Reviews
Josh Ritter
The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
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Add to del.ico.us.Review Date: 2007-11-04
Josh Ritter garners a lot of comparisons to Bob Dylan; whether or not this is a positive depends on the reviewer's intentions, I suppose. Mentions of musical legends in record reviews can either be a admiring nod towards present and future, or a stinging dismissal of playing too closely to ones personal idols. In looking at past reviews of Ritter's work, I got the feeling that it runs both ways.
The songs on Ritter's fifth and latest release, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, are clearly crafted -- the instruments are placed with care, the pacing is well-thought out, and the lyrics are clever, with different lines standing out on each listen. This is a strength, obviously, but it's be called out as a weakness before as well -- too much calculation can equal not enough passion if things aren't balanced properly. Ritter did things a bit differently on the musical end this time, perhaps realizing that there might be something constructive in the barbs previously sent his way.
The Dylan comparisons become obvious pretty quickly on "To The Dogs or Whoever", where Ritter's vocals echo Bob's quite closely, and continues with the acoustic "The Temptation of Adam". It's not just 60s icons at work here though -- Ritter obviously holds some affection for pop masters from the 70s and 80s as well, and a lot of these tracks -- notably "Right Moves" and "Real Long Distance" -- echo their particular musicality. Other tracks, like album standout "Rumors", have an almost timeless feel. Ritter clearly sees no harm in writing a catchy tune, and it's hard to fault him for that particular affection because this album shows that he can do it quite well -- these tracks are appealing at that immediate level without sacrificing some thought in their execution.
On the whole, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter makes for a rewarding listen, and stands as one of this year's more solid releases. Ritter released five albums in eight years; he's got it down, what he does. But every once in a while, that old criticism comes back to mind. Once in a while, it'd be nice to see Ritter really lose himself in one of these songs and let go of the strings a little bit. It's hard, though, to argue that Ritter doesn't have passion for his music; it's clear from the attention he pays to the details on this record that he does. You just have to pay a little extra attention.
Score: 7.5
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- Terri