My Amazon Reviews: Ray LaMontagne "Supernova"

I wanna be Brando in "The Wild One."
3 Out Of 5 Stars

I am having a really hard time with this new fangled album by Ray LaMontagne. Producer Dan Auerbach wandered in and Black Keyed the guy under layers of psychedelia, echo chambered voices and murky sound. And LaMontagne's voice, a buttery tenor that threads a needle between James Taylor and Van Morrison, is held back on the bulk of "Supernova." Ray has such a naturally beautiful voice, it seems a waste to have him sing in whispers and, on "Airwaves," gasping and gulping like a drowning man.

Fortunately, it's Ray's talents that save "Supernova" from being a total bow-wow. The title track rides Ray's singer-songwriter skills with a nifty hook, and he gets to sing in his full voice. The opener, "Lavender" successfully nicks from The Zombies' "Time Of The Season," but finds Ray's voice buried in whispers and reverb. If you're looking for a reason why fans of the guy (I've been a fan since seeing him at the Newport Folk Festival right after "Trouble" was released) have viewed him as a vanguard of the new singer-songwriters, "Supernova's" closing song makes the case. "Drive In Movies" finds Ray wondering about his past, when he and his friends hung out stealing smokes and being "the guy that breaks all the rules, but the cops let him go because they think that he's cool," before admitting that he's old enough to have to buy his cigarettes and whiskey and gaze upon the empty space where his Drive-In used to be. Again, it's also one of the songs where Ray's voice is allowed to rise above the convoluted production and shimmer the way it's supposed to. In fact, as far as the songwriting is concerned, everything here had the potential to come out as great. But there's that production issue again...

I'm a fan of both Ray and The Black Keys, but this was not a match made in heaven. After the fine and even at times funky "God Willin' and The Creek Don't Rise," "Supernova" feels like a miscalculation. If he tours, I hope Ray keeps the Pariah Dogs from his last album on stage and lets these songs take a more natural course.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Amos Lee "Mission Bell"

Amos Lee finds his voice
5 Out of 5 Stars

Amos Lee's "Last Days at The Lodge" had me a bit worried. His first album to leave me unsatisfied, it was over-produced by Don Was. Was seemed to be trying to squeeze Amos into some sort of super-slick and commercialized pop-blues, much like Was did for Bonnie Raitt's blockbuster "Nick Of Time." But Lee was never as polished as Raitt, not should he be. On "Mission Bell," Lee's ultimate breaktrhough and first Top Ten album, reclaims the title of young buck singer-songwriter and moves him into such company as Ray LaMontagne and Iron & Wine's Sam Beam.

Intimate and easy but without the cream, "Mission Bell" bristles with staw folk and burning blues. Producer Joey Burns of Calexico (who has also collaborated with Beam) gives the guitar room to roam the prairie. He then pulls in some superb guests to sing, like Lucinda Williams and Willie Nelson, while Lee holds his own with both. In fact, this may be the most natural Lee has sounded on album in his short career. Lee is pulling deep from his soul background, making a gospel wail like "Jesus" or Grateful Dead sound-alike "Cup Of Sorrow" ring with honest feeling. That is not to sat he's been faking it before, but sure sounds more grown up than even the excellent "Supply and Demand" could have.

This is Lee's move into classic turf. With "Mission Bell," he is now at the forefront of new American Singer Songwriters, and this is one of my favorite albums of 2011.

 

My Amazon Reviews: Ray LaMontagne "God Willin' and The Creek Don't Rise"

Ray LaMontagne Finds his Groove
4 Out of 5 Stars

From the opening funk of "Repo Man" to the final jerky chord in "Devil's In The Jukebox," Ray LaMontagne's fourth major label studio release kicks into a pocket that only his first came close to. Now totally self-produced and with a full band, LaMontagne sounds better than ever.

There's a lot of Dylan and Van Morrison again, especially on the steel-guitar centered "New York City's Killing Me." The production is less reverb heavy than on "Gossip In The Grain," and he seems over the heartache that fueled "Til The Sun Turns Black." "Beg Steal or Borrow" refects these changes in its countrified arrangements and the look back at what he's done since. "Your old friends...now they just bore you," he laments. At the same time, it feels like is creativity has made a huge leap.

Is LaMontagne a changed man then? Leaving producer Johns behind might seem so, this album's more homogenized sound also says yes. While the grittier and snarling "Repo Man" is the poppiest thing here, the remaining album rests nicely in a folk-country vein, without any clinkers like "Gossip's" "Meg White." "God Willin'" is easily one of the year's best from an artist that just continues to impress.

Ray LaMontagne: New Album Download on Sale $3.99

     I have been in love with this guy since seeing him four years ago. The download sale is usually a 48 hour thing, so get it while you can....clickie