Customer Reviews

Hello Starling

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Josh Ritter's second set builds so well upon his incredible first CD that it really is beyond the expectation of excellence. Opening in concert for Joan Baez who recorded "Wings" on her wonderful new "Dark Chords on a Big Guitar" CD, Ritter is a solid hit in Ireland, while remaining a critical darling and growing cult figure here in the U.S. Recorded on Curtis Mayfield's old recording equipment in a converted farmhouse in France, each track on this set glows. The opener "Bright Smile" is a sweet lovely track that Nick Drake's spirit could be humming. "Kathleen" is a classic track about a guy who sits on the sidelines at the dance waiting for the opportunity to drive a girl home. "You Don't Make It Easy Babe" has a lovely Dylanesque melody with Ritter's warm vocals. "Man Burning" is a rocker, "I've burned everybody who had a hand to lend." "Rainslicker" is so lovely and gentle, "Your eyes were so patient and calm, as green as the grass that might grow on the 23rd Psalm." Playing Josh's version of "Wings" next to Joan Baez's is an amazing study in excellence. It's an amazing tune as Josh references his Idaho roots, "We rode to Coeur d'Alene." "I'd rather be the one who loves than to be loved and never even know," Josh sings on the pulsing rocker "Snow Is Gone." "Bone of Song" is a beautiful melody with Josh's haunting lyric, "Lucky are you who finds me in the wilderness, I am the only unquiet ghost that does not seek rest." The CD concludes with another endearing track, "The Bad Actress." For those who enjoy acoustic music, Josh Ritter is one of the most amazing new artists to come along this century! This is a classic set that will be played and played for years to come. Best of the year quality. Enjoy!

When I heard the opening lines of "Kathleen" (all the other girls here are stars- you are the northern lights) I fell in love with Josh Ritter's lyricism as well as his voice. I bought the album and was happy to find that it was all brilliant. From his opening song "bright smile" to the last "the bad actress" I was enthralled by his poetic lines and ability to morph from love songs to songs that are clearly reminescent of Dylan. An absolute must have.

I felt compelled to add my two-cents even though it echoes a lot of what has been said already. First, I'll start with the music: sometimes mellow, sometimes rocking, and sometimes in that in-between "listen to it anytime" vein. The sound and tightness of the music really struck me. Shades of Dylan, the Byrds, The Wallflowers come through loud and clear. Next, the lyrics: Witty, flowing and at times hilarious, profound and sad. Great stories and feelings delivered very concisely. Finally, the phrasing: It's that little something extra in the WAY he sings some phrases that push this album over the top for me. Every verse is not the same and there is a freshness with each line. There is Sinatra and Dylan in the liberties he takes and it makes for some great singing along. Hope you buy this and enjoy it as much as I am.

The songs on this album are a motley flock of birds, but each one has an energetic grace that marks each as a creature of Ritter's aviary. The lyrical quality displayed on "Golden Age of Radio" has taken flight on this new album in combination with some solid backup and the emergence of a distinctive Ritter sound. Granted, no recording can capture Ritter's singular grin or the visible warmth he pours into live performances, but the recording setting for this album lends an intimacy and immediacy to the sound that allows Ritter the full range of his expression, from the understated laughter around lines like "that new thing you've got, I've got no clue what it's for" in "You Don't Make it Easy" to the passionate murmuring of "At last we saw some people" in the troubling and tearjerking "Wings," to the soft-spoken, unselfconscious grace of the gem of this collection, "Bone of Song." With imagery that unpretentiously recalls Yeats and tunes that ride as easily as a favourite old Johnny Cash, Ritter's work has already hit the Irish airwaves running and (with Joan Baez' cover of "Wings") is destined to become a folk-circuit favourite.

Josh Ritter: Hello Starling
By Joan Anderman, Globe Staff, 9/12/2003

It should surprise no one that Josh Ritter's second CD firmly establishes him as a songwriter of uncommon integrity and rare gifts. His 2000 debut, "The Golden Age of Radio," brimmed with disarming, literate narratives that earned the Idaho-born Boston resident an opening slot for Bob Dylan and comparisons to Johnny Cash and Townes Van Zandt. "Hello Starling," out this week, is a similarly understated gem. Ritter ups the ante with quietly lush arrangements that dangle like earth-toned ornaments around his plaintive drawl and bittersweet chord changes. Timeless isn't a word to be tossed around lightly, but the Dylanesque "You Don't Make It Easy," mystical, graceful "Bone of Song," and the dark ballad "Wings" -- which Joan Baez covers on her just-released new album -- are crafted with the sort of simple, burnished depth that transcends eras and turns 27-year-old tunesmiths into folk heroes. Ritter has a way with a winsome pop melody, too. "California" is a gauzy amble, seductive as a sunny stretch of coastline, while "Man Burning" and "Snow Is Gone" lope along with a graceful, alt-country effervescence reminiscent of Whiskeytown. Recorded in a converted dairy barn in the French countryside on vintage equipment -- the better to capture a far-flung sense of place and time -- this collection hasn't a weak link in it.

Josh Ritter's amazing talent should not go unnoticed for long here in the states as he's such a rising star in Ireland/UK that it won't be long before everyone knows his name. Very reminincent of early Springsteen with his unperfect but endearing voice, his raw passion, and superb song writing this guy is going far!

I dare anyone to listen to "Kathleen" and not be humming before the end of the song and then replaying it to learn all the words. The song promises to stay in your head and heart long after you've listend to the CD!

One of the best singer/songwriters in a very long time! If you get a chance to see him perform live don't walk but RUN to stand in line to see him....you won't be sorry!

I like Josh Ritter's voice, I like the tunes he crafts, I like the intelligence and poetry of his lyrics, I like the way he assembles the sounds on this album. I like the delicate yet robust production. There are jangly songs and sparse, quiet songs; there's the thought provoking and the humorous.
There's everything you could want from a record.
Little wonder that everybody's giving it five stars.

Hello Starling is the third album by Josh Ritter, a singer-songwriter and guitarist originally from Moscow ID who has been steadily building support since his first self-released album in 1999, particularly in his native States and in Ireland, where he initially toured supporting the Frames. For this album, Dave Odlum from the Frames was enlisted as producer and the album was recorded over a fortnight in February 2002 in a converted dairy barn near Angers in France (also used by Dave Odlum for an EP with Gemma Hayes in 2001), and with Josh's touring band augmented by Dave Odlum helping out on guitar and mandolin.
As a teenager, Josh Ritter had been inspired by discovering Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash playing together on the Nashville Skyline album, and has also acknowledged Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen and Gillian Welch among his influences (there is a nod to Townes Van Zandt on this album's Kathleen, also the title of one of his songs). He studied American History through narrative music at college, spending six months in Scotland at the School of Scottish Folk Studies, and also made a study of American religious music, American Civil War songs and late 19th century popular ballads, parlour songs and cowboy songs.
Although he has found his own voice and a clear natural style it is clear from his stripped back approach and the meticulously recorded instruments that he has learned well and deeply from all these guiding legacies and adaptations. This is an album that has been built to last and leaves one keenly anticipating the next.

This album is pure, raw folk music. Josh is an amazing poet with a simple, sweet voice. I guess he's huge over in Ireland/England... I'm sure he will soon be huge here in the US... I recommend jumping on his fan bandwagon now... And I noticed that Hitcooper.com chose him as one of their featured artists... Another proof that he's a true artist that's definitely worth listening to...

If you buy this record and don't like it after 3 listens, e-mail me @ tomholter@hotmail.com and I'll reimburse you.