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Amazon.co.uk Review
Review
So says Ray Lamontagne about his long journey from factory worker to singer-songwriter who has created a timeless album of graceful, genuine songs about heartbreak, vulnerability and hope.
Ray had been working in a shoe factory for four years, when one day he awoke at 4am, in the same manner as usual, to the sounds of "Treetop Flyer" by Stephen Stills on his clock radio. He missed work that day to get a copy of the album and then left his job so he could be become a musician. And so his music education began, he spent a huge amount of time intensely listening to Crosby, Stills & Nash, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Ray Charles and Otis Redding.
Lamontagne's voice is strong but with a quaver and a dry, rasping quality that hints at an inside breakability. It took Lamontagne over 3 years since his epiphany before he could start looking for gigs. He would tell himself; "You just have to find your voice, it's in there". This was someone who had problems speaking to people, let alone singing to them.
The subject matter of the album is doubtless inspired by a lifetime of travelling around with his mother and five siblings. Themes such as shelter and companionship reoccur. The story of the factory worker from Maine is certainly romantic, but how does the music stand up?
I love it. He manages to make typical singer-songwriter three chord fodder, with subject matter that's been heard a thousand times before, sound interesting and fresh. The title track, "Trouble" tells the original blues tale: "Trouble been doggin' my soul since the day I was born ... worry just will not seem to leave my mind alone." On the other hand, "Forever My friend", with a backdrop of bongos and shakers and an irregular meter, is a song of pure unbridled optimism. "How Come" speaks for many, letting rip with the lyrics "I said how come, I can't tell, the free world from living hell?".
The album's success is not without the aid of Ethan Johns, whose production skills, string arrangements, bass playing, drumming and percussion could be responsible for turningTrouble into something special.
As Lamontagne says; "Life is so difficult, the thing about music is that you can take deep things that hurt you and turn them into something beautiful." If this album were to be the result of one man's life, and he finds there isn't another in him, I think this would be understandable. A classic - listen incessantly. --Lucy Davies
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Customer Reviews
There is some of the most heart achingly beautiful music here. Especially Ray LaMontagne's honey toned voice and his sensitive and intelligent lyrics, and I know it will be a favourite of mine for a very long time.
It starts with 'Trouble' and I braced myself for disappointment as I couldn't imagine it getting much better, but it does, there's not a single track I don't like. Other reviews have drawn comparisons with Van Morrison, Bob Dylan etc and it's all true, but please don't think it is dated.
I feel as if I have waited for quite a few years for a gem like this to come along and I can't wait for his next.
There is not one skippable song on this album - few can failed to be moved by 'Hannah' ('I would walk one mile on just broken glass to fall down at your feet'), stirred by 'How Come', or able to identify with 'Jolene' ('I still don't know what love is'). Stand out track for me is the spine-tingling 'Burn' ('Try to ignore, all this blood on the floor, it's just this heart on my sleeve that's bleeding').
Utterly significant in today's world but with the class and beauty of the oldies. Ray's songs sound like they should be classics - whilst listening to him, it's easy to imagine that you have been raised listening to his edgy guitar chords and rousing strings.
There is not one flaw on this album, it is simply absolute perfection.
It ends now. If you're looking at this, it's probably because you've seen an advert for Ray Lamontagne's "Trouble" and realised that perhaps it's not the next in a long series of boil in the bag hi-fidelity sacrilege. Perhaps it's good.
It's hard to tell from the advert, because you only hear a snippet of a chorus, but "Trouble", both song and album, could be the slow-burning hit of the year. It's a record with such appealling folk brilliance that it would be hard to imagine anybody but the most hard-hearted of cultural buffoons not enjoying it. Indeed, I have rarely been so excited by every single track on an album that I listen to the whole thing again as soon as it comes to an end.
Lamontagne's voice is a glorious thing - rough edged, raw and flagrantly, excessively powerful. Does he use a microphone? Perhaps he sings from the next room to avoid damaging the audio equipment in the studio? But alongside such power is a delicacy, and wonderfully poetic touch that brings pleasing contrast to his songs.
And what excellent songs. Each track stands out, a neat and perfect study of love, confusion, and more often than not the affirmation that life in all it's craziness is a wonderful thing. You'll find yourself smiling, singing along before you even know that you remember the words.
Don't take my word for it though - trust the advertisers this once and buy it for yourself. You'll be glad that you did.
-this... Read more
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