The career of Josh Ritter could honestly be one big Fun Fact. Ritter began his love affair with music in Idaho after hearing Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash's version of "Girl from the North Country" (and it's one hell of a song to have as an inspiration). He bought his first guitar at K-mart, originally went to college to study neuroscience (I'd be willing to bet the number of pop stars who started out as neuroscience majors can probably be counted on one finger), changed and created his major of "American History through Narrative Folk Music" (which seriously sounds like a fantastic major), self-released his first album at the age of 21 while still in college, continued working on his craft at open mic nights, became somewhat of a sensation in Ireland (a #2 album on the Irish charts--so many cool kids in Ireland), and eventually was able to ply his trade as a full time job. Over the last twenty years, Ritter has released nine studio albums, five live albums (he's developed a solid reputation for his live performances), seven EP's, and twenty singles. While Ritter has only had a modicum of commercial success, his list of fans include Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, and Cameron Crowe, and he's managed, as have numerous FNJ faves befiore him, to carve out a fine career doing what he loves.
Released on his EP Bringing in the Darlings (which I believe is the first here on FNJ to not have a Wikipedia entry) in 2012, "Love Is Making Its Way Back Home" was not released as a single, and thus once again we have no shout outs for Billboard magazine. The EP, however, did chart, scaling as high as #122 (most assuredly with a bullet!), and reaching #5 on the Folk Chart, which probably explains why an old fart folkie like me found it so entertaining.
I have no doubt that Josh Ritter has written better songs ("Girl in the War" comes immediately to mind), but for someone like me whose musical education began with the pop, drop, and roll of Top 40 radio, it's not surprising in the least that I would become so easily attached to this song--the first time I heard it I knew it was going to be a song I loved for the rest of my life. But the thing I didn't realize until I began listening to it in preparation for this post was what a subtle masterpiece it was. Ritter takes a subject most of us are familiar with (the ups and downs of love in a long term relationship, and how, in the good ones, love does eventually make its way back), and manages to turn it into a song where you almost don't notice the message because the music is so goddamned catchy. Ritter's vocals are smooth and soothing (he reminds me at times of one of my first musical heroes, James Taylor--and here my daughter and her husband stick their fingers down their throats and make gagging noises), and the melody is what I suppose every pop song made in the afterworld sounds like. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the "ooh-oohs" that make up the background vocals from virtually beginning to end, and how Ritter can sing "keep on, keep on" over and over again and it never turns stale. Just a marvelous little ditty, and one that reminds me every time I hear it that devoting so much of my life to pop music has been worth every second of it.
Liner Notes: "Dark pines the moonlit road/Winter time the crunch of snow/I wonder will your smile show/That love is making its way back home..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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