Josh Ritter + "ten minute" mix


Ten minutes is a long time for an song to keep the average listener's interest. If it succeeds, however, the result is something to cherish. Epic songs are rewarding in a unique way, and now Idaho native Josh Ritter has one for the canon. "Thin Blue Flame" will appear on Ritter's next long-player, The Animal Years, due out this spring. It's an urgent and direct song, its verses backed by building repetition of two chords ("Heroin," anyone?), with Ritter's beautifully impassioned vocals holding the listener's attention. "Thin Blue Flame" joins Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" and more recently Iron & Wine's "The Trapeze Swinger" as the type of sweeping, grandiose piece that leaves the listener breathless and with a slightly romantic idealistic feeling. The feeling that what you've just heard was the most important thing in the world.

Josh Ritter - Thin Blue Flame

Tacked-on bonus: Ten Minute Mix:

From the In Good Company soundtrack:

Iron & Wine - The Trapeze Swinger

From Grace:

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Enjoy!