There are three Josh Ritter albums on the shelves - his 2nd Golden Age of Radio (2002), 3rd Hello Starling (2003) and 4thThe Animal Years (2006)
Looking at previous posts in this series 1998 -2002 was probably around the time that I hit peak Americana
Hello Starling is good but a bit smooth and The Animal Years has some of his greatest songs on it However it will always be The Golden Age, the first of his albums to be released nationally (on the Signature label) following on from his epoymous self-released debut, which I would go for first
It earned him comparisons with Nick Drake, Bob Dylan and Neil Young. I can't really see the first two but Mr Young maybe
Interesting facts.
- He is the first artist from Moscow to have featured in this series - that ir Moscow, Idaho.
- He has always enjoyed a large following in Ireland
- He was formerly married to fellow Americana artis Dawn Landes
- This may not be correct but I have it in my head that he lived in Barcelona for a while (got my Josh's mixed up it was Josh Rouse as Ernie kindly pointed out)
The two songs I've posted are a homage to small town America at a time when life was much simpler. Oh, and they namecheck Townes Van Zandt and Patsy Cline and the Grand Ole Opry for good measure
You may perhaps be confusing your Joshes. No idea whether Mr Ritter lived in Barcelona but Jodh Rouse lived in Valencia for quite a few years
ReplyDeleteYou are of course correct
DeleteA quick word about Moscow, Idaho. The town is home to the University of Idaho and just a short 8 miles from Washington State University. Both schools are in the middle of nowhere, and the student bodies are known to mingle often. It is no surprise they have reputations as among the biggest party schools in America. да (da)!
ReplyDeleteThought that was a fraternity thing at first(something which the Uk only knows from movies) ubtil I worked out it was Russian!
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