Search - Josh Ritter :: Golden Age of Radio

The Definitive "Golden Age of Radio" Release

Thomas Blakiston | Saint Paul, MN, USA | 04/30/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the fourth iteration (release) of this album, first self-released on Hungry Ear Records in 2000, re-released on Signature Sounds in 2002, again in 2004 with a bonus disc, and now self-released in 2009 with a bonus disc that wraps all releases together into one tidy volume.



The first 2009 disc is the same as the 2002 and 2004 releases, whereas the second 2009 disc contains everything from the 2004 bonus disc (except the Leonard Cohen "Chelsea Hotel #2" cover), plus:

a) "A Country Song": the only major difference between the Hungry Ear 2000 release and all subsequent: a fast-paced acoustic version of the title track "Golden Age of Radio"

b) "Don't Wake Juniper": an unreleased B-side.



The highlight of disc two, and the reason this is worth purchasing if you already have one of the other releases, is Ritter's acoustic rendition of the entire album, recorded in 2008. Some terrific versions on there, namely "Golden Age of Radio".





"

Wireless Wonderment

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 11/08/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe there was a time when radio would have picked up on a man like Josh Ritter. Perhaps the early seventies, when you could scan the dial and find the likes of James Taylor or Gordon Lightfoot. But in 2009, only National Public Radio or a dedicated folkie type of show would be picking the good stuff off of Ritter's "Golden Age Of Radio." As it is, I wound up discovering him at the 2009 Newport Folk Festival, where he and his band delivered a high energy show that blended the best of his singer-songwriter sensibility with a harder edge that bordered on Springsteen.



"Golden Age" is a more homey, lo-fi type of record, mining both the singer-songwriter and Americana storytelling veins. Ritter has something of a low-tenor that isn't the best singing voice, but as he sings that he's sitting on the porch and pouring his heart out to Townes Van Sandt, you can feel he's got his heart in the write place. The arrangements are, for the most part, spartan. An accordion accents "Lawrence Kansas" while "Harrisburg" has little more than a deep bass violin (I think) underneath it to accent the despairing lyrics. When Ritter lets his band kick in ("Me and Jiggs," the title track), he starts to show the flair that I witnessed in his live shows.



Given that "Golden Age Of Radio" was initially released in 2002, when Ritter was just entering his 20's, he was still working out the earnestness of the folk music he'd just discovered. This is serious stuff, and quite good; a young man on the brink of unearthing his greatest strengths. Fans of Iron and Wine or Conor Oberst will enjoy this the most."