Former drummer of The Beatles Ringo Starr has released a new EP ‘Zoom In’, a name inspired by the video conferencing platform Zoom. The EP aims to cheer people up during the Covid-19 pandemic using the technology of Zoom, the very same place where most work calls, classes and pub quizzes took place in the past year. ‘Zoom In’ features a variety of guest stars such as fellow former Beatles member Paul McCartney, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sheryl Crow and Lenny Kravitz.
Ringo Starr told Vulture how he’s been coping during the pandemic and why he decided to work on an EP: “Some days it’s a journey through hell in my home too. I have things I do to pass the time. Some days I’ll be down and moan to myself, Oh, I can’t go on tour. That’s a real positive thing to do, clearly. So I decided that I wasn’t going to do that anymore and get up and do stuff. I decided I wanted to make an EP. Not an album, just an EP with a few songs. I have a huge EP collection of my own. I love it because you can really get into a small amount of tracks, and that’s what the kids love now. They love EPs!”
‘Zoom In’ contains messages of peace, love and hope. The upbeat track ‘Here’s To The Nights’ focuses on friendship and the memories made from it, featuring the following lyrics: ‘Here’s to the nights we won’t remember/
With the friends we won’t forget’. Meanwhile in ‘Zoom In Zoom Out’, Starr reflects on connections between people using a clever pun with the video platform Zoom, saying: ‘Zoom in, together you can ‘spect it/ Zoom out, to see we’re all connected’.
Despite the EP’s overwhelmingly positive message, it has been met with mixed reviews. The Independent has given it one star, saying: “Starr has produced an overstuffed pillow of an EP that ends up sounding schmaltzy and smothering.” Whereas NME rated it three stars out of five, noting that “for all its flaws, this is a hard record to hate.”
Overall, it’s fair to say that Starr’s new EP will cheer fans up during these difficult times and encourage them to look at the bright side. Check out the Zoom-inspired music video for ‘Here’s To The Nights’ featuring guest vocals from Joe Walsh, FINNEAS, Ben Harper and more.
