*** Ringo Starr

I WANNA BE SANTA CLAUS

(Mercury)

It's goofy, sentimental, bubblegummy, and self-referential -- in other words, this is everything a Ringo Starr Christmas album should be. Beatles-obsessed producer Mark Hudson and his support cast return from last year's Vertical Man, but the looser feel and higher spirits make this a better album. The opener, "Come On Christmas," ranks as Starr's catchiest song since "Back Off Boogaloo," whose drum riff is lifted for "The Little Drummer Boy." The idea of Ringo doing that song is so perfect that it hardly matters whether this is a good version, but it is. The Beatles are alluded to all over the place, with "Pax Um Biscum" making the most blatant Fab Four homage since "Free As a Bird." Originally a short ditty on a Beatles Christmas single, "Christmas Time Is Here Again" is built into a full song through Ringo's ad-libs. He remains no slouch as a drummer (and the drums are always turned up loud), but the focus here is on Ringo the personality. His name gets inserted into "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" after he flubs a lyric, and the words "peace and love" turn up without irony in three different songs. His talents as a professional nice guy haven't been put to such good use in years.

-- Brett Milano