Ringo Starr’s Long Long Road, out April 24, is his second album with T Bone Burnett and his third foray into country and Americana after 1970’s Beaucoups of Blues and 2025’s Look Up. The album was made in Nashville and Los Angeles with a core band called The Texans, and it features Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow, St. Vincent, Molly Tuttle, and Sarah Jarosz as guests.

That guest list is doing a lot of work. Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle represent bluegrass and acoustic Americana. Sheryl Crow brings a classic rock-country credibility. St. Vincent’s presence is the most interesting signal, suggesting the record is willing to go somewhere more adventurous than the standard legacy country album would go.

The lead single “It’s Been Too Long,” featuring Tuttle and Jarosz, establishes the record’s warmth and the quality of the guest selection. The second single “Choose Love” came out today. One track is a cover of “I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore,” co-written by Carl Perkins and previously recorded by The Beatles, which adds a particular layer of resonance.

Ringo at 84 making a country album with T Bone Burnett is either late-career decoration or genuine creative investment, and the collaborator choices suggest the latter. T Bone doesn’t work with people who aren’t serious. The Texans, who include pedal steel player Paul Franklin, guitarist Colin Linden, and others with deep roots music credentials, are not a session band assembled for the occasion. They’re a statement of purpose.

Long Long Road is out April 24 on Universal Music Enterprises.