Oh My My

I'm not sure I would have put money on the bet that albums would make a comeback.

There are maybe four dozen or so that have been gathering dust in my record cabinet. (Yes, I have a record cabinet.)

©1973 Apple Records

It's easy to forget what a prize these vinyl beauties are. The work that went into designing the covers, many of which are legendary unto themselves. And the inclusion of the lyrics, especially helpful when there's an artist who's difficult to understand.

I remember sitting in my bedroom as a teen, headphones on, poring over the album cover as I listened to a record for the first (or fifteenth) time.

So when Mr. Ginley left Sunday afternoon to spend time with this brothers, I got out an album I hadn't listened to in quite some time.

It was Ringo Starr's third solo album, post-Beatles, released in 1973, entitled Ringo. My brother gave it to me as a gift for my birthday(?) or Christmas(?). The record went Gold in the U.K. and Platinum in the U.S.

As I was washing dishes, I let Ringo take me back, singing along to lyrics I'd not heard in quite awhile.

I'd forgotten all of these things...

• How involved the other three former Beatles were on this record. There were songs written by all the previous mop-tops, with John, Paul and George also performing various singing bits with Ringo.

• About the kazoo on "You're Sixteen"

• That Ringo was only 32 (and all he wanted to do was boogaloo). Wow, at 32 the guy had been drumming for this legendary rock band and was now making a solo go of it (with a little help from his friends).

• Step Lightly, a lilting tune that included a little tap dancing.

• The album-sized booklet that was enclosed with the record featuring Klaus Voorman's illustrations for each song, along with the lyrics. (Tim Bruckner did the painting featured on the album cover.)

Isn't it grand when you rediscover something you've had all along? It was a good day, indeed.