My Two Cents: Trouble

I realize I'm a couple of years slow to discover Ray LaMontagne's debut. Sometimes I like to get acquainted with an artist after the initial hoopla is over. Regardless of my tardiness, I am quite taken by Trouble. I love the instrumentation (I'm a sucker for tasteful percussion and string arrangements for flavor), the from-another-era folk vibe and, of course, LaMontagne's gruff, yet gentle voice. "How can a vocal be both gruff and gentle," one might ask. You'll have to listen to him for yourself. All I know is that, after a few spins of Trouble, I was already poised to buy his sophomore album, this year's Till the Sun Turns Black. Truth be told, I am delaying my Best of 2006 post until I purchase it.