To say I was pretty excited to hear that I would be reviewing Mr Lamontagnes latest album Gossip in the Grain is something of an understatement. With the excellent debut album Trouble and the even more accomplished follow-up Til the Sun Turns Black, the bar was set high, so would Gossip in the grain hit the mark or fall short? Well, turning this review back-to-front, and giving you the short answer: yes and no.
Gossip in the Grain is Ray's first to feature his touring band, which includes producer and drummer Ethan Johns (Ethan has thus far produced all three albums, as well as producing Crowded House's last effort, and work with Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon and Ben Kweller).
Opener Youre the Best Thing sees retro Ray, a 60s Northern Soul-esque number which sounds like it could have been taken from his debut album. Its with the third track Sarah, which opens with some lovely finger-picking guitar, that you know youve got something special on your hands. I Still Care for You follows, and has that lovely ambience, and melancholy first witnessed on Rays last album. I cannot tell you how much I love this song, the gentle strumming, the just right percussion/ drums everything fits just right. Completing a nice trio is Winter Birds, another song with a vocal delivered with Rays trademark soulful expression. With just Ray and a guitar, this is the most sparse track on the album, but its just right didnt need anything extra.
OK, then we come to Meg White Rays ode to the White Stripes drummer. So, weve just had three great songs, and next up we have a (presumably?) jokey song about how Ray thinks Meg White is the bomb. The lyrics are cheesy, with child-like rhymes (in fact, I would not have been surprised to have heard something like 'Meg White skin as lovely as an egg white') and the melody isnt much better. Sticking with the non-vibe established by Meg White (well, not her, but her song!), comes the trad jazz/ country Hey Me, Hey Mama. Henry Nearly Killed Me picks up the pace, with its shuffle groove, then we slow down for the last two tracks, the last of which is title track Gossip in the Grain, which closes the album with some panache. It brings up goosebumps on me when I listen to it, and when I write about it, which is no mean feat. I can imagine this being used as the last number on his live acts, just as All The Wild Horses was on his London tour a few years back.
Not as instantly likeable as his previous two efforts (its taken around eight plays for it to finally grow on me), this is nonetheless a great album. Compared to his contemporaries, Ray is setting the standard, but compared to his own high standards, maybe falls just short. Having said that, the closing track is such a sublime song, it really does leave you wanting more.