The Animal Years is the fourth album by Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter

Josh Ritter is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and author who performs and records with The Royal City Band. Ritter is known for his distinctive Americana style and narrative lyrics. In 2006 he was named one of the "100 Greatest Living Songwriters" by Paste magazine.- Early life :Josh...

, released on April 19, 2006.

Before performing Girl in the War at the 2006 annual dinner of the Center for American Progress

Center for American Progress

The Center for American Progress is a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization. Its website states that the organization is "dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through progressive ideas and action." It has its headquarters in Washington D.C.Its President and Chief...

 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."

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-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

, a video (Lillian, Egypt), new artwork, and liner notes by Tom Ricks. The Animal Years Deluxe Edition was previously released in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 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.

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
    Modest Mouse
    Modest Mouse is an American indie rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington, by singer/lyricist/guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. They are based in Portland, Oregon. Since their 1996 debut album, This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think...
    
    )
13. "Harbortown"
14. "Peter Killed the Dragon"
15. "Monster Ballads" (Early Version)

Trivia

• "Good Man" was featured on the season finale of the third season of House
  House (TV series)
  House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
  
  .
• Stephen King
  Stephen King
  Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
  
   rated The Animal Years the best album of 2006 in an article for Entertainment Weekly
  Entertainment Weekly
  Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
  
  .
• 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