Trouble (Ray LaMontagne album)

Trouble is the debut studio album by singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne. It was released on September 14, 2004, in the United States, and on September 20, 2004, in the United Kingdom. Although the album was released in 2004, the song didn't enter the top five of the UK charts until August 2006. The album was produced by Ethan Johns, released on RCA Records, marketed by BMG and distributed by Stone Dwarf Records. The album has sold 239,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Jennifer Stills and Sara Watkins are featured on several tracks. The album cover was designed by Jason Holley, and was chosen by LaMontagne as a "powerful and poetic piece of art".^[9]

Trouble
Studio album by Ray LaMontagne
Released	September 14, 2004 (2004-09-14)
Recorded	2004
Studio	Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Folk rock
Length	41:24
Label	RCA/BMG/Stone Dwarf
Producer	Ethan Johns
Ray LaMontagne chronology
Trouble (2004) Till the Sun Turns Black (2006)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Drowned in Sound	9/10^[2]
Mojo	^[3]
MusicOMH	^[4]
PopMatters	7/10^[5]
Rolling Stone	^[6]
Uncut	^[7]
The Village Voice	C+^[8]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Ray LaMontagne, except "Hold You in My Arms", written with Ethan Johns

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Trouble"	4:01
2.	"Shelter"	4:36
3.	"Hold You in My Arms"	5:06
4.	"Narrow Escape"	4:39
5.	"Burn"	2:54
6.	"Forever My Friend"	5:44
7.	"Hannah"	5:42
8.	"How Come"	4:32
9.	"Jolene"	4:10
10.	"All the Wild Horses"	3:16

Personnel

• Ray LaMontagne – vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica
• Ethan Johns – producer, engineer, mixing, string arrangements, additional guitar, drums, percussion, piano, bass guitar, harmonium
• David Low – cello, contractor
• Julie Gigante – violin
• Phillipe Levy – violin
• Mark Robertson – violin
• Roger Wilkie – violin
• Sara Watkins – fiddle on "Hannah" and "Jolene"; backing vocals on "Hannah"
• Jen Stills – backing vocals on "Narrow Escape"

Technical

• Chris Reynolds – engineer
• Ashley Newton, Steve Ralbovsky, James Cerreta – A&R
• Robin C. Hendrickson, Brett Kilroe – art direction

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2004) Peak position French Albums (SNEP)^[10] 164 Chart (2006) Peak position Irish Albums (IRMA)^[11] 4 Scottish Albums (OCC)^[12] 61 UK Albums (OCC)^[13] 5 Chart (2015) Peak position US Billboard 200^[14] 164 US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)^[15] 13

Year-end charts Chart (2006) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[16] 74 Chart (2007) Position UK Albums (OCC)^[17] 153

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[19]	Platinum	484,929^[18]
United States (RIAA)^[20]	Platinum	1,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Covers

Popular Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins did a cover for the song "Burn" on January 20, 2005, at the Cairns Convention Centre in Australia. "Jolene," was also covered by the Zac Brown Band, a country music band.

Usage in media

"Burn", "Trouble", and "All the Wild Horses" were all featured in the second season of the American television show Rescue Me.

The song "Shelter" was featured in the film Prime (2005).

The song "How Come" was featured in the film The Devil Wears Prada (2006).

"Hold You In My Arms" was featured in the 2007 season finale of the television show Grey's Anatomy.

The song "Jolene" plays during the ending credits of the film The Town (2010).

References

1. Leggett, Steve. "Trouble – Ray LaMontagne". AllMusic. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
2. Weston, Colin (November 22, 2004). . Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on August 21, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
3. "Ray LaMontagne: Trouble". Mojo: 96. LaMontagne is blessed with a wood-smoky Paul Rodgers-meets-Norah Jones delivery, oozing the rough-hewn sensitivity of mid-'70s Marlboro ads and Kris Kristofferson movies... He's something special indeed.
4. Booth, Emma (June 19, 2006). "Ray LaMontagne – Trouble". MusicOMH. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
5. Ray, Austin L. (December 1, 2005). "Ray LaMontagne: Trouble". PopMatters. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
6. Hoard, Christian (December 9, 2004). "Ray LaMontagne: Trouble". Rolling Stone: 177.
7. . Uncut (88): 99. September 2004. Archived from the original on April 28, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
8. Christgau, Robert (November 29, 2005). "Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot 2005". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
9. Long, Chris (December 3, 2004). "The Trouble with Ray".
10. "Lescharts.com – Ray LaMontagne – Trouble". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
11. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Ray LaMontagne". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
12. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
14. "Ray LaMontagne Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
15. "Ray LaMontagne Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
16. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2006". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
17. "UK Year-End Charts 2007" (PDF). Official Charts Company. ChartsPlus. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
18. Jones, Alan (March 11, 2016). "Official Charts Analysis: Adele's 25 returns to No.1". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
19. "British album certifications – Ray Lamontagne – Trouble". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 20, 2016. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Trouble in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
20. "American album certifications – Ray Lamontagne – Trouble". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 15, 2022.