Track Listing 1. To the Dogs or Whoever - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 2. Mind's Eye - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 3. Right Moves - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 4. Temptation of Adam, The - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 5. Open Doors - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 6. Rumors - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 7. Edge of the World - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 8. Wait For Love - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 9. Real Long Distance - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 10. Next to the Last Romantic - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 11. Moons - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 12. Still Beating - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 13. Empty Hearts - (with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie) 14. Wait For Love - (You Know You Will, with Doug Rice/Matt Douglas/Tony Barba/Kirk Knuffke/Sarah Whitney/The Great North Sound Society Orchestra/Ariane Barbanell/Bill Fagley/Joelle Lurie)
| Details | | Playing Time: | 42 min. | | Producer: | Sam Kassirer | | Distributor: | Sony Music Distribution ( | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes Personnel: Josh Ritter (guitars); Zack Hickman (acoustic guitar); Sam Kassirer (electric piano); Liam Hurley (drums). Additional personnel: Joelle Lurie (vocals); Bill Fagley (spoken vocals); Sarah Whitney (violin); Tony Barba (clarinet); Matt Douglas (alto saxophone); Kirk Knuffke (flugelhorn); Ariane Barbanell (unknown instrument); Doug Rice (background vocals); The Great North Sound Society Orchestra. Less well-known but arguably more talented than his contemporary Ryan Adams, and perhaps forever doomed to be confused with Josh Rouse, an equally fine but far more low-key indie singer-songwriter, Josh Ritter should nonetheless count himself lucky: in the 1970s, he would have been called a New Dylan, a moniker that inhibited the career of every singer-songwriter it was applied to. Like his guitar-totting forebears, Ritter does bear the mark of Dylan in his wordy mix of highbrow literary and historical allusions with sly pop culture riffs, but musically, Ritter has more in common with contemporaries like the Arcade Fire or the Hold Steady, anchoring folky tunes such as "The Temptation of Adam" and "To the Dogs Or Whoever" with a solid, anthemic rock base. (Note: A limited first edition of THE HISTORICAL CONQUESTS OF JOSH RITTER includes a four-track bonus EP.)
Editorial Reviews [M]ore spontaneous and emotional than its predecessor....'Mind's Eye' and 'Right Moves' have a layered Beatles quality that invite multiple playbacks. Dirty Linen
4 stars out of 5 -- [T]he sound of Ritter cutting loose: with 14 short, sharp, richly melodic songs about love, gunslingers and Joan of Arc. Uncut
4 stars out of 5 -- [A] triumph....[The songs] move his sweeping vision light years ahead....Often compared to the likes of Damien Rice and David Gray, Ritter's barely on the same planet. Q
[A] sprawling diorama of down-home rhythms and thoughtful lyrics... -- Grade: A- Entertainment Weekly
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