Two decades into his career, you pretty much know what to expect from a Ray LaMontagne record. Across nine albums now, the New England musician turns out beautifully crafted contemporary folk music heavy on delicate harmonies. And that’s pretty much what you get with Long Way Home, LaMontagne’s latest.
Across nine tracks, he weaves his soft but powerful vocals across acoustic guitars for a relaxed, unrushed vibe. The album sets the mood with head bobbing “Step Into Your Power,” reminiscent of Otis Redding, complete with solid backing vocals, while a strong Van Morrison influence comes in on the beautiful “Yearning.” “I Wouldn’t Change A Thing” has a subtle country inspiration, thanks to the steel guitar, while “And They Called Her California” has a distinct ‘70s/Laurel Canyon vibe.
The influences, many that go back generations, are there for a reason. The core inspiration for this record goes back almost 30 years ago, when LaMontagne saw Townes Van Zandt perform live at a small club in Minneapolis. He was stuck by the “When here you been is good and gone, all you keep is the getting there” from the song “To Live Is To Fly.” “Thirty years later, it occurs to me that every song on Long Way Home is in one way or another honoring the journey,” he says. “The languorous days of youth and innocence. The countless battles of adulthood, some won, more often lost. It’s been a long hard road, and I wouldn’t change a minute. It took me nine songs to express what Townes managed to say in one line. I guess I still got a lot to learn.”
And while the aural tour of influences here is mostly a good thing, there are a few of songs that seem to pull down the record at times – even at just nine tracks; “The Way Things Are” just sounds maudlin, and “La De Da, La De Dum” and the instrumental “So, Damned, Blue” sound more like filler tracks. That being said, there are more than enough tracks here that are bound to satisfy long-time LaMontagne fans.
