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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | You Are the Best ThingRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Let It Be MeRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | SarahRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | I Still Care for YouRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Winter BirdsRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 06:18 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Meg WhiteRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Hey Me, Hey MamaRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's a Shame)Ray LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | A Falling ThroughRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Gossip in the GrainRay LaMontagne | Ray LaMontagne | Play | 03:58 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 44 mins | 102 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jennifer Condos | Bass, Bass Instrument, Drums, Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Charlie Cross | Main Personnel, Viola |
| 3 | Dave Foster | Copyist |
| 4 | Billie Godfrey | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 5 | Howard Gott | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 6 | Sally Herbert | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 7 | Eric Heywood | Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Main Personnel, Pedal Steel, Pedal Steel Guitar, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Ethan Johns | Arranger, Audio Production, Banjo, Bass, Bass Instrument, Drums, Guitar (Electric), Hammond B3, Main Personnel, Mellotron, Mixing, Organ (Hammond), Percussion, Piano, Producer, String Arrangements, Ukulele, Vocals (Background), Wurlitzer |
| 9 | Ray LaMontagne | Composer, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 10 | Pete Long | Clarinet, Sax (Tenor) |
| 11 | Peter Long | Clarinet, Main Personnel, Sax (Tenor) |
| 12 | Bob Ludwig | Mastering |
| 13 | Louise Marshall | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 14 | Louise Claire Marshall | Vocals (Background) |
| 15 | Melanie Marshall | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 16 | Dominic Monks | Engineer, Main Personnel, Synthesizer |
| 17 | Leona Naess | Main Personnel, Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Ashley Newton | A&R |
| 19 | Winston Rollins | Main Personnel, Trombone |
| 20 | Jonathan Scott | Main Personnel, Trumpet |
| 21 | Jules Singleton | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 22 | Sophie Sirota | Main Personnel, Viola |
| 23 | Lucy Wilkins | Main Personnel, Violin |
| 24 | Sara Wilson | Cello, Main Personnel |
| 25 | Sarah Jane Wilson | Celli |
| 26 | Chris Worsey | Celli, Cello, Main Personnel |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |