Rating: 3 / 5 stars

At 77 years of age, the fact that former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr is still releasing new music is certainly an achievement to admire.

In fact, this album titled “Give More Love” is the 19th of his solo career.

Self-producing the album, Starr also “gets by with a little help from his friends,” which include former bandmate Paul McCartney as well as famous members from Starr’s All-Starr Band like Peter Frampton and Joe Walsh, among others.

The album begins with a track titled, “We’re on the Road Again,” which starts off the party with an upbeat, driving with the windows down kind of vibe. Guest guitarist Steve Lukather helps hold the track together with his exceptional guitar work.

Next up, “Show Me the Way” slows things down with a much more ballad-focused song that showcases more exceptional guitar work, this time courtesy of the aforementioned Peter Frampton.

The tempo picks back up again with the fun “Laughable,” which continues the album’s streak of quality instrumentation.

In the cleanup spot, “Speed of Sound” mimics the same central theme of first few songs, but returns to more of a traditional rock sound than the first two tracks.

The middle track, “Standing Still,” is able to makes its case as one of the better songs on the album thanks in part to the smooth slide guitar work of Greg Leisz as well as some great lyrics by Starr: “There’s nothing that can’t be done, somebody has to go live your life, and you’re the only one.”

As the second half of the album begins, Starr and company mix things up a bit with “King of the Kingdom,” which incorporates the sounds of keyboards, saxophone and subtle WAH-pedal guitar effect, which alters the tone to mimic a human voice saying “wah-wah.”

The small bits of creativity continue in very full-sounding “Electricity,” which sees Starr tamper with some vocal effects.

Perhaps the album’s biggest standout genre wise comes down the home stretch of the album with the very country sounding, “So Wrong for So Long.” This track is also reminiscent of  Starr’s earlier work, particularly that on 1970’s “Beaucoups of Blues.”

Starr goes even more old school on the next song, “Shake It Up,” which sounds like it was pulled straight from a 1950’s jukebox.

Wrapping up the album is none other than the title track “Give More Love”.

Sometimes artists save the best for the last, and that is certainly the case with this song, as it definitely stands out as one of, if not the strongest track the album has to offer with its strong instrumentation and message.

While it is safe to say this album may not rival the creative masterpieces Starr was a part of over a half century ago with the Beatles, that is no major knock against this album. As was mentioned earlier, just the fact that Starr is still putting out music at his age is enough to admire.

As for the album itself, it keeps decent flow throughout while changing the pace just enough that it does not become boring or repetitive. Perhaps the album’s biggest accomplishment is the overall easy listening atmosphere it creates, which can attract new listeners as well as longtime fans.