Released: 2000 (East West)
David Gray is a singer/songwriter from Ireland who hit the mainstream with this album, released in 2000. This remains comfortably the biggest album of his career, selling over 5 million copies worldwide, initially on the basis of word of mouth, but later as the mainstream press realised how good this album was. The genre for this is somewhat vague, but to give an idea of what it sounds like, other similar artists are Damien Rice, Travis and Coldplay.
Tracklisting:
1.
Please Forgive Me-This provides a very strong opening to the album, with a drum machine in the background before David comes in, playing a simple piano part, with his voice over it. Like most other songs in this album, this is a love song, but it also is one of the best of the album. More instruments gradually come in as the song progresses, adding a certain depth to it, before they all fade out apart from the piano and his voice. A beautiful song.
5/5
2.
Babylon-The big single of the album. Similar to
Please Forgive Me in the development of the song, although it's louder, to a certain extent, with the chorus of "If you want it, come and get it, for crying out loud" sounding more defiant than the first track would hint at. Personally though, I don't think this quite reaches the heights of track 1, so
4.5/5.
3.
My Oh My-This is the most bare song yet, in that it consists mainly of the voice and an acoustic guitar, although there are drums in the background. This fits in with the lyrical tone of the song, with it seemingly being sung shortly after a breakup, and the lyrics doubting the very nature of love. This is a small gem of a song, that often gets passed over after the first 2, more famous tracks.
4.5/5
4.
We're Not Right-This is the first track where standards slip a bit, with everything seeming a bit low in the mix (if that makes sense). It does have some quite nice chiming guitar interludes, which break up the track a bit, but there's nothing overly memorable here, either in lyrics, vocals or the structure of the song.
3/5
5.
Nightblindness-Put simply, much better. The opening to this song is the sparsest sounding yet, with the acoustic guitar barely audible under the mournful vocals, including David singing, "What are we gonna do when the money runs out." The song builds though, although it remains similar to
My Oh My in its tone. I like this track though, although it's one of the simplest on here. When what I think is a guitar comes in, it sounds almost tired, adding to the drowsy nature of it.
4/5
6.
Silver Lining-Gray's vocal range is quite evident here, with simple chord changes adding power to this song, as, again do his lyrics. Having said that though, it's still one of the weaker tracks on here, although it features quite an interesting twist midway through, when the song becomes louder, and Gray's voice more intense.
3.5/5
7.
White Ladder- The most straightforward pop track on here, with the vocals almost retreating into a falsetto at some stages. That's not to say it's no good though, with the vocals sometimes retreating behind the music, adding an interesting balance to the track.
4/5
8.
This Year's Love-Possibly the best song on here. This review isn't really going to do justice, but there's something undeniably beautiful about this song, with Gray singing over a piano part for the entire song, with some strings in the background. It's one of these songs which you put on in a dark moment, and although it seems depressing, it can't help but somehow make you more optimistic. I've got shivers down my spine just listening to it now.
5/5
9.
Sail Away-Amazingly, he follows
This Year's Love with a love song, that's more complex but beautifully written, with imagery of stormy seas adding an emotional intimacy to this track. He judges the tone of his voice beautifully as well. The whistled outro to this track is particularly powerful to me as well.
5/5
10.
Say Hello Wave Goodbye-This is a cover of the Soft Cell song, that's basically unrecognisable. It's a fitting end to the album, being a beautiful track, with another powerful display of singing, although it's probably fair to say that this doesn't quite hit the heights of other tracks of the album. It also sums up the mood of the album very well, which I find important for any final track.
4.5/5
This album really does provide a remarkable demonstration of Gray's voice and talent for writing songs which people can relate to. If you view acoustic singer/songwriters as not your kind of thing, then don't buy this. If, however, you like the sort of music I referred to earlier, then get this, as I view it as a masterpiece of the genre, and something that in my opinion, surpasses the likes of Damien Rice, although his voice is arguably better. On his next album, although it contains some fine songs, Gray never really consistently attained the heights that he reached on here, so if you are interested in his music, I recommend this album. Overall, this gets
4/5.
