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Music CD - Josh Ritter: The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
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Music CD: The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter
Artist: Josh Ritter
List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $9.50
Your Save: $ 4.48 ( 32% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Sony Music Distribution
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0886971225624
Label: Sony Music Distribution
Manufacturer: Sony Music Distribution
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony Music Distribution
Release Date: 2007-08-21
Studio: Sony Music Distribution
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the best singer-songwriters of the last 20 years...
Comment: I must admit that I hadn't heard of Josh Ritter until last year, and I suspect that many people still don't know who he is. It's a shame, too, because Ritter is arguably one of the best songwriters to come around in a long, long time. He has been compared to both Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, and in my humble opinion, the comparison is justified. Ritter manages to weave complex songs that get richer with each listen, yet never sound pretentious or overwrought. His sound is clean and friendly, yet again, features more depth and complexity than one would think after one listen. I recommend this album very highly; his song "The Temptation of Adam" is probably one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in a long time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Buy this!!!
Comment: After hearing Rumors on a local independent radio station I rushed out and
bought this CD the same day. I am new to Josh Ritter but am quickly becoming a huge fan. This disk has not been taken out of the CD player since I purchased it, and several of my friends have also bought their own copy after hearing it. The range of musical styles on the CD is fantastic, you will not be sorry for giving this a try!!!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding
Comment: Sometimes you just luck out. I bought Josh Ritter's Historical Conquests on a whim, and was utterly stunned when I played it. I just couldn't stop playing it. I haven't stopped playing it. It's been three weeks, and I listen to it as much as possible. When I can't play it, I think about playing it. I walk around humming the melodies and whispering the choruses to myself, scaring the public and confounding my peers. This record is ruining my life. In the words of Will Ferrell playing James Lipton, I would say this record is "Scrumptulescent." It really is that good. Just think of making a cd with all your favourite songs ever. Now stop thinking of that and go buy this, because it's way better than your mixed tape, and your losing precious time.
The press keeps describing Josh Ritter as Dylan meets Springsteen, but I don't think he sounds like either of them, let alone both of them. To me, this record sounds like John Lennon meets Spoon meets Ben Folds. I guess I hear a little Dylan, but it's more in the delivery rather than the content. And being compared to Springsteen and Dylan isn't such a bad thing for a singer/ songwriter anyhow.
I don't know who this Josh Ritter is, or where he came from, but I hope he keeps making his music, and ruining my life, for a long time.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Hype Monster isn't ALWAYS wrong
Comment: I hate hype. It ruins everything. It creates false expectations and unfairly ups the ante, not giving the listener any room to breathe. If you don't like it, there's something "wrong" with you. So typically whenever the critics climb the towers to trumpet the greatness of the "album of the year" I remain a skeptic.
And then this album came along, and I have to give the blasted critics their due.
I think what makes this lyrically dense masterpiece work is that it doesn't get too caught up in itself. It's fun and light where it needs to be, giving the more somber pieces some context and making them stand out more. Even the more serious material (such as "The Temptation Of Adam") is clever and moves along at a decent clip, not bogging down in sonic experimentation or overblown verbosity. In fact the album's sonic palette is fairly conventional, which is actually refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I love Radiohead-ish electronic experiments as much as the next guy, but they don't have a place everywhere. It's just a bunch of songs played fast and loose. Some, like "Right Moves," "Real Long Distance," and "Next To The Last Romantic" just hit that sweet spot for me in a way that not many new records do.
This has my highest recommendation, I'd give it more than 5 stars if I could.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Many Gems in this one
Comment: This is a outstanding cd. Track #1 is my favorite. Ritter has an uncanny sound of Bob Dylan on it. Also there are many other good ones on this cd.
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Editorial Reviews:
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You're presently reading about what may be the best album of 2007, hands down, by the most under-accorded American musical genius. Real murmurs, believable ones, came with Josh Ritter's 2006 album, Animal Year, suggesting that the Idahoan is today's Bruce Springsteen, today's Bob Dylan. He's never sounded more the part than on Historical Conquests, the follow-up to Animal. Ritter's tripping over his syllables and allusions on the opener, "To the Dogs or Whoever," dropping biblical and historical images like a fresh-faced Dylan. Except here, Ritter throws in an organ-fueled, ride-cymbal-crashing, drum-hefty clatter. It's majestic, and it's only the first three minutes. Recorded between stints on a never-ending tour, Historical reflects Ritter on the road, quick witted, a master of phraseology and of imagery. Horns show up as color, giving Ritter a soulful vibe on "Right Moves," a raucous funkiness on "Rumors," and a doleful cloudiness on "The Temptation of Adam." More than anything, Ritter here lays claim to absolute singularity--yes, colored by Dylan and Bruce but simultaneously enlivened by something magical and simple and gorgeous. --Andrew Bartlett
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