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Channeling his inner Dylan
Josh Ritter’s newest conquers 2007
By Marty Sliva
Over the past two years, Josh Ritter has proven that he is one of America’s most talented poets.
In 2006, Josh Ritter released “The Animal Years,” an extremely personal album revolving around his opinion on the current trajectory of this country. It just so happened that it was also the best album of the year.
With songs like “Girl in the War” and “Thin Blue Flame,” Ritter lamented the state of the nation that he used to believe so strongly in. Emotionally crooning lines like, “If what’s loosed on earth will be loosed up on high / It’s a Hell of a Heaven we must go to when we die” left listeners in a much needed daze.
Flash forward one year, and Josh is back under the music spotlight. However, this time he has taken a decidedly different route. On his Web site, Josh wrote to his fans, “The air of gravitas around me was getting oppressive.” Ritter expressed his heavy side on “The Animal Years,” and now it was time to express a lighter side.
Enter “The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter.”
The album starts off about as well as any in recent memory. “To the Dogs or Whoever” immediately gives off the sensation of Bob Dylan at his prime. The sounds of acoustic guitars, organs and tambourines fill the background. The lyrics are peppered with historical and literary references twisted into whimsical phrases like “Was it Casey Jones or Casey at the Bat / Who died out of pride and got famous for that?”
“The Temptation of Adam” begins with a woodwind and flugelhorn melody that acts as Ritter’s “Once Upon a Time.” What follows is a whimsical tale of two lovers stationed in an underground missile silo during World War III. Ritter’s irony and dark humor take center stage as he compares the trials and tribulations of young love to the apocalypse.
Josh allows time for us to catch our breath by placing some amazing instrumental melodies throughout the course of the album. “Edge of the World” is a beautiful interlude that etches a soft acoustic guitar melody into the mind of all who hear it.
Over the past two years, Josh Ritter has proven that he is one of America’s most talented poets. He has complete mastery of language and annunciation, weaving his images with beautiful perfection.
“The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter” is right at the top of a very short list of the premier albums of 2007. Alongside Arcade Fire’s “Neon Bible” and Pink Martini’s, “Hey Eugene!” it represents one of the crowning achievements in music over the course of the past year.
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