# Ray Lamontagne's new album Supernova. :-( **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819 "2014-05-20T12:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/1 "2014-05-20T12:24:40Z")
Don’t know if there are any Ray fans on here but I’ve been a huge fan of his for years and anxiously awaited his latest album as he’s always awesome. Until now. Supernova has to be the worst album to album decline in music history. It was produced by whatshisname from the Black Keys and it shows. Rays voice is layered with reverb reverb reverb, which is a crying shame because RL’s voice is THE reason he’s loved, and to hide it behind tons of crappy effects ala Black Keys is a travesty. It also completely shifts gears away from the folksy sound he’s always had to an entirely different, 60’s tripadelic sound that just doesn’t work. It’s awful. This is probably one of the hugest disappointments for me as far as a single album goes. It’s terrible. The kicker is my wife and I bought tickets to see him in Orlando in July. I’m desperately hoping he doesn’t play much of this album otherwise it will be a long night. Anyone else heard this thing yet? I know he’s fairly popular. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/2 "2014-05-20T13:16:53Z")
I’ve listened to it multiple times, and like it. When you refer to “the worst album to album decline in music history” (which, for my money, is Catherine Wheel’s, from _Adam and Eve_ to _Wishville_), are you comparing to _God Willin’ and the Creek Don’t Rise_ (with the Pariah Dogs) or _Gossip in the Grain_? Wikipedia and AllMusic have them all mushed together; but Spotify treats them as separate discographies. I ask because I like \*Supernova \*better than _GWatCDR_, but sure: \*GitG \*is tough to beat (as are the earlier two, \*Trouble \*and _Till the Sun Turns Black_). ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_X2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90db22/32.png) [@Karen\_X2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_X2)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/3 "2014-05-20T16:33:48Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > Don’t know if there are any Ray fans on here but I’ve been a huge fan of his for years and anxiously awaited his latest album as he’s always awesome. Until now. > > Supernova has to be the worst album to album decline in music history. It was produced by whatshisname from the Black Keys and it shows. Rays voice is layered with reverb reverb reverb, which is a crying shame because RL’s voice is THE reason he’s loved, and to hide it behind tons of crappy effects ala Black Keys is a travesty. > > It also completely shifts gears away from the folksy sound he’s always had to an entirely different, 60’s tripadelic sound that just doesn’t work. It’s awful. > > This is probably one of the hugest disappointments for me as far as a single album goes. It’s terrible. The kicker is my wife and I bought tickets to see him in Orlando in July. I’m desperately hoping he doesn’t play much of this album otherwise it will be a long night. > > Anyone else heard this thing yet? I know he’s fairly popular. Just a bit off track, but I was lucky enough to get tickets to Letterman a few weeks ago, and he was the musical guest. I’ve heard some of his songs, but I’m not a huge fan. His performance there was awful. He seemed disconnected with everyone, and forgot the words to the whole last verse! Turned his back on the audience, and barely acknowledged Letterman when it was over. Of course, this was all edited out at air time. Lost all respect for him. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2014, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/4 "2014-05-20T20:36:58Z")
Interesting. Supernova just recently came out and the fan reaction to it has been pretty severe. I’ve read he’s a very introverted person so I wonder if he was reeling from the fan backlash to the album when he had to go on TV to play it. It’s pretty bizarre actually. Most of the critics have written good reviews of the album but fan reviews have been extremly polarized with everyone either loving or hating it. I get the vibe from Amazon that alot of the 4 star reviewers only gave it 4 stars because they felt bad for him or something. ---
**Author:** ![coxyyxoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@coxyyxoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coxyyxoc)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/5 "2014-05-22T16:52:09Z")
must say i am a huge fan and think he is 1 of the best singer songer writer for decades his songs are like storys, but i couldnt even finish listening to this awful crap called supernova it is just 1 of the worst things my ears have ever herd, i first found the black keys a long time ago when ray said he would like to work with them what a big big mistake i mean i love the black keys older stuff and think the new stuff is quiet good but every one i have ever herd dan auebach produce is just awful, and for ray to think that he is that bad that he needed the black keys on this 1 well he needs that genius head of his testing because this is 1 album to forget its just awful awful music i think he was on lsd when he made it…ray get the hell back in the studio quick time and make another album with the pariah dogs will ya because thats what your best at, your a bloody genius so if it aint broke dont fix it ray ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/6 "2014-05-22T17:39:48Z")
My, that was one of the more articulate posts I’ve read on SDMB. Hopefully a harbinger of things to come! Anyhoo…why would it be a bad thing if he were on LSD when he made it? There have been some great, great albums made that way. IMO, the Pariah Dogs album is of significantly lower quality than any of the four albums he made without them. But there’s no arguing taste. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/7 "2014-05-22T20:38:12Z")
I am a fan of his work, but have been super busy so haven’t rushed out to get his new CD. Unfortunately, I can immediately hear in my head what is being described - Auerbach often likes a very “wet” vocal sound - with reverb and other effects to make it sound vintage or something. Can get very tiresome. I also agree that Ray’s voice is amazing, so the more stripped-down to feature it, the better… ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/8 "2014-05-23T22:15:50Z")
BTW, anyone with me that _Till the Sun Turns Black_ is the best one? Talk about the opposite of a sophomore slump! ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/9 "2014-05-24T01:56:11Z")
Yeah that’s my favorite too. Can I Stay was me and my wife’s wedding dance. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/10 "2014-07-12T04:45:35Z")
Well just got back from the concert. ☹ He pretty much played the entire new album. Threw in a short 3 song acoustic set in the middle which was obviously the highlight. Imagine waiting ten years and 5 albums to see one of your favorite musicians. His music has been the soundtrack through many good and bad periods of your life. You can’t wait to finally see him play some of these songs live. You show up and instead of playing the music he’s known for he spends the entire show playing his critically panned experimental album. Bummer. It’d be like going to see Metallica and them only playing tunes off St Anger. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/11 "2014-07-12T07:20:24Z")
> [@Cubsfan](#): > > You show up and instead of playing the music he’s known for he spends the entire show playing his critically panned experimental album. Bummer. You’ve made it abundantly clear you don’t like the album. But when you make the leap from your subjective opinion that you are perfectly entitled to, to calling it “critically panned”, the latter is an assertion that can be evaluated for validity. And I don’t see much evidence for the proposition. When I Googled just now for “lamontagne supernova review”, the first five hits were all positive reviews, from top-tier sources: _The Guardian_ calls it “perfect summer psych-pop” in the headline, and concludes the review by saying “Lamontagne has crafted an unlikely perfect summer soundtrack.” _The Current_ (a great Twin Cities MPR radio station) says “this album might be the freshest and most adventurous of LaMontagne’s career…\*Supernova \*is an enjoyable ride start to finish!” \*Rolling Stone \*says “it’s a blessing that he connected with producer Dan Auerbach for his fifth album. Predictably, Auerbach helps the singer pull bright colors from the Sixties’ crayon box; less predictably, he makes it seem a perfectly logical progression of LaMontagne’s 10-plus years of cozy vibes.” _NPR:_ “For a guy who made his reputation as a morosely troubled, soulful crooner, [\*Supernova \*is] a welcome departure…The achievement of \*Supernova \*is that, five albums in, LaMontagne hasn’t settled into a formula or a fall-back recurring mood…The result is headlong music that keeps LaMontagne chasing after his own melodies, which mitigates a flaw in his earlier recordings — a tendency to become dolorously languid.” _Allmusic:_ “\*Supernova \*is unapologetically and indulgently retro; a casual listen might dismiss it as mere nostalgia. But pairing Auerbach’s detailed, careful production with LaMontagne’s open, expertly crafted songwriting and breezy, sensual, emotionally unburdened singing, that boundary is shattered.” ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/12 "2014-07-12T09:43:30Z")
I didn’t mean professional critics. Sorry. I meant fans. Go browse thru the reviews amazon. Even most of the 4 star reviews are negatively worded. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/13 "2014-07-12T10:33:08Z")
Even so. Ordering the Amazon reviews (as I always do by default) by “Most Helpful First”, which gives a good sense of how others feel, even if they don’t write their own reviews, here are excerpts from the first five listed: (5 stars, 21 of 23 found helpful) “Now, upon hearing the whole album, I gotta say that this is CLASSIC Ray and brilliantly done.” (5 stars, 19 of 21 found helpful) “For those that can go on the musical journey this CD will be a joy, and for those that like artists to remain the same this CD will require multiple listens before you can appreciate the creativity that went into this release.” (4 stars, 22 of 27 found helpful) “A few of my initial thoughts were ‘Ray has sold out’ and ‘This sounds too sugary sweet to be a Ray album.’ But as I have listened to ‘Supernova’ more, I realize the songs are well crafted as usual.” (2 stars, 32 of 42 found helpful) “Because it’s Ray alot of people automatically give it the benefit of the doubt but frankly this is not very new, not very inventive, and just not very good.” (5 stars, 8 of 9 found helpful) “This album is one tasty piece of music.” So your opinion is represented, but not by the majority of the top-rated reviews. If there’s negativity even in the positive reviews, it’s the acknowledgement that a vocal minority is disgruntled about the change in sound, in the context of arguing that this minority (you) are _wrong_ in their (and my) opinions. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/14 "2014-07-12T11:35:47Z")
I’ve got his first 3 albums and while I don’t think everything on\* Supernova\* is a gem I think there is an awful lot to like about the work. I think the arrangements and the vocal production are nice differences from his previous stuff without sounding at all alien to me. However being an old fart I love the production values and sounds to which Auerbach is making nods. But then I love Auerbach’s solo stuff too. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/15 "2014-07-12T11:50:59Z")
Can you recommend Auerbach songs/albums that are on Spotify? I’m listening to \*Supernova \*now (second time through this morning) and enjoying it more and more all the time. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/16 "2014-07-12T15:34:19Z")
I don’t know about Spotify but try [When the Night Comes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nz22S17pjdQ) off _Keep It Hid_. Just as beautiful as the job he did with [Airwaves](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEHC-fXhWbA) on the Ray LaMontagne album in question. Lovely stuff. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/17 "2014-07-12T16:49:13Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Can you recommend Auerbach songs/albums that are on Spotify? I’m listening to \*Supernova \*now (second time through this morning) and enjoying it more and more all the time. Albums _Brothers_ and _El Camino_ sold well and won awards like Grammys for The Black Keys. They also did _Attack and Release_, produced by Danger Mouse. Auerbach produced the most recent Dr. John album and also the new Lana Del Ray album called _Ultraviolence_ which has been getting a lot of advance buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/18 "2014-07-12T19:10:56Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > Even so. Ordering the Amazon reviews (as I always do by default) by “Most Helpful First”, which gives a good sense of how others feel, even if they don’t write their own reviews, here are excerpts from the first five listed: > > (5 stars, 21 of 23 found helpful) “Now, upon hearing the whole album, I gotta say that this is CLASSIC Ray and brilliantly done.” > > (5 stars, 19 of 21 found helpful) “For those that can go on the musical journey this CD will be a joy, and for those that like artists to remain the same this CD will require multiple listens before you can appreciate the creativity that went into this release.” > > (4 stars, 22 of 27 found helpful) “A few of my initial thoughts were ‘Ray has sold out’ and ‘This sounds too sugary sweet to be a Ray album.’ But as I have listened to ‘Supernova’ more, I realize the songs are well crafted as usual.” > > (2 stars, 32 of 42 found helpful) “Because it’s Ray alot of people automatically give it the benefit of the doubt but frankly this is not very new, not very inventive, and just not very good.” > > (5 stars, 8 of 9 found helpful) “This album is one tasty piece of music.” > > So your opinion is represented, but not by the majority of the top-rated reviews. If there’s negativity even in the positive reviews, it’s the acknowledgement that a vocal minority is disgruntled about the change in sound, in the context of arguing that this minority (you) are _wrong_ in their (and my) opinions. Top rated reviewers? You’re reading too much into my posts and not enough of the reviews on Amazon. You’ve cherry picked a few reviews there but a reviewers “status” on Amazon is mostly meaningless to me. Read through the reviews and you’ll see exactly what I described, most of the reviews that are 4 star or lower describe this as a step back for Ray with many expressing total disappointment. I’m glad you like the album so much though. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2014, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/19 "2014-07-12T21:04:33Z")
I did the opposite of cherry pick. I quoted from the first five reviews listed (and if I were cherry picking, why would I include the two star review?). If you leave your Amazon settings in the default position, those are presumably the same first five you will see as well. If you change your settings to show the five most recent first, then you will get a different five that will vary by the day. Upthread, you called the album critically panned, so I quoted from the first five critical reviews on Google. Then you said “wait, I meant Amazon reviews and those are all negative” so I quoted from the first five user reviews listed on Amazon. Now _that_ is not valid because it does not fit your thesis. I get that you are butthurt about this album not being what you expected it to be, but c’mon: the goalpost-moving is getting dizzying here. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819/20 "2014-07-15T15:05:27Z")
I loved the new direction he went in for _Supernova_, even if the actual results were somewhat mixed. There are great songs there, and “Drive In Movies” in particular is one of the best he’s written — but it’s also the most “classic,” old-school LaMontagne. Still, I hope he keeps pushing himself and taking risks; it’s something every artist needs to do. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ray-lamontagnes-new-album-supernova/688819.md?page=2)