Golden Age of Radio

Josh Ritter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 14, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Self Released
• ASIN: B0025NNAAC
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,239 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Come and Find Me

2. Me & Jiggs

3. You ve Got the Moon

4. Lawrence, KS

5. Anne

6. Roll On

7. Leaving

8. Other Side

9. Harrisburg

10. Drive Away

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Come and Find Me (solo acoustic)

2. Me & Jiggs (solo acoustic)

3. You've Got the Moon (solo acoustic)

4. Lawrence, KS (solo acoustic)

5. Anne (solo acoustic)

6. Roll On (solo acoustic)

7. Leaving (solo acoustic)

8. Other Side (solo acoustic)

9. Harrisburg (solo acoustic)

10. Drive Away (solo acoustic)

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive "Golden Age of Radio" Release, April 30, 2009

By 

Thomas Blakiston (Saint Paul, MN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Golden Age of Radio (Audio CD)

This is the fourth iteration (release) of this album, first self-released on Hungry Ear Records in 2000, re-released on Signature Sounds in 2002, again in 2004 with a bonus disc, and now self-released in 2009 with a bonus disc that wraps all releases together into one tidy volume.

The first 2009 disc is the same as the 2002 and 2004 releases, whereas the second 2009 disc contains everything from the 2004 bonus disc (except the Leonard Cohen "Chelsea Hotel #2" cover), plus:
a) "A Country Song": the only major difference between the Hungry Ear 2000 release and all subsequent: a fast-paced acoustic version of the title track "Golden Age of Radio"
b) "Don't Wake Juniper": an unreleased B-side.

The highlight of disc two, and the reason this is worth purchasing if you already have one of the other releases, is Ritter's acoustic rendition of the entire album, recorded in 2008. Some terrific versions on there, namely "Golden Age of Radio".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Wireless Wonderment, November 7, 2009

By 

Tim Brough "author and music buff" (Springfield, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Golden Age of Radio (Audio CD)

Maybe there was a time when radio would have picked up on a man like Josh Ritter. Perhaps the early seventies, when you could scan the dial and find the likes of James Taylor or Gordon Lightfoot. But in 2009, only National Public Radio or a dedicated folkie type of show would be picking the good stuff off of Ritter's "Golden Age Of Radio." As it is, I wound up discovering him at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival, where he and his band delivered a high energy show that blended the best of his singer-songwriter sensibility with a harder edge that bordered on Springsteen.

"Golden Age" is a more homey, lo-fi type of record, mining both the singer-songwriter and Americana storytelling veins. Ritter has something of a low-tenor that isn't the best singing voice, but as he sings that he's sitting on the porch and pouring his heart out to Townes Van Sandt, you can feel he's got his heart in the write place. The arrangements are, for the most part, spartan. An accordion accents "Lawrence Kansas" while "Harrisburg" has little more than a deep bass violin (I think) underneath it to accent the despairing lyrics. When Ritter lets his band kick in ("Me and Jiggs," the title track), he starts to show the flair that I witnessed in his live shows.

Given that "Golden Age Of Radio" was initially released in 2002, when Ritter was just entering his 20's, he was still working out the earnestness of the folk music he'd just discovered. This is serious stuff, and quite good; a young man on the brink of unearthing his greatest strengths. Fans of Iron and Wine or Conor Oberst will enjoy this the most.

5.0 out of 5 stars bonus acoustic songs are amazing, December 19, 2009

By 

B. F. Wong - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Golden Age of Radio (Audio CD)

The bonus acoustic songs are amazing, revealing dimensions not heard in the terrific originals, which is surprising because they are sonically sparser. I hope Josh Ritter does the same with The Animal Years. The two music videos on the bonus disc are pedestrian.

If you don't know these songs, listen to them at his website (for some reason Amazon editors deleted the link) and you'll end up buying them because they are so good.