Ray Lamontagne is old school. The reclusive artist's new album, his ninth, “Long Way Home” has a timeless quality to it with his deep, resonant voice front and center over sparse instrumentation. He aligns his past songs with the new ones in a way that gives continuity to his twenty plus years of recording.
The first three songs are a continuation of the collaboration that he’s had with The Secret Sisters recently. The album’s opener is all about seizing the day and the sister’s harmonies, just like his contribution to their most recent album, weave a rich tapestry of soul, folk and blues.
As Lamontagne put the album together he recalled an early performance of Townes Van Zant he saw and commented “Thirty years later it occurs to me that every song on "Long Way Home" is in one way or another honoring the journey. 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.”
With it’s universal message of encouraging acceptance of life’s unpredictability, "Long Way Home" might not be groundbreaking in its style, but it’s an authentic, heartfelt offering from an artist who remains true to his roots.