdom of not "over-playing"---are quick to dismiss "feel" type drummers like Ringo (and Charlie Watts). But get them into a recording studio and they quickly find out how hard it is to provide truly "musical" accompaniment to a good band. The drummers in more bands than you would believe are replaced for recording sessions by studio drummers who know know how to "play for the song", not their egos.

Tom Petty’s original drummer Stan Lynch recently stated in the great book Pledging My Time: Conversations With Bob Dylan Band Members that only after interacting with studio great Jim Keltner, and the passage of time, did he realize that his drumming was "too busy." The number one complaint by singers and songwriters about drummers is their propensity to over-play. As good as Keltner is, Leon Russell asked Elton John to dismiss Jim after recording of the Union album had commenced. Jim's playing was too busy for Leon.

Ringo is belittled by non-musicians far more than by other other drummers. One of Ringo’s biggest fans and defenders is Gregg Bissonette, one time drummer in the Maynard Ferguson Big Band, and 2023 winner of the Modern Drummer Magazine Best All Around Drummer award.

Buddy Rich described Ringo as an "adequate" drummer, which coming from Buddy is a compliment.

Sina's take on Ringo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NCczct2ZIM

You go Sina!

Not to be overly-critical---she is very young---but you can clearly hear her tendency to "rush"---play ahead of the "pocket", very common in young drummers. This is more severe when she gets to the "bridge" section of the song.

One thing I learned when I started recording with younger singers who accompanied themselves on guitar is their tendency to rush. Being new to the recording studio makes them anxious, and they find it hard to "wait for the beat" to come around. That playing ahead of the pocket can make it sound like the drummer is "dragging"---playing behind the pocket.

I've done sessions where the producer ended up recording me alone, playing to a click track (a metronome fed into my headphones), to get a basic rhythm track. He could then take all the time necessary to get the singer's guitar part right, without having to pay me while doing so. Time is money. 

Look Up tracklist:
1. “Breathless” (featuring Billy Strings) (T Bone Burnett)
2. “Look Up” (featuring Molly Tuttle) (Daniel Tashian, T Bone Burnett)
3. “Time on My Hands” (Paul Kennerly, Daniel Tashian, T Bone Burnett)
4. “Never Let Me Go” (featuring Billy Strings) (T Bone Burnett)
5. “I Live for Your Love” (featuring Molly Tuttle) (Billy Swan, T Bone Burnett)
6. “Come Back” (featuring Lucius) (T Bone Burnett)
7. “Can You Hear Me Call” (featuring Molly Tuttle) (T Bone Burnett)
8. “Rosetta” (featuring Billy Strings and Larkin Poe) (T Bone Burnett)
9. “You Want Some” (Billy Swan)
10. “String Theory” (featuring Molly Tuttle) (Daniel Tashian, T Bone Burnett)
11. “Thankful” (featuring Alison Krauss) (Richard Starkey, Bruce Sugar)

As above, Stan Lynch, was pivotal on those early TP records.

Happy Listening!