Trouble - Ray LaMontagne > Reviews > A 'Ray' of sun, with too many dark clouds

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Not applicable
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Ray's voice, use of different song structures
Disadvantages:	Has to be listened to with no distractions to fully appreciate

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

-The Man-

RayCharles 'Ray' Lamontagne was born in Nashua, New Hampshire in 1974. His mother was constantly travelling, and his father a musician. His parents separated whilst his father was on tour, and Lamontagne went with his mother and his siblings up north. Due to stories told about his father, Ray was not a musician as a child. He was moved about constantly to wherever his mother could find work, so did not really have a chance to become friends with other children. After he graduated from high school, Ray moved away from his family to Lewiston, where he found himself a job working in a shoe factory. It was whilst doing this job that the song 'Treetop Flyer' by Stephen stills woke him at 4am ready for an early shift. After buying the Stills Alone album, he decided to quit his job and become a singer songwriter.
Ray is particularly known for his raspy voice. He claims to have learned this technique through singing from his gut rather than through his nose. It has been compared to many people including Van Morrison. He has been touring since 1999, and is known to separate himself completely from the audience by not interacting between songs, and, on one occasion, even playing completely in the dark so the audience could focus on the music.

-The Album-

Trouble was re-recorded in two weeks at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles. To date it has sold over 400,000 copies worldwide.

Trouble
The album starts off energetically with acoustic guitar, rolling bass line and drums. Then the best thing about this album hits. Ray's voice lands and melts in your ears. As a songwriter, this is the kind of voice I wish for. Full of soul, and what sounds like more than a few cigarettes (though I might be wrong!). What I also love about this song is the phrasing. I still sit back in amazement at the amount of words he sometimes manages to fit into a line. And what a line at the end of the chorus. "I've been saved by a woman". Ain't we all! 'Trouble' is the perfect start to an album, happy with tinges of sadness, and enough to make you listen for more.

Shelter
'Shelter' starts off a bit slower in almost a swing beat. Nice introduction, with some good use of seventh chords for a bit of excitement. Ray's voice comes in and again doesn't fail to disappoint. Strange chorus. Drums drop out, and strings come in. Then drums bought back in to keeps the interest. This is done the other way round to most normal song structure where drums would be bought in for the chorus. Clever stuff. And wholly original. Can't complain that this man is doing the same old thing!

Hold You In My Arms
Song three 'Hold You In My Arms'. Nice busy introduction. Natural hand claps, with the acoustic guitar going again. A rather uneventful first verse is followed by a chorus that again is something a bit different. Acoustic guitars are bought in a bit louder to complement the vocal line. This really makes for good listening again. It's not one of those songs that you can predict what will happen. It flows very methodically through the paces, but still keeps you on your toes. The sign of a good album.

Narrow Escape
Very good intro again. The bass is walking up and down the scales. It then all drops to leave drums and acoustic guitar for the first verse. Ray's voice is still shining through exactly where it need to here. The chorus again is worth the wait, and the backing vocals add to it. This is the first song where I’m really struggling to say anything about it. If it wasn’t for the fact I’m sat here listening to this album with nothing else going on, this could easily have passed me by.

Burn
The first song that starts with pure acoustic guitar. No real intro. Ray's voice comes in quite heavily reverbed. This appears to be more of a story telling song. I have to say the effects on the vocal make the words quite hard to recognise. In a song such as this I would have much preferred the song to be delivered more naturally so we could hear the tale that was being told. Again the chorus is worth waiting for, and at 2minutes 52seconds, don't flick to the next too quickly as it's worth seeing Lamontagne's talents work in a slightly different way.

Forever My Friend
'Forever My Friend' starts with a big entrance that picks up the pace of the album once again. With an almost African beat on the drums, and rising acoustic guitar strums it takes back on the nature of earlier in the album. The intro immediately drops out for a few bars. This does seem to be something Ray has a knack for. In some songs by other artists it is very easy to predict where the drop out will occur. These are usually thrown in to mix the song up a bit and usually occur just as the song enters the final quarter, which then builds to the end.. Ray seems to throw them in at different times, but not haphazardly. They all work, and again keep you guessing about what's going on. Despite this 'Forever My Friend' is an instant skip song to me. It is particularly uneventful, and needs to do a lit more than it does in order to achieve its goal.

Hannah
First outing for the piano that I've noticed. 'Hannah's falling chords draw you into the song. A very easy introduction. A nice Irish style violin lick is repeating in the background. I almost feel this album has stopped at this point though. There is nothing particularly impressive happening in the songs over the past ten minutes or so. And just as I'm ready to skip Sara Watkins joins Ray with some backing vocals. Other than track four, this is the first time backing vocals have appeared on the album, and they are a change that is welcomed. This is not taking away from Ray's voice for a second, but they add some much needed variety.

How Come
'This song sounds like something else more famous. Can't put my finger on it at the moment though. It works, though I think alot of people will get the same impression as me. Answers on the back of a postcard as to what song it is. Again though, it unfortunately is not as good as the beginning as the album, though still worth a listen.

Jolene
The stand out song of the album. Piano and guitar combine at the beginning. A weird little rhythm begins with the two of them when Ray's voice starts. Beautiful lyrics. Beautiful voice. Beautiful song. I remember when I first heard this on the way from work in the car. I had to pull over so I could appreciate it fully without the big diesel engine taking up vital sound energy. I just sat there and looked straight head across the fields and took it all in. I'm still not sure I have. Even listening to it now I still don't feel I want it to end. Needless to say, the second I got home that night I ordered the album, and hence this review.

All The Wild Horses
Ray slows it down for the last song. I have to say, with the extra reverb, as with track five you do lose the impact of his voice. A fairly short and unmemorable song to finish with.

-Conclusion-

In summary, this album is worth buying, but won't knock you off your feet. There are a few songs that are absolutely outstanding, but these are complemented by a few that are barely worth listening to. I've tried to pick out the finest points of all the songs, but these could be easily missed. I suggest that, for the first couple of times, you sit and actually listen to this album with nothing else going on. There is going to be so much lost if listened to in the car, or as background noise. Only then will you be able to make a balanced decision on the quality of these ten songs. I'd love to know what you think.