I am in love . . .

You may have seen the bulletins I've posted about having a couple of his songs on my profile. The singles I'm familiar with are bluesy, bassy, and have a rhythm that just make you leave the speakers giddy.

If you haven't heard/purchased "Until the Sun Turns Black," I highly suggest you do.

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday when I got the CD, put it in my player, and listened to the hauntingly beautiful, simple, yet eloquent sounds of the first track. It's reminiscent of Cat Stevens and Loggins and Messina. It's what Damien Rice WISHES he was.

The entire album shows the range of poetically melodic and hypnotically lyrical visions of soul that Ray Lamontagne can produce, above and beyond the singles I'm used to hearing. On top of that, I want to kiss the producer for blending such a wonderful lot of songs in a nice, clean way without under- or over-producing the album.

I'm happier with this CD than I've been with any CD in a long time.

If you still haven't heard Ray Lamontagne, I urge you to visit his MySpace page and get a taste - but I promise you, it's nothing like what you'll experience on "Until the Sun Turns Black."

Big kudos to Ray and many thanks to him for sharing his soul with me.