| Ray of light
ARTIST IN TOWN Ray Lamontagne’s story is not one of overnight success, but it is one of overnight epiphany. Awaking before dawn to report to his job at a shoe factory in Lewiston, Maine, a lesser-known Stephen Stills song called ‘Tree Top Flyer’ came through his clock radio speaker. “I just sat up and listened,” he says. “Something about that song just hit me. I did not go to work that day.” Lamontagne quit his job and began teaching himself how to play guitar and sing while immersing himself in the records of CSN, Dylan, Neil Young, Ray Charles and Otis Redding. This was ten years ago. Trouble maker Since then he recorded three self-released CDs, which helped land him a deal at RCA Records, who a few months ago released Trouble. Critics can’t write about Lamontagne without comparing him to the songsmiths he studied during his formative years. And it’s true there are elements of Otis Redding in the pleading lilts of his melodies, and the directness of his lyrics recalls Neil Young, but Lamontagne has a voice of his own. He has a pained delivery that gives validity to lyrics that might sound cliché through the throat of a less soulful voice. Trouble is dense with themes of desire, temptation, shame and ultimately redemption. Produced by Ethan Johns, who is known for his work with Ryan Adams, the arrangements recall some of that singer’s finest moments. 'Feel brand new' Lamontagne says he is pleased with his first major label effort, but he is even more excited about the songs that will appear on his next album. He says about half of his set is new material. This doesn’t mean he’s sick of the songs on Trouble though. “Some of them have a life on their own,” he says of the songs. “You just have to get yourself in that place where you feel like you just wrote it, and in some rooms you get a feeling that they really love these songs and that makes them feel brand new for me.” PAT HEALY Ray Lamontagne plays tomorrow night (Jan. 15) at 9 with Willy Mason at the Paradise (967 Commonwealth Ave.) MBTA: Green Line to Pleasant. For info, call (617) 562-8800Back |
 Before he wrote and sang songs, performer Ray Lamontagne made shoes in Maine |