Ray

I will see Ray Lamontagne for the second time in a few months. I can’t wait. He is amazing. BUT, I must say that as his singles roll out one by one in an orderly and very calculated/marketed way, I am longing for the Ray of old. (I’m sorry, it’s true.) I’ve devoured articles about his newest album, incredulous that he battled debilitating self-doubt to the point of stopping his creative process and that this album, this Supernova, is what came to him as a freeing process that unveiled itself, songs revealing themselves, etc. yada yada. I mean no disrespect, but HOW does an artist question the veracity and beauty of something like the album, “Til The Sun Turns Black,” which while not as widely received as “Trouble,” is masterful in it’s execution. It is such an album-y album. The last two songs must be in tandem or it is just depressing. Together, it is stunning. Til The Sun Turns Black has only a beat between its conclusion and the beginning of Within You and it is perfection . You are taken to the nadir with “Til The Sun Turns Black” and then you rebound with Within You and the sum total is transcendent.

you go from:

“Can you see the corporate man
He’s winning on the telephone
His possessions are his throne
Till the sun turns black”

to:

War is not the answer
The answer is within you

Love, love
Love, love

I am looking forward to the concert, I will listen to whatever he creates, but I hope/wish  that he can harness whatever self-doubt he was battling because his past, more heartfelt albums are exquisite.