Sermon on the Rocks
Studio album by
Josh Ritter
ReleasedOctober 16, 2015
RecordedJanuary 5–17, 2015[1]
StudioThe Parlor, New Orleans
Genre
Length44:41
LabelPytheas Recordings
ProducerTrina Shoemaker, Josh Ritter
Josh Ritter chronology
Josh Ritter – Acoustic Live Vol. 1: Somerville Theater/Somerville, Mass
(2015)		 Sermon on the Rocks
(2015)		 Gathering
(2017)
Singles from Sermon on the Rocks
  1. "Getting Ready To Get Down"
    Released: September 17, 2015
  2. "Homecoming"
    Released: December 9, 2015

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.[2] 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."[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [5]
Irish Times[6]
Raidió Teilifís Éireann[7]
Rolling Stone [8]

NPR's Stephen Thomson said the album contains "some of Ritter's slipperiest, nimblest wordplay"[9] 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.[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Josh Ritter.

  1. "Birds of the Meadow" – 3:15
  2. "Young Moses" – 4:08
  3. "Henrietta, Indiana" – 3:43
  4. "Getting Ready To Get Down" – 3:16
  5. "Seeing Me Round" – 4:58
  6. "Where the Night Goes" – 3:49
  7. "Cumberland" – 2:17
  8. "Homecoming" – 5:31
  9. "The Stone" – 3:55
  10. "A Big Enough Sky" – 2:47
  11. "Lighthouse Fire" – 3:12
  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
US Billboard 200[10] 49
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[11] 6
US Folk Albums (Billboard)[12] 1
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[13] 5
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[14] 8
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[15] 4

References

  1. ↑ Josh, Ritter (2015). Sermon on the Rocks (liner notes). Josh Ritter. Pytheas Recordings. CD-PYTH-05. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  2. ↑ Geslani, Michelle (December 11, 2012). "Josh Ritter announces new album, The Beast In Its Tracks". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  3. ↑ Hughes, Christopher (May 15, 2013). "Q&A: Josh Ritter, the New Face of Folk". Boston. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  4. ↑ Sermon on the Rocks by Josh Ritter, retrieved 2018-01-13
  5. ↑ Deming, Mark. Sermon on the Rocks at AllMusic. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Josh Ritter: Sermon on the Rocks | Album Review". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  7. ↑ "Josh Ritter - Sermon on The Rocks". RTE.ie. 2015-10-27. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  8. 1 2 Jonathan Bernstein, "Sermon on the Rocks" (review), Rolling Stone, October 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ Stephen Thomson, "Review: Josh Ritter, 'Sermon On The Rocks'", NPR, October 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Josh Ritter Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Josh Ritter Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Josh Ritter Chart History (Top Americana/Folk Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Josh Ritter Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Josh Ritter Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Josh Ritter Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
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