The Animal Years

The Animal Years
Studio album by Josh Ritter
Released	March 20, 2006 (UK) April 11, 2006 (U.S.) January 17, 2010 (Deluxe Edition)(Ireland) January 25, 2011 (Vinyl) (U.S.) February 15, 2011 (Deluxe Edition) (U.S.)
Recorded	Bear Creek and Engine Studios, March - May 2005
Genre	Folk
Length	49:22
Label	V2 Independent Records (Irish release)
Producer	Brian Deck
Josh Ritter chronology
Hello Starling (2003)Hello Starling2003 The Animal Years (2006) In The Dark - Live At Vicar Street (2006)In The Dark - Live At Vicar Street2006

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The A.V. Club	A− [2]
Prefix Magazine	(8.0/10) [3]
Mojo
Q

The Animal Years is the fourth album by Josh Ritter,^[4] released on April 19, 2006.

Before performing Girl in the War at the 2006 annual dinner of the Center for American Progress in Washington D.C., Ritter stated that he intended to “to write about [the United States of America], but [instead] it all came out sounding like a love song."^[5]

The Animal Years was reissued on February 15, 2011 as a two-disc Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition includes the complete original studio album as well as a bonus CD with Ritter performing a solo acoustic version of the entire album (recorded in Nashville in June 2008). The bonus CD also includes four b-sides, a video (Lillian, Egypt), new artwork, and liner notes by Tom Ricks.^[6] The Animal Years Deluxe Edition was previously released in Ireland on January 17, 2010. A vinyl version of the Deluxe Edition was released in the United States on January 25, 2011. It comes with a copy of the bonus acoustic and b-side CD.^[7]

Track listing

All songs written by Josh Ritter

1. "Girl in the War" – 4:23
2. "Wolves" – 4:04
3. "Monster Ballads" – 4:05
4. "Lillian, Egypt" – 3:24
5. "Idaho" – 3:51
6. "In the Dark" – 4:41
7. "One More Mouth" – 3:29
8. "Good Man" – 4:09
9. "Best for the Best" – 3:58
10. "Thin Blue Flame" – 9:38
11. "Here at the Right Time" – 3:40

Track listing of Deluxe Edition (Bonus CD)

1. "Girl in the War" (Solo Acoustic)
2. "Wolves" (Solo Acoustic)
3. "Monster Ballads" (Solo Acoustic)
4. "Lillian, Egypt" (Solo Acoustic)
5. "Idaho" (Solo Acoustic)
6. "In the Dark" (Solo Acoustic)
7. "One More Mouth" (Solo Acoustic)
8. "Good Man" (Solo Acoustic)
9. "Best for the Best" (Solo Acoustic)
10. "Thin Blue Flame" (Solo Acoustic)
11. "Here at the Right Time" (Solo Acoustic)
12. "Blame It on the Tetons" (written by Modest Mouse)
13. "Harbortown"
14. "Peter Killed the Dragon"
15. "Monster Ballads" (Early Version)

Trivia

• Ritter has said that the life and work of Mark Twain were a great influence on The Animal Years, in particular Twain's books Life on the Mississippi and Letters from the Earth.^[8]
• When analyzed alongside Twain's biography, lyrics from multiple songs on The Animal Years seem to make textual reference to the life and times of Mark Twain.^[9] The most intriguing example may be the enigmatic song "Monster Ballads," which contains references to both the 19th-century decline of the Mississippi River steamboat at the hands of the railroad and the fictional character Huckleberry Finn.^[10]
• Paying homage to Twain, Josh Ritter performed in a white suit while touring to support The Animal Years.^[11]
• "Good Man" was featured on the season finale of the third season of House.
• Stephen King rated The Animal Years the best album of 2006 in an article for Entertainment Weekly.^[12]
• In 2010, Ritter's band was given the name "The Royal City Band" (a reference to the song Thin Blue Flame from The Animal Years).

External links

• Lyrics
• NPR performance and interview

References