Sermon on the Rocks is the eighth full-length studio album, by singer/songwriter Josh Ritter. It was released October 16, 2015 on Pytheas Recordings.
Ritter described the record as "messianic oracular honky-tonk."
Background American singer-songwriter Josh Ritter released his sixth full-length studio album, The Beast in Its Tracks, on March 5, 2013, via Pytheas Recordings. The album, inspired by Ritter's 2011 divorce from fellow musician Dawn Landes, intentionally ended on a hopeful note, as Ritter told Boston, "I do believe that in all my records, I've never ended it on a 'down' note. I just don't believe in it. I want to leave a little fire to carry on into the next record."
Critical reception
NPR's Stephen Thomson said the album contains "some of Ritter's slipperiest, nimblest wordplay"Stephen Thomson, "Review: Josh Ritter, 'Sermon On The Rocks'", NPR, October 7, 2015. and Jonathan Bernstein of Rolling Stone commented that the record used "Eighties textures" and "vivid character sketches" to yield a very different result from its predecessor, The Beast in Its Tracks.Jonathan Bernstein, "Sermon on the Rocks" (review), Rolling Stone, October 29, 2015.
Track listing All songs written by Josh Ritter.
"Birds of the Meadow" – 3:15 "Young Moses" – 4:08 "Henrietta, Indiana" – 3:43 "Getting Ready To Get Down" – 3:16 "Seeing Me Round" – 4:58 "Where the Night Goes" – 3:49 "Cumberland" – 2:17 "Homecoming" – 5:31 "The Stone" – 3:55 "A Big Enough Sky" – 2:47 "Lighthouse Fire" – 3:12 "My Man on a Horse (is Here)" – 3:50
Personnel Musicians Josh Ritter — acoustic and electric guitar, lead and harmony vocals Zachariah Hickman — upright and electric bass, acoustic and classical guitar, percussion, vocals Matt Barrick — drums, percussion, vocals Sam Kassirer — piano, electric piano, clavinet, synthesizer, Hammond and Farfisa organs, percussion, vocals Josh Kaufman — acoustic, electric, 12-string Rickenbacker and slide guitar, electric mandolin, bongos, vocals Trina Shoemaker — percussion
Production Recorded at The Parlor, New Orleans, January 5–17, 2015 Produced by Trina Shoemaker and Josh Ritter Recorded by Trina Shoemaker with Eric Heigel Mixed by Trina Shoemaker Mastered by Jeff Lipton at Peerless Mastering Assistant Mastering Engineer: Maria Rice
Charts +Chart performance for Sermon on the Rocks Chart (2016) Peak position
References
External links Josh Ritter official website Lyrics