Pagan Davey - Josh Ritter Question

[ForeverAutumn]

I'm spinning an Uncut comp from April 2006 and it opens up with a Josh Ritter tune, Girl In The War. I like it...a lot.

Is this tune indicative of Ritter's sound? If it is, I need to get me some of this. Which CD would you recommend that I start with?

Thanks.

[Davey]

I'm spinning an Uncut comp from April 2006 and it opens up with a Josh Ritter tune, Girl In The War. I like it...a lot.

Is this tune indicative of Ritter's sound? If it is, I need to get me some of this. Which CD would you recommend that I start with?

Thanks.

That song opens his great Animal Years from last year (and also the EP for that song) and is indicative of at least one side of his style up to that point, and has great recording and production work by Brian Deck, who works with one of my other favorites in Califone. Did you ever get a copy of my Twilight comp? It was pretty popular around here for awhile and has a track from the one before that, Hello Starling, which is also very good. But Animal Years is probably the best, a bit more pop sounding with a lot of what made Simon and Garfunkle so well loved. Or maybe just Paul Simon. The new one has a much more rocking sound, combining bits of Dylan and Springsteen and Simon and others. Much more ragged sounding, although as Sloshy has pointed out, it does seem to be done for artistic reasons. Still, it is way too compressed. Love it anyway. He has kind of an epic song on each of his records, "Thin Blue Flame" on Animal Years, and "The Temptation of Adam" on this latest one, a surprisingly clever and poignant love song told from inside a missile silo, leading up to (the possibility) of WWIII. Kind of like an office romance in the extreme. Beautiful, and it is a mostly acoustic song which wouldn't be out of place on that previous record.

You can probably find used copies for cheap, but not as much anymore since he's gotten a lot of pr from this latest big label Sony release.

[Davey]

Did you ever get a copy of my Twilight comp? It was pretty popular around here for awhile and has a track from the one before that, Hello Starling, which is also very good.

Huh? Just listened to that Twilight comp and there's no Josh Ritter anywhere on there. Must've been one of those senior moments that Swish "Gramps" Baby is always talking about! Don't think he's made it to any of my comps until the new Holiday Mixer ... so gave him two slots on there. Gotta say, that Twilight comp still stands up pretty well without any Josh Ritter, though :)

http://members.mailaka.net/davey/twilight600.jpg