Stop and Smell the Roses

Background and recording

While visiting John Lennon at his Dakota apartment, Starr was given a demo of "Life Begins at 40" by Lennon. Lennon wrote the song specifically for Starr, and wanted him to record it for his next album. Soon after meeting soon-to-be second wife Barbara Bach on the film set of Caveman in early 1980, Ringo Starr met fellow former-Beatle Paul McCartney, and his wife, Linda, at a hotel while they had earlier visited the 33rd annual Cannes Film Festival, on 16 May. Starr asked McCartney whether he would like to play on and possibly produce Starr's next album, to which McCartney agreed. Starr started sessions in France for a new album, at this point titled Can't Fight Lightning, on 11 July, at Super Bear Studios, lasting until 21 July. With Wings then in limbo and McCartney II just released, McCartney booked time with Starr to record three songs: "Private Property" and "Attention" (both McCartney originals) plus a cover of "Sure to Fall". They also recorded the song "You Can't Fight Lightning", which Starr wrote after he and Bach were nearly struck by lightning. Following on from a brief holiday, Starr and Bach flew to Los Angeles on 27 July. Recording moved to Devonshire Sound Studio in Hollywood on 11 August.

Next Stephen Stills got involved, writing "You've Got a Nice Way" for Starr and producing its recording that August. On 4 September the recording session moved again, this time to Cherokee Studios. Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones was keen to help out and brought with him the song "Dead Giveaway" on 23 September, which they co-produced. Two days later on the 25th, the pair taped the track "Brandy". Starr recorded alone on 27 September. On 6 November Starr and Wood demoed the song "I Don't Believe You". Long-time friend Harry Nilsson was next on Starr's checklist, presenting him with "Drumming Is My Madness" as well as the album's title track, both of which were recorded in early November, with early December sessions completing the work of the cork. Before returning home to England, Starr planned for another session to be held at the studio on 14 January. After working with McCartney, Starr also felt it appropriate to extend the invitation to his two other band mates in The Beatles; Upon his return to his Tittenhurst Park residence on 10 November, Starr phoned George Harrison, inviting him to appear on the album. When Starr arrived at Harrison's Friar Park estate on 19 November, Harrison presented him with "Wrack My Brain", which he had composed for Starr.

"You Belong to Me", another cover from the past, was recorded, with Harrison producing. Starr also recorded a version of "All Those Years Ago", but Starr told Harrison the vocal was too high for his range and he didn't like the words. Lennon was the last of the former-Beatles that Starr had yet to visit and – fresh from his musical re-awakening, having just released Double Fantasy – Lennon was eager to meet with Starr. On 26 November, in New York City, Lennon handed Starr the demos for "Nobody Told Me". With Lennon producing, they set a date, the one Starr had originally booked, for 14 January 1981 to record the song. Starr and Bach flew from New York to Los Angeles, on 28 November. Back in Hollywood two days later, Starr, Nilsson and engineer Paul Travis listened to playbacks of the July sessions at Compass Point Studios. On 1 December, Starr laid down vocals for "You Can't Fight Lightning". For the next two days, Starr and Jarvis mixed the album. On 4 December, Starr added vocals to a re-make of "Back Off Boogaloo". The next day Starr flew to the Bahamas to be with Bach. On 8 December, Lennon was gunned down outside The Dakota by Mark David Chapman. After a period of mourning, Starr returned to the studio on 14 January 1981. Harrison took the "All Those Years Ago" track, changed some of the lyrics and, with overdubs by Paul and Linda McCartney, it was released as a tribute to Lennon.

Starr, with Wood recorded for 3 days from the 14th, at Cherokee Studios, with further final batch of sessions taking place from 20 January until 12 February. During this time, the tracks "Dead Giveaway", "Wake Up", "Brandy", "You Belong to Me" and "Wrack My Brain" were finished. On 13 February, final mixes of the tracks were made at Compass Point Studios and ten tracks were chosen for release on the album.

Release and aftermath

In April 1981, Starr left record label Portrait due to a disagreement with its distributor, CBS, who was due to release the Can't Fight Lightning version of the album. Starr would eventually sign to RCA Records (and a subsidiary called Boardwalk in the US), for a multi-album deal. At the Egham Aerodrome in Surrey, on 16 and 17 September, Starr filmed promo videos for the tracks "Wrack My Brain" and "Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses", both of which were directed by Keef & Co. On 18 September interior filming in London took place for "Wrack My Brain". The next day the promo for was edited for airing on TV. Over a month later, from 26 October until 12 December, Starr gave several interviews to help promote the album. Two days later, he appeared in a radio interview for WBEN, again, to promote the album. Harrison's "Wrack My Brain", backed with "Drumming Is My Madness", was the first single, released on 27 October, the same day as the album in the US by Boardwalk. In the UK, the single was released on 13 November by RCA. While it missed the UK charts, it managed to give Starr his final US Top 40 hit, reaching number 38.

With a re-sequenced running order and design change, the album was rechristened Stop and Smell the Roses, after Nilsson's donated song. The album was released in the UK on 20 November. Another radio interview to promote the album was held on 2 December, by Capitol Radio in Los Angeles. Stop and Smell the Roses reached no further than number 98 in the US. On 31 December, the HMV store in London announced that despite the busy Christmas period, only 30 copies of the album had been sold with the store. On 13 January 1982, McCartney's "Private Property" was released as the second single, backed with "Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses", in the US, but failed to chart anywhere. Nonplussed, RCA dropped Starr in 1982. For the first time in his career, Starr was out of a recording contract—–and this time, no major UK or US company would be willing to sign him. On 12 December 1982, the "Wrack My Brain" promo aired on Parkinson. Stop and Smell the Roses was reissued on CD, on the same day as Old Wave, in the US by The Right Stuff on 22 August 1994 with bonus tracks. "Wrack My Brain" was re-released, this time on red vinyl, with "Private Property" as the B-side, on The Right Stuff on 1 November. A promotional CD was released in 1994 by Capitol, featuring three songs from both Old Wave (1983) and Stop and Smell the Roses.

Track listing

1. "Private Property" (Paul McCartney) – 2:44
2. Produced by Paul McCartney
3. features Paul McCartney on bass and piano, as well as backing vocals with Linda McCartney, Laurence Juber on guitar, Howie Casey on saxophone, and Lloyd Green on pedal steel guitar
4. "Wrack My Brain" (George Harrison) – 2:21
5. Produced by George Harrison
6. features Harrison on guitar and backing vocals and Ray Cooper on piano, percussion and backing vocals, Herbie Flowers on bass and tuba, Al Kooper on piano and guitar
7. "Drumming Is My Madness" (Harry Nilsson) – 3:29
8. Produced by Harry Nilsson
9. "Attention" (McCartney) – 3:20
10. Produced by McCartney
11. features Paul McCartney on bass and piano, as well as backing vocals with Linda McCartney, Juber on guitar, Casey on saxophone, and Green on pedal steel guitar
12. "Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses" (Nilsson, Richard Starkey) – 3:08
13. Produced by Nilsson

6. "Dead Giveaway" (Starkey, Ronnie Wood) – 4:28
7. Produced by Wood and Ringo Starr
8. features Wood on guitars, acoustic bass, saxophone, backing, vocals, Wilton Felder on bass, Joe Sample on piano, Greg Mathison on piano
9. "You Belong to Me" (Pee Wee King/Redd Stewart/Chilton Price) – 2:09
10. Produced by Harrison
11. features Harrison on guitar and backing vocals and Ray Cooper on piano, percussion and backing vocals, Flowers on bass and tuba, Kooper on piano and guitar
12. "Sure to Fall" (Carl Perkins, Quinton Claunch, William Cantrell) – 3:42
13. Produced by McCartney
14. features Paul McCartney on bass and piano, as well as backing vocals with Linda McCartney, Juber on guitar, Casey on saxophone, and Green on pedal steel guitar
15. "You've Got a Nice Way" (Stephen Stills, Michael Stergis) – 3:33
16. Produced by Stills
17. features Stills on lead guitar, Stergis on rhythm guitar, Mike Finnigan on piano and organ, and Harley Thompson on bass
18. "Back Off Boogaloo" (Starkey) – 3:16
19. Produced by Nilsson
20. includes the opening guitar riff from "It Don't Come Easy" as an introduction
21. features Nilsson on backing vocals

11. "Wake Up" (Starkey) – 3:45
12. Produced by Stills
13. features Stills on lead guitar, Stergis on rhythm guitar, Finnigan on piano and organ, and Thompson on bass
14. "Red and Black Blues" (Lane Tietgen) – 3:20
15. Produced by Stills
16. features Stills on lead guitar, Stergis on rhythm guitar, Finnigan on piano and organ, and Thompson on bass
17. "Brandy" (Joseph B. Jefferson, Charles B. Simmons) – 4:08
18. Produced by Wood and Starr
19. features Wood on guitars, acoustic bass, saxophone, backing, vocals, Felder on bass, Joe Sample on piano, Jeff Baxter on guitar
20. "Stop and Take the Time to Smell the Roses" (Original Vocal Version) (Nilsson, Starkey) – 3:09
21. Produced by Nilsson
22. "You Can't Fight Lightning" (Starkey) – 5:41
23. Produced by Paul McCartney
24. features Starr on guitar, Paul McCartney on drums, Barbara Bach on maracas, and Linda McCartney among others singing backing vocals
25. "Hand Gun Promos" – 2:03

Personnel