The Times They Are a-Changin': Josh Ritter

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JOSH RITTER DESCRIBES his new record, "The Historical Conquests Of..." (Sony) as "Rock 'n' roll with lots of words."

He is correct about that.

Ritter is an effusive lyricist. His rambling words spill out all over the album's dusty folk rock tunes, caking them with verse. Ritter is a pretty loquacious conversationalist, too, able to make even the most mundane tour exploits seem poetic.

"This is our first night back on the bus. It always takes a few nights to get back onto bus legs," he confessed wearily during an early morning interview. "It feels like you're in a coffin hurdling down the road."

For the last few years the singer-songwriter has been on the road constantly, particularly in Europe, where audiences were quicker to recognize his talents. But when asked about pounding the pavement, Ritter makes all that driving around seem pretty romantic.

"Being on the road as much as people in my band are, you stop looking forward too far, or back too far. It forces you to concentrate on what's in front of you," reflected Ritter. "You find something in each place to savor — going to a museum or a good breakfast place in Bozeman, hanging out after the show. It's a matter of finding the things that keep you in a good mood and focused on your shows every night."

Believe it or not, "The Historical Conquests Of..." is also a bit of a party record.

"I recorded it in January in a farmhouse in Maine with my piano player/producer," Ritter said. "We were working on stuff just for the hell of it and it started to turn into a record."

Apparently this was a pleasant change from some of Ritter's more folk-oriented conceptual previous efforts.

"My last record had a real motor to it, a real reason for being: the war and religion and how we use one to talk about the other. It was very cerebral," said Ritter describing "The Animal Years." "['The Historical Conquests Of ...'] was about cutting loose and pushing the grandfather clock down the stairs with beer and bb guns and everything.

"This was the first time where I can go into a record store and my record's in the rock section. I get to break electric guitar strings and feel like a total man," Ritter said enthusiastically. "I feel this band pushing the music forward and it's like somebody put premium gasoline in the engine, or somebody just gave you the sports car."

Predictably, a few of Ritter's old listeners aren't quite ready to hear him make like Dylan at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival.

"People love it and hate it, and I think that's a good thing," Ritter said. "It's like Abraham Lincoln said, 'If everybody loves you you're doing something wrong'."

» 9:30 Club, 815 V St. NW; with Old School Freight Train, Tue., 7:30 p.m., $20; 202-265-0930. (U St.-Cardozo)

Written by Express contributor Aaron Leitko

» Click here to hear a concert by Ritter, recorded by NPR.
» Click here to stream the album "The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter."

Photos courtesy Concerted Efforts