WHO THE HELL ARE

Ray LaMontagne

Natural blues: If you go down to the backwoods today, and you encounter a wild man with a big nose, a bushy beard, a booming voice and a guitar, don't be alarmed. It's probably only Ray LaMontagne, leaving the log cabin in Maine he built for himself and his family, and moving into their newly acquired Victorian stately home. After a childhood spent sleeping in abandoned cars, tents and even chicken coops, Ray can finally afford to buy a proper house, thanks to the huge interest in this 31-year-old troubadour from New Hampshire. Lamontagne has been called "the backwoods Van Morrison" and his raw, soulful voice has been compared to the late Ted Hawkins; his début album, Trouble, channels the spirits of Dylan, CSNY and Otis Redding.

Papa was a rolling stone: Ray never knew his father, a musician who moved to Nashville when Ray was still a young kid. His five brothers and sisters were all born from different dads, and the family was raised by their resourceful mother, who moved them around from Utah to Tennessee to Maine. As if poverty wasn't bad enough, young Ray also had to deal with painful shyness, and he kept to himself in high school, just sitting by himself drawing and writing stories. Still, trouble always found him, and he got into fights with the other kids. Soon, he started skipping school and spending his days hiding out in the woods.

Ball of confusion: When Ray grew up, he swore he'd never become a musician like his bad ol' dad. So he worked for four years in a shoe factory in Maine, filling the emptiness in his life with drink and drugs. One morning, Ray was dragging himself out of bed at 4am for the early shift, when his clock radio played a song called Tree Top Flyer by Stephen Stills. "Something about that song just hit me," recalls Lamontagne. He called in sick and went to the local record stores to look for the song, eventually finding it on an album called Stills Alone. He quit his job, then went out and bought albums by Dylan, Neil Young, Ray Charles and Otis Redding, learning all the songs off them, and singing till his throat hurt.

No trouble: Eventually, Ray overcame his shyness, and started playing at his local theatre, opening for various folkies. Soon, the suits were trekking to Maine to track down the big-voiced backwoodsman. Trouble was recorded with Ethan Johns, whose dad Glyn produced classic albums by The Eagles and Steve Miller. Ethan, who has himself produced such rootsy rock acts as Ryan Adams and Kings Of Leon, used old-fashioned magnetic tape so as not to lose LaMontagne's earthy vibe. When Ray plays his songs live, he often becomes so emotional he cries onstage, so the wild man of the woods is just a big ol' teddy bear after all.