Over 20 years ago, before he was a platinum-selling, Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter, Ray LaMontagne released his remarkable debut album, Trouble.
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American Songwriter Membership caught up with Ray LaMontagne to talk about the momentous anniversary of his extraordinary album. In this rare and inspirational interview, Ray reflected on the stories behind the songs, his songwriting process, and his changing relationship with the album he hadn’t listened to in 20 years.
American Songwriter: Let’s start with the first song Trouble. What do you remember about writing that song?
Ray LaMontagne: Trouble, I remember distinctly. Because I had just bought a piece of land in Maine, which was like the first place that was mine, and I built a cabin on it after work. So I bought it sometime in the spring. And then over the summer, after work, I would go clear the spot where the cabin was gonna go, and then I built a very [small structure]. It was like 12… well, three sheets of plywood by three sheets of plywood. So… (laughs) It was small.
But we built this little off-the-grid cabin that was finished by fall to an extent. I mean, it was just bare insulation with plastic inside. We had an outhouse and a hand-dug well, so we’d have to pull the water up with a bucket and bring it inside and heat it on a woodstove.
And we washed in literally a two-foot galvanized tub. I’d get home, and we would heat the water up and put it in, and we’d wash the boys up first, and then I would climb in, and then they would wash me up.
So (laughs) I’ll never forget it. Because I mean, it was rough days. But it was also some of the best memories ever.
But after the boys went to bed, I would then sit downstairs at the table and mess around with songs or see where songs were taking me. I remember writing “Trouble” after work late at night when the boys were asleep.
American Songwriter: In a small cabin with everybody asleep, I imagine the performance was probably a little bit different when you were writing Trouble?
Ray LaMontagne: Really, you’re just whispering it.
American Songwriter: That’s beautiful. It’s interesting to be talking to you about the Trouble record and also be so into the newest record (Long Way Home). I want to talk about how the songwriting process was back then and how things have changed over time.
Ray LaMontagne: It’s always melodies first. It’s always the same. I’m just going about my life, and a melody will come into my head. And I will get it down somehow. Back in those days, I didn’t really have a way to record things, so I had to just remember them. But as time went on, I think I had just an old tape recorder like the old RCA tape recorders you could carry around nowadays, of course, we all have our iPhones. So if I get a melody that I just know is good, I’ll just record it really fast. Just sing it into my phone and then forget about it.
And it could be 6 months or 8 months later when I feel like it’s time to sit down with melodies and sort through things and listen to what I have and see what wants to be – what wants to live. There’s always a moment when I just feel like the songs are knocking and I just need to listen to the melodies I have and see what songs want to come around. But in the meantime, I don’t ever play the guitar or play music or anything
American Songwriter: Interesting. So then…no rituals. No “get up in the morning and make sure you get a three-hour window?” Nothing like that?
Ray LaMontagne: Nothing. Same with writing. Never. I’ve never done that ever. There’s no discipline to it whatsoever. And I think that’s why it works. Because it’s all subconscious. And so I just let that creative part of me do its thing on its own.
And I just stay busy. I do other things. Until I know. You can kind of feel it. It’s like the tide is shifting. And I just start feeling like, “Oohh, I wanna dig into these melodies.” And then it all just kind of happens all at once.
American Songwriter: Did I hear that Trouble was the demos?
Ray LaMontagne: The Trouble album that you hear is the demos.
American Songwriter: Whoa.
Ray LaMontagne: Yeah. It’s funny because I’ve only just listened. When we did the remaster was the first time I listened to this record top to tail since it was recorded. So it was huge for me because I hadn’t listened to it…because all I felt when I thought about that record was how I felt at the time, emotions that were tied to that time. I didn’t want to go, “Why would I do that?”
When I listen to it now with 20 years distance, 23 years distance really, it’s like, you know, it’s a different thing. I just hear a really great vocal. (Laughs) And really great songs. And I’m not patting myself on the back, but if I heard this record today… If someone handed it to me and said, “This is a 20-year-old guy, just starting out, or whatever.” And I listened to that… I would say, “Holy sh**. That’s good. That guy’s voice is great. And these songs are really cool and different.”
I would say that I only say it because I haven’t listened to it in 20 years. At first, I didn’t even recognize that guy. But then I hear it and I say, “Holy sh**. All these years, you’ve been thinking you didn’t sing well. You didn’t do good enough. And you listen to it and like you’re singing your a** off.”
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Photo by Brian Stowell
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