When easy listening gets just a little too easy…
Also in the post this week was Josh Rouse’s Nashville and (a little late) Ray Lamontagne’s Trouble.
I’m taking them together because they both have the same affect on me. At first listen - they’re really rather lovely, instantly likeable albums. The problem is I suspect they’re both just a little bit too easily likeable.
I was listening to Nashville at one point and thinking ‘ooh this is nice’ then I imagined myself getting into a friend’s car with it playing on and I know my reaction would be to scream: ‘What sort of floppy MOR nonsense are you listening to these days’?
Uncut and lots of others have completely loved the album. And it’s easy to understand why. But for the same reason that I can never really get into Steely Dan (and god knows I’ve tried), I doubt I’m ever really going to love it.
I’m a little late getting to LaMontagne. He’s a lot less floppy than Rouse. Sort of half David Gray, half Ted Hawkins, and by all accounts very wonderful live (although I wouldn’t go along expecting to dance). It’s all perfectly fine bluesy/ folky stuff and you cant’ help but quite like it - but I think I prefer the slightly more twisted antics of Willy Mason and Conor Oberst.
The big bonus though is that it’s reminded me of Ted Hawkins. I hadn’t thought about him for years until I heard Ray LaMontagne getting all gravelly.
Many moons ago, I listened to his really quite brilliant Songs From Venice Beach about a billion times. But it’s one of those albums I never bought on CD…and so I haven’t heard it in years. Fortunately - I’ve just found it on eMusic and downloaded it for a bit of nostalgia.