With a little help from his friends

Let’s say a new record came out today. All four Beatles are on that record. That would be a big deal, wouldn’t it?

Let’s say some of their pals are on that new record. You might have heard of them. Klaus Voormann and Billy Preston and Harry Nilsson and Marc Bolan and Nicky Hopkins. The Band, too. That would be quite a big deal, wouldn’t it?

But when that new record came out 40 years ago this month, some lamented it for what it was not, rather than celebrating for what it was.

What it was not, was a new Beatles record. As 1973 came to a close, fans clung to the hope that such a thing might still be possible.

What it was, was this.

“Ringo,” the third solo LP by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr with a little help from his friends, holds up quite nicely all these years later.

It rose to No. 2 on the Billboard album chart, driven by three hit singles: “Photograph,” which Ringo wrote with George Harrison; “Oh My My,” a Ringo original; and “You’re Sixteen,” Ringo’s cover of the old Johnny Burnette song.

Yet the deep cuts had something for everyone seeking that next Beatles record.

“I’m The Greatest,” a whimsical look at fame written by John Lennon. It’s basically a Beatles track with all parties except Paul McCartney.

“Six O’Clock.” There’s Paul (and Linda), with a regret-filled love song written by them. It channels the Beatles and points the way toward Wings.

“Sunshine Life For Me (Sail Away Raymond),” written by George. It’s basically Ringo and George fronting The Band with David Bromberg. It sounds like an Irish folk song. Listen closer, consider The Band’s involvement, and you hear another nod to a Beatle’s American influences.

Back then, I had “You’re Sixteen” on a 45. I loved it. I was 16. Some symmetry there. When you flipped it over, you heard this on the B side.

“Devil Woman,” Ringo Starr, from “Ringo,” 1973. Also available digitally, of course.

On which Ringo, working without the rest of the Beatles, rocks out on a song he wrote with Vini Poncia. Which, as 1973 turned into 1974, was not necessarily what everyone wanted to hear. But I dug it then, and I dig it now.