Ray LaMontagne's third album, Gossip in the Grain is as different from 2007's Till the Sun Turns Black as that album was from 2006's Trouble. The deep, heart-of-night atmospherics of the preceding disc have been jettisoned in favor of a brightly lit palette of textures and instruments that legendary producer and multi-instrumentalist Ethan Johns uses to illustrate LaMontagne's considerable ambitions as a writer. The set opens with the singer channeling his inner Memphis soul man on "You Are the Best Thing." Horns, strings, and a female backing chorus underscore LaMontagne's heartfelt uptempo rasp that touches on Sam Cooke as much as it does Tim Buckley with a hook worthy of Stax/Volt. In terms of sequencing, it certainly grabs the listener, but it is also arguably the best track here. "Let It Be Me" follows with a folksier, looser soul groove, where acoustic guitars, a Telecaster, piano, and strings underscore the hypnotic lilt in the verse. But LaMontagne can write a coda and a bridge and he gets his voice right into the meat of the lyric. We may have heard lyrics of this type a thousand times before, as they evoke loneliness and longing, but rarely have they been expressed this authentically and this dramatically. Echoes of Van Morrison's Astral Weeks are apparent in the gorgeous chamber jazz of "Sarah," and eerie, psychedelic British Isles folk -- complete with an otherworldly pedal steel -- haunts the grooves on "I Still Care for You." LaMontagne and Johns are able to create varying yet webbed atmospheres in these songs. Ray can find a style and write in it as if he'd created it. Johns adds so much depth and dimension in the mix that it feels as if both singer and songwriter will never be able to extricate themselves either from the emotional intentions expressed in his lyrics, or from the sound itself. The most notorious track on this set is the humorous yet tender "Meg White," for the White Stripes' drummer. With its imaginative use of an Ennio Morricone-esque spaghetti western intro, Johns playing Wurlitzer and Mellotron, a Pink Floyd cadenza, and drumming of the sort White trademarked, it's no throwaway; add to this a seemingly sincere offer of friendship and empathy and there is an undeniable emotional appeal. "Hey Me, Hey Mama," has a back porch singalong feel, and features a banjo, trombone, and trumpet. The rambling free-form blues of "Henry Nearly Killed Me, (It's a Shame)" touches on Canned Heat, John Lee Hooker, and the Rolling Stones; it's another high point here.
Gossip in the Grain is LaMontagne's most adventurous recording, yet in many ways it's also the most focused and well executed. The partnership with Johns has become almost symbiotic at this point; his songwriting has become so confident, sure, and expressive -- despite the ready intimacy in its subject matter -- that he's become a kind of force majeure. One thing is certain, that given the consistency and vision LaMontagne has shown on all three albums, punters are certain to follow him wherever he goes next.
Ever since I heard Trouble, RL's signature hit, I've been addicted. Who has a voice like this? No one. And who in contemporary music sounds like him? No one. I addition to have mind-blowing talent, he's reached an atmospherically ridiculous level of originality.That being said, I haven't purchased the album yet. But, I did manage to snag this song.From a drumming perspective, this song hits hom...
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- MUSIC REVIEWSRay LaMontagne does the raspy voice better than anyone else in the business. It doesn't seem forced or fake. And it surprisingly works for soulful ballads, rockers, and good old barnyard stompers alike. With his third album, Gossip in the Grain , Ray and his rasp work their way through his most sonically diverse offering to date. While once again working with producer/drumme...
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Changes are slim that the general public has developed a better taste in music when a singer-songwriter is catapulted into the top ten of the charts. So has Ray LaMontagne "sold out" with the huge success of his third album Gossip in the Grain ?Thankfully: no. Although this new album has a lighter tone thant its predecssors Gossip in the Grain has enough uncompromising grunts and turns to make ...
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Ray LaMontagne has, in the past, been one of those artists who takes himself quite seriously. He deals with the subjects of loss, pain, and emptiness, all with his wounded-soul whisper and his heart displayed plainly on his sleeve. Those familiar with Ray's past albums may have received a bit of a shock hearing one of his tunes from his third album Gossip In The Grain, "Meg White." Yes, THE...
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With the release of his 3rd studio album, Ray Lamontagne has broadened the concept of what we have come to know as a "Ray Lamontagne Album". Gossip in the Grain (Oct. 14 -RCA) seamlessly blends multiple moods, tempos and even a sense of humor into a complete work that shows dexterity and growth in [...]
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Ever since I've started up my music blog, I've come across hundreds of new artists and found a lot that I've liked, and a lot that I haven't liked. But, there are only a handful of artists whom I literally count down the days until I can pick up their new album. This is the case with Ray LaMontagne, whom I've been a fan of since his first release, Trouble. Gossip in the Grain is his most person...
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Ray LaMontagne is an artist with a "new sound" in the grand scheme of music today. Well, a new sound that consists of a cauldron full of "old sounds" — which seems to be a popular trend so far in century number twenty-one (see: Amy Winehouse, Madeleine Peyroux, Andrew Bird, Joss Stone, et al).Q: Could you tell me how do you get to Radio City? A: Practice, man, practice!Gossip in the Grain is al.
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With the release of his 3rd studio album, Ray Lamontagne has broadened the concept of what we have come to know as a "Ray Lamontagne Album". Gossip in the Grain (Oct. 14 -RCA) seamlessly blends multiple moods, tempos and even a sense of humor into a complete work that shows dexterity and growth in [...]
More >
Ray LaMontagne released his third album Gossip in the Grain yesterday. One of my favorite on the record has to be his clever ode to White Stripes Meg White. Her beauty inspired this sweet song. I dig it so much that Meg White is my song of the day.
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I had heard from a friend that this dude was inspired by Stephen Stills and so I went looking about to see what validity there was to that, and sure enough:From the Wik:Raymond Charles "Ray" LaMontagne is an American folk singer-songwriter who, up until the summer of 2007, lived in Wilton, Maine. His current residence is a farm just outside of Farmington, Maine. Lamontagne has two sons with hi...
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Everyone's favorite backwoodsman, Ray LaMontagne has returned with a HIGHLY-anticipated new album of material, titled Gossip in the Grain, being released on October 14, 2008 on RCA Records. Here is the second song to be previewed off of the album, titled "Let It Be Me", and, yes, once again, the bearded one has touched me in my 'special area', my cardiac area.-----------------------------------...
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Ray LaMontagne is an artist with a "new sound" in the grand scheme of music today. Well, a new sound that consists of a cauldron full of "old sounds" — which seems to be a popular trend so far in century number twenty-one (see: Amy Winehouse, Madeleine Peyroux, Andrew Bird, Joss Stone, et al).Q: Could you tell me how do you get to Radio City? A: Practice, man, practice!Gossip in the Grain is al.
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Here is another tune from the same album with a little different feel.From what I'm hearing, he has quite the following in the UK, which is where this album was recorded.From the Wik:Gossip in the Grain is Ray LaMontagne's third full-length release, which was released on October 14, 2008. The album was produced by Ethan Johns and recorded in Box, England. Along with his band members, LaMontagne...
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Ever since I heard Trouble, RL's signature hit, I've been addicted. Who has a voice like this? No one. And who in contemporary music sounds like him? No one. I addition to have mind-blowing talent, he's reached an atmospherically ridiculous level of originality.That being said, I haven't purchased the album yet. But, I did manage to snag this song.From a drumming perspective, this song hits hom...
More >
If you're gonna write a song to woo Meg White, doing it while Jack is busy Bonding with Alicia is probably as good a time as any. Savvy, LaMontagne. The "Crazy" coverer and hailed troubadour has a new record out next month called Gossip In The Grain, and if he doesn't sound as tortured as in the past, maybe it's because he's found a reason to get up in the morning. "Meg White" opens with spaghe...
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Ray LaMontagne is coming out with a new album in October, Gossip in the Grain , which is due out on the 19th. One song has already leaked, Let It Be Me, and earlier this week, the first song, You Are The Best Thing, was released as a single. This is easily one of my most anticipated songs of the year already, and I know that a lot of people are looking forwards to this one. LaMontagne h...
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Ever since I've started up my music blog, I've come across hundreds of new artists and found a lot that I've liked, and a lot that I haven't liked. But, there are only a handful of artists whom I literally count down the days until I can pick up their new album. This is the case with Ray LaMontagne, whom I've been a fan of since his first release, Trouble. Gossip in the Grain is his most person...
More >
Changes are slim that the general public has developed a better taste in music when a singer-songwriter is catapulted into the top ten of the charts. So has Ray LaMontagne "sold out" with the huge success of his third album Gossip in the Grain ?Thankfully: no. Although this new album has a lighter tone thant its predecssors Gossip in the Grain has enough uncompromising grunts and turns to make ...
More >
I fell in love with Ray LaMontagne's song, "You Are The Best Thing" a few months ago right before his album, Gossip In The Grain was released. Since then, the rustic singer-songwriter has been receiving rave reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and even fellow singer-songwriter John Mayer, who has called LaMontagne, "so pure, it's arresting." Mayer continued his praise in a blog post writin...
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Ray Lamontagne has announced a string of UK tour dates for February next year. His new album, 'Gossip In The Grain' was released yesterday. To coincide with the tour, the album's opening track 'You Are The Best Thing' will be given a full single release on February 23, 2009. Tickets for the below dates go on [...]
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- MUSIC REVIEWSRay LaMontagne does the raspy voice better than anyone else in the business. It doesn't seem forced or fake. And it surprisingly works for soulful ballads, rockers, and good old barnyard stompers alike. With his third album, Gossip in the Grain , Ray and his rasp work their way through his most sonically diverse offering to date. While once again working with producer/drumme...
More >
ray lamontagne played a handful of songs from his new album, gossip in the grain , for david dye and the world cafe last week, and we've got, as this week's installment of the sunday night live series, the mp3s to prove it. you can hear the whole set, including an interview with ray, by following this link . ray lamontagne live on world cafe 12 december 2008 ray lamontagne - hey me, hey m...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 You Are the Best Thing |
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| 2 Let It Be Me |
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| 3 Sarah |
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| 4 I Still Care for You |
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| 5 Winter Birds |
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| 6 Meg White |
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| 7 Hey Me, Hey Mama |
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| 8 Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's a Shame) |
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| 9 A Falling Through |
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| 10 Gossip in the Grain |
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 "Gossip in the Grain")
