Everybody should love Ray
Ray LaMontagne
Gossip in the Grain (RCA)
ESSENTIAL "Winter Birds"
Laughs are not normally what you expect from a Ray LaMontagne album. But the intense and intensely bearded Maine singer-songwriter showcases a lighter side on his superbly crafted third disc, which is out next Tuesday. It flows much like a classic Van Morrison album and shares a sleepy kinship with work by contemporaries Cat Power and Ryan Adams as it moves from crisp Southern soul to raw-boned blues to gossamer acoustic folk-pop.
Even LaMontagne himself lets out a chuckle as he counts in to the Nashville-New Orleans mash-up "Hey Me, Hey Mama." He's likely amused by the rolling and tumbling banjo licks, whimsical horn tootling, and tales of standing by his volatile old lady. And White Stripes drummer Meg White will no doubt be flattered by the cheeky tribute that bears her name. As a stomping, Stripes-like beat gives way to swoony vocals, LaMontagne proclaims, "Baby, you're the bomb/ Oh, Jack is great, don't get me wrong/ But this is your song."
LaMontagne hasn't abandoned his painfully introspective ways completely, of course. The deeply sad "Sarah" and "A Falling Through" - with Leona Naess on harmony vocals - detail the pain of last goodbyes with palpable ache. But even when the medium is somber, the message has grown more uplifting as on the shiver-inducing "Winter Birds," which finds the singer tucking in for hibernation with his two basic needs: a great love and his trusty acoustic guitar. [Sarah Rodman]
Ray LaMontagne plays at the Opera House Thursday and Friday, with Leona Naess opening both shows. Tickets are $27-$37 at www.ticketmaster.com or 617-931-2000. 