Part Of The Light is Ray LaMontagne's seventh album in 13 years. And a beautiful thing it is too. If there is any thread to my Favourite Albums of 2018 it's that they all contain some really beautiful music.
I've loved Ray's music ever since I first heard the title song and first single from the album Trouble.
It was produced by the now famed producer and multi-instrumentalist Ethan Johns - as were his next two Albums, Till The Sun Turns Black (2006), which remains one of my favourite all time albums & Gossip In The Grain (2008)
Be Here Now - from Till The Sun Turns Black
2010's God Willin' & The Creek Don't Rise won the Grammy for a Best Contemporary Folk Album and was the first to be produced by Ray alone.
In 2014 Ray released his next Album, Supernova which took a turn to a more 60s electronica psychedelic approach with heavy influence from Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys in the producer's chair.
Jim James of the band My Morning Jacket took the helm of Ray's next albums, 2016's Ouroros. Another departure in sound and approach with several songs being over 6 minutes long. It was even more experimental than the previous album and took Ray into a more Progressive arena.
Always astride the bridge between Folk and Americana, Part Of The Light sees Ray back to the more stripped back folky tones of his debut. The opening track To The Sea is an absolute killer, full of acoustic optimism and sunshine.
The musicianship and sound of the record are up to the usual excellent standard showcasing Ray's sometimes breathy multilayered vocals.
Part Of The Light, It's Always Been You and Let's Make It Last shimmer with a lovely swaying intensity. I haven't heard Ray being this lovely since his second album Till The Sun Turns Black. It's Always Been You holds a special place for me as a song that brought me some light in a very dark time.
But Ray still has that desire within him to break free of his acoustic shackles and As Black As Blood Is Blue sees Ray once again strap on the electric and revisit some of the sounds of his previous two albums on a growler rocker, well, as rocky as Ray gets anyway. But it still has some lovely harmonic touches.
Such A Simple Thing is a mainly acoustic track before the bluesy workout of No Answer Arrives. Another intense track of multi layered vocals, electric guitars and flashes of electronica.
And trust Ray to leave the best until last with the Epic track Goodbye Blue Sky. 7 minutes of classic Americana in the style of The Band. Wonderful stuff indeed.
This album probably flew under the radar for most people in 2018 - but I urge you to seek it out. It finds an artist continuing to grow and reaching to be the best he can be. On the whole, he achieves it.
Twitter - @RayLaMontagne
No comments:
Post a Comment