Trouble
Ray Lamontagne Comes Back with Trouble
The album is definitely a great escape in the corporate music world of manufactured artists and music. The sound, on the surface, could be seen as what one would call a modern-day Robert Zimmerman (Bob Dylan), though I don't think that that is entirely fair to either artist. Yes Ray and his comfortably rough and throaty voice, and guitar are at the forefront of the music, like Dylan, and his lyrics are quite poetic at times, he seems to have some different influences. There is much more soul in his voice than you would here in a Dylan song. In fact much of his influence comes from legends like Ray Charles and Otis Redding. I can hear Otis Redding in the tone and tempo of his voice. This is no clearer than in the title tune, "Trouble". The great White…soul/folk singer.
In a recent interview conducted by KCRW's Elvis Mitchel, Ray's producer spoke highly of him.
Ray was actually in a state of depression when he awoke to "Treetop Flyer" by Stephen Stills (of Crosby, Stills and Nash) one morning. As a result he of his immediate entrancement, he called in sick to work and raced down to his local record store to purchase the LP of that track. Upon continuous replay, he had a revelation; he was to be a musician.
Though he now had a driving force for an ambition, he was handicapped by his extreme introvert ness, and because of his handicap it took him over four years to collect the courage to play in front of even the smallest audiences. I see his handicap as a blessing in disguise; he perfected each and every tune he composed with monticules perfection. As a result, he has received immediate attention and speculations of album of the year.
Some incredible critics complain that his album, as a whole, has little versatility. I don't necessarily rebut that, however I feel that because of the strength of each song on its own, and that this is his first album it is a little unfair to punish Ray with comments like that. Hopefully he will progress and be around for a long time, because his music is extremely fascinating.
Trouble was produced by Ethan Johns under the Chrysalis Music Publishing.
For those interested, you can usually catch a song or two on KCRW's music program, Morning Becomes Eclectic, or you can purchase the album on Amazon, iTunes or your local record store. In any case I recommend this album with utmost urgency. You will not be disappointed.
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