Animal Years

Josh Ritter

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 20, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: V2 North America
• ASIN: B000EOTV7U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,256 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Here At The Right Time

2. Thin Blue Flame

3. Best For The Best

4. Good Man

5. One More Mouth

6. In The Dark

7. Idaho

8. Lillian, Egypt

9. Monster Ballads

10. Wolves

11. Girl In The War

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It can be a dangerous proposition when an artist decides to challenge himself. Ambition means precious little without the talent to back it up. Idaho's Josh Ritter needn't worry: he's willed himself to great heights on The Animal Years, his fourth full-length and first for a major label. By combining his mysterious, knotty lyrics with straightforward melodies, nuanced, sensitive arrangements, and an unassuming vocal style, he's hit upon a spellbinding formula that confidently stretches the boundaries of folk music. Perhaps his most inspired move was in hiring producer Brian Deck, who's helped artists as diverse as Modest Mouse and Iron & Wine take great artistic leaps. Deck gives Ritter a huge, immediate, but not overwhelming presence, and he adds just the right touches--a gentle mandolin, an ominous piano, a swirling organ, marching drums--at just the right times. The album's centerpiece is the fire-and-brimstone "Thin Blue Flame," a slowly building, nearly 10-minute epic with a simple two-chord motif and portentous, surreal lyrical flurries. Throughout the album, Ritter's complex thoughts and observations about himself and the world at large--thick with literary references and religious imagery--seem sagely inconclusive; he revels in life's shades of gray, content to vividly describe what he sees and feels without hope or pessimism. Tender and reflective, haunting and unnerving, profound and unfathomable, The Animal Years is a consistently compelling, finely crafted work. --Marc Greilsamer

Product Description

The 29-year old Idaho native returns with his stunning new album. Following the independent release of "The Golden Age Of Radio" (2002) and "Hello Starling" (2003), Ritter was championed by critics in publications ranging from the NY Times to Details. On this, his V2 debut, Josh more than lives up to the buzz. "As a storyteller, Ritter is matched only by his lofty influences" - Pitchfork. "He approaches songwriting and performing with humility, respect, and unforced and unaffected honesty" - No Depression.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Josh gets serious, April 12, 2006

By	A. Butterfield (UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You can't blame Josh Ritter for getting to this point in his career and feeling some kind of need to make a statement, get a bit more serious as an artist, join the ranks. To me it feels very much like `The Animal Years' (a reference to his early days as a musician, apparently) is Josh saying, okay, here I am, I'm as good as anyone else and I claim my place. The animal years are over.
Many fans will have watched Josh's music progress from his charming, and at times humorous first album, through `Golden Age of Radio' and the breakthrough `Hello Starling'. Part of the charm at the start was that he didn't appear to be taking himself too seriously. Now he is.
But that's okay if you can pull it off without sounding pompous or silly, and of course he does pull it off. I'm not sure I particularly enjoy all nine minutes odd of `Thin Blue Flame', but I've sat with the lyrics and it's brilliantly written. Along with the more tuneful `In the Dark' `Thin Blue Flame' is the unavoidable comment on today's bad, bad world, but one is direct and uncompromising, the other light and melodic, beautiful even.
Ritter's writing is changing: the themes here are identifiable but not so easy to access as before. You have to stop and figure out what these songs are really about, you have to interpret the meaning.
Other things are changing too. Josh sounded, or tried to sound gruff like Dylan on his first record. Now he's almost borrowing Ryan Adams' `other voice' and often sings high, sweet and open, like on the plaintive `Idaho' or `One More Mouth'. This guy can sing.
`Thin Blue Flame' manages not to unbalance the album luckily. In fact, there's a nice balance between `Hello starling' type songs that have a driving rhythm, lighter songs like `Good Man' and sparse, quiet songs like `Idaho'.
I'm not a huge fan of songs like `Lillian', which I find a bit noisy and monotonous. But there are some cracking songs, some that really hit the spot. `Good Man' is brilliantly put together, catchy, intricate, unusual. `Monster Ballads' is spacious and deliberate, atmospheric, iconic. There are at least two others that seem destined to become all-time favourites.
So I can't help giving this the full five stars. It's very good. I just wonder though whether I don't LIKE those early albums just a little more. Time will tell.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Generation's Greatest Songwriter, April 11, 2006

By	irishcornboy (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews

When the market is flooded with sensitive male singer/songwriters at the moment, how does one find room for one more? Easy, when one of them writes music as timeless, classic and important as Josh's. Mr. Ritter writes beautifully crafted songs; scattered with poetic lyricism and visual imagery that imbeds into your psyche long after the disc has ended. Josh is one of those special singer/songwriters that has slowly built more ground with each new release and quietly he has become of this generation's greatest songwriters. And even though this is only Josh's fourth release, it promises and solidifies his place in history. An equal balance of folk and rock, political and personal, upbeat and low. Drawing on inspiration from Dante to Mark Twain. Josh, band and producer Brian Deck (Iron & Wine, Wheat, Modest Mouse) have created a classic, timeless sounding, American singer/songwriter record. Yet, it also sounds like very much a band, in production and musical scope. With each listen you discover something unique and new. The subtle little sounds Mr. Deck weaves in and out of the songs showcases the man's talent as producer. Strong imagery has always been a major plus in Josh's music. On this disc he's pushed himself into the category of Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen and John Prine (all who are influences on Josh). I doubt anyone will top this disc on my year end poll.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sorry Mr. King he is no Dylan but well worth hearing, November 7, 2007

By	McBeth "Solidly Eclectic" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

I heard about Josh Ritter in a newspaper article telling us that Stephen King was promoting Ritter's music and calling him the Bob Dylan for today. Josh has been around a while and has proven quite popular in Ireland so I checked him out on YouTube. I liked what I heard and bought this and a previous recording. Both recordings are hampered by rather poor quality reproduction. Some tunes sound as if they were recorded in a basement. So why did I give it four stars? Because it is not the musicality that counts here but rather the poetry which is imaginative and paints a vivid picture. The first tune on this disc, "I Have a Girl in the War" is indeed a Dylan poem for today. It made me stop and realize that this is the first war where we have female soldiers dying in the field of battle. Where husbands and lovers worry and wait for their woman/girl to come home. It is a very moving piece. Good poetry and Josh is blessed with a very good singing voice. Now what he needs is a good production company behind him to produce a better quality product. That said, it is well worth the price--buy it, you'll enjoy!