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When\u00a0Ringo Starr<\/a>\u00a0released\u00a0Look Up<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in early 2025, it marked his return after a 55-year hiatus to the country music genre he first navigated during\u00a0the Beatles<\/a>‘\u00a0inaugural years. From Carl Perkins covers to his\u00a0affable take on\u00a0Buck Owens’ “Act Naturally” to his second solo album from 1970,\u00a0Beaucoups of Blues<\/a><\/em>, a collection of country songs written specifically for Starr and recorded in Nashville, his draw to the music has been natural.<\/p>\n Look Up<\/em> was recorded in Nashville and Los Angeles with producer T Bone Burnett, who wrote or cowrote all but two of the songs, and featured guest appearances from\u00a0Alison Krauss<\/a>, Larkin Poe\u00a0and Billy Strings. The result was Starr’s best album in more than half a century.<\/p>\n No wonder the pair has teamed up again for Starr’s 22nd album, Long Long Road<\/em>, which once again features assists from Strings and Molly Tuttle, as well as Sheryl Crow<\/a> and St. Vincent this time around. If\u00a0some of the immediate appeal isn’t as\u00a0noticeable in the\u00a0follow-up,\u00a0Starr remains\u00a0amiable as ever.<\/p>\n