Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	C–
The Essential Rock Discography	5/10
MusicHound	3/5
Rolling Stone	(not rated)
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

Sentimental Journey is the debut studio album by former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, released in 1970, as the band was splintering apart. Although Starr was the third member of the group to issue solo work (after George Harrison and John Lennon), Sentimental Journey is notable for being the first non-avant-garde studio album by a member of the band, in light of the experimental, soundtrack or live releases his aforementioned bandmates had already released. Paul McCartney's debut, McCartney, would follow three weeks after Sentimental Journey's release. Recording of the album was completed in early March 1970, with Sentimental Journey being rushed out a few weeks later to avoid clashing in the shops with the Beatles' impending final album Let It Be in May.

The idea for a solo album first came from the rest of the Beatles, who said that Starr should do a solo record, despite his minimal songwriting abilities, and later from his mother Elsie Starkey and step-dad Harry during one day at their Liverpool home. His mother said that Starr had good vocals. The plan was to create an album of standards that would reflect his mother's favourite songs, even asking them and other members of his family to choose the tracks. Starr engaged the services of Beatles producer George Martin to helm his solo debut, shortly after the Beatles' Abbey Road (1969) came out.

Starr had one song each arranged by different musicians, ranging from fellow-Beatle Paul McCartney, and Martin himself to Richard Perry,Quincy Jones, The Bee Gees Maurice Gibb, Hamburg-pal Klaus Voormann, and Elmer Bernstein among others, as Starr thought the album would have a flavour to it. Author Bill Harry states that on 1 October 1969, Starr asked Count Basie to write an arrangement score for "Night and Day"; the finished score arrived to Starr on 6 October. However, Chico O'Farrill received credit for the arrangement.

...
Wikipedia