Sermon on the Rocks

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.

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

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. 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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