Source: Maui Time, Maui News, Best of Maui, Maui Activities

Ear%20Shot
Issue 9.6: Pure Volume
JOSH RITTER

August 04, 2005

HELLO STARLING



I’ve spent the last couple of weeks trying to figure out what the difference is between the soft rock of the 1970s and the singer/songwriter-based “Americana.” All I could come up with is that in the ‘70s, they tried really hard to file down all the edges to make it palatable. In Americana, the edges remain intact, along with the craftsmanship of some of the best ‘70s songwriters. “All the girls here are stars, you are the northern lights,” Josh Ritter sings in “Kathleen,” a bouncy waltz on Hello Starling. Damn! I wish I could’ve said that line first—that’s really frickin’ clever. Nevertheless, the standout song is “Wings.” Every single person I’ve played this song for has asked if I could play it again. Every time I hear it, I feel as though I’m floating down a slow river with a finger-picked acoustic guitar, as Ritter points out all the interesting characters he knows. I’m really smitten with this CD and hope that you look it up. —Signature Records 2003, By Stephen R. Hart