Album review: Ray LaMontagne - Gossip in the Grain

Let me just start by saying you don’t need to read this review at all -
Go out there and buy this album - Simple because it is Ray LaMontagne. Just like everything else he has done, it is Supersuper


The album starts off with a bang with You are the Best Thing, followed by the very romantic Let it be Me.

"there may come a time,

you just can't seem to find your way

for every door you walk on to,

seems like they get slammed in your face

thats when you need someone,

someone that you can call

and when all your faith is gone

feels like you can't go on

let it be me"

Both songs have been out for a while now and I’m completely in love with them.

It then mellows into more soulful stuff as it progresses with Sarah
I Still Care for You is a haunting melody.
Meg White is a lovely number dedicated to Meg White of the White Stripes and my favourite song after the opening 2 tracks. “Meg White, you're all right. In fact, I think you're pretty swell” he sings jovially

Hey Me, Hey Mama has a country feel and adds a lighter side to the album after the heavy songs before. Henry Nearly Killed Me (It's A Shame) follows suit serving the same purpose.

A Falling Through addresses exactly what the title suggests
“Why, Why did you go, why did you go away?
There's nothing I can say Nothing I can do To bring you back again”

The Title song ends the album with a sombre note "Truth be: The beggar that holds his tongue, Dines on none but air alone. "

This album doesn’t have as much of the heartache that the first 2 albums had. It does sound more like his first album Trouble. Till the Sun turns Black his second offering was darker and haunting.

He’s also used quite a few backup musicians in this album – and it accompanies his raspy voice wonderfully
I know a lotta reviews haven’t given this one too much love - but if you listen to all 3 albums you can see how it’s a progression in his music. I don't think LaMontagne was trying to make it another Trouble - it doesn’t have tracks like Shelter, Jolene or Trouble. But it still has more than you'd get on any album you've bought recently. You can listen to this one back to back many many times

Folk rock isn’t what I listen to usually...and LaMontagne is probably the only one on my list for a while

Rating: 5/5