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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Josh gets serious, 1 April 2006
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 to 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.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Monster Ballads, 15 Mar 2006
I came across Josh at an open mic in Boston MA, after the release of his first album and have loved his live performances and recordings since. The Animal Years is a great title for this album as Josh has described the intensive touring as living like an animal. I saw him in December 2004 in New York and worried that he was totally burnt out and started to wonder how he would use his rest period to recharge and build on his great strengths to move to the next level without sacrificing what we all love about him.
I should not have worried. The songs here are wonderful and are beautifully produced and arranged. Of course I look forward to seeing what he does with them live where Josh's charm and humility and superb musicianship bring a whole new dimension to his music.
I had heard some of them performed by Josh in his Brooklyn show last July and it is great to hear them produced more fully. I have little to say about the great Thin Blue Flame as I have been listening to the download for months now. What I love about this album is how Josh has incorporated that more experimental sound and style with songs that develop organically from his earlier styles but take them to a new level. The wit and poetry of his songwriting is as strong as ever and it is great how Sam's keyboard playing is given a chance to shine through.
My favorite tracks as of now are Monster Ballads and Good Man, but the depth and beauty of Josh's writing is such that these preferences will no doubt shift around as the whole album weaves its way into my life as his others have done.
I got this shipped to me in the States from Ireland on its first day of release. How pleased I am! Thank you Josh for another wonderful album. And incidentally, the packaging and artwork is superb.
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best yet from one of the best songwriters working today, 14 Mar 2006
The Animal Years is a superb album, consistent throughout at the very highest level, moving from one future classic to another, revealing Ritter's gift for superb lyrics, music that respects the best American traditions but is entirely original and a subtle, restrained musicianship from the entire ensemble that few can rival on the current scene. As fine as his earlier work is, this album is his best. Essential!
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