AMG Review of Four Songs Live

Johnny Loftus
All Music Guide

Hello Starling, the third album from Josh Ritter, debuted in 2003 on Massachusetts folk imprint Signature Sounds before migrating to V2 for a special-edition release that came bundled with a live EP. But V2 also issued the live material separately, since many fans already owned the studio record. Thus, 4 Songs Live is exactly that -- three songs from Starling and the title track from 2001's Golden Age of Radio, recorded in Dublin in 2003 and 2004 before enthusiastic audiences. (Ritter is a sensation in Ireland.) "You Don't Make It Easy Babe" is plaintive and acoustically spare, the Hammond shines on "Kathleen," and "Snow Is Gone (Hello Starling)" is a rousing, jangling thrill. It's a brief recording. And yet, it still taps into that certain gravity in Ritter's work, that talent of his for camouflaging captivating songwriting behind simplistic chords or a boyish smile.