Ray LaMontagne is a country artist who is manifestly unconcerned with attaining the “alt” prefix – this ain’t Smog, Wilco or Ryan Adams. No sir, this is straight-down-the-line classic Nashville fare, in which you can hear echoes of such iconic performers as Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.
LaMontagne’s no-frills tunes are hugely popular in the US – like his previous album, Gossip In The Grain, this was a top-five hit on the Billboard charts. Country isn’t a genre usually pumping from the stereo chez Nolan, but it’s damn near impossible not to be swept along with the uptempo bluesy groove of ‘Repo Man’, the opening tune on God Willin’ & The Creek Don’t Rise.
The track actually leads you to think that LaMontagne and his group, the Pariah Dogs, are going to mix some rock ‘n’ roll flourishes with the acoustic material, but this turns out not to be the case – the album consists almost exclusively of low-key, melancholy numbers – more ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’ than ‘Me And Bobby McGee’.
This isn’t necessarily bad – LaMontagne has a good feel for melody and a deft lyrical touch. Still, God Willin’... could definitely have done with a few rockers to balance out the mellow acoustica.