White ladder --- David Gray --- 1998 (iht)
The first time I heard David Gray I thought “Jesus that guy sounds like Dylan!” And he does. But look deeper than the superficial soundalike and you'll find a thoughtful songwriter, a really good singer and a man who really cares about his music. Although this is by far his best known and most successful album, it's his fourth, and he's had five since. A friend of Dave Matthews (he of the band) it was he who released David's album on his own label in the US, leading to interest in it on the other side of the water, and the sudden fame and success for a man who had struggled to gain recognition for five years.
With every song written or co-written by Gray bar the closing cover version, he not only sings but plays guitar, piano, synth and organ. Although not initially a successful single, opener “Please forgive me” became one of his best known and popular songs, with its quietly rolling percussion and sparse piano opening, as bass joins in and then full strings on synth, but it's Gray's distinctive, very Dylan-like voice that carries the track, and which would become a regular sound on the radio during the latter half of the nineties. Near the end of the song, it all fades down to just the solitary piano supporting Gray's vocal, then the synth swells as the ticking drumbeat comes in, handclaps and then the bass, followed finally by the guitar as the song fades out on an instrumental ending.
A great start, and for a long time the only song I knew by Gray, but it's followed by another which was a bigger hit for him, “Babylon” carried on a jaunty guitar line and
chigga-chigga-chigga (sorry, there's just no other way to describe them) drums, almost nonchalant bass humming away. It's almost electric folk/rock, laidback but with a quiet energy all its own and a really nice signature guitar line running through it. The acoustic “My oh my” is the first of three tracks (apart from the cover) on which he collaborates with his drummer, Craig McClune, and it's another nice little relaxing song, not totally acoustic in fairness: started off that way but then synth and organ joined in, and there's a really nice vibe going on it now.
Gray's songs all seem to be based in that most simple, and most complex of themes, human relationships, and “We're not right” is another example of this, with a downbeat vocal and a real CSNY feel, with what sound like female backing vocals, though I can't find any credit for them. This is another co-writing venture, this time including producer Iestyn Polson as well, but “Nightblindness” is one of Gray's own, a dour, fragile acoustic dirge with some lovely introspective guitar, and some lovely whistling organ from McClune, then the mood lightens just slightly with “Silver lining”, tinged with blues and gospel flashes, and some lovely violin, before the title track again reunites Gray with Polson and McClune, for the last time. It's a more uptempo song, driven on a discrete little bassline and percussion that sounds like hands clapping, but I must say for the title track it's pretty weak, and not up to the standard of some that have gone before, and more that are to come.
Seems Gray flourishes best when he writes alone, as “This year's love”, another big hit single, is the album's single ballad, sung in an almost angry, sullen way against a backdrop of soulful piano joined by some beautiful mellotron from Tim Bradshaw. This song, if no other, demonstrates Gray's talent for crafting an almost perfect song out of the simplest ideas, and it hits you right in the heart. Another classic by him is “Sail away”, the last song on the album written by him, with a jaunty, upbeat acoustic sound and a message of escape from the pressures in life. Some lovely strings on synthesiser from Craig McClune add to the majesty of the piece, and it would have been a great closer, but for some odd reason Gray chose to end with a cover version of Soft Cell's “Say hello, wave goodbye”.
That would be bad enough on its own, but the version he includes here is over nine minutes long. I'm not sure that's a good idea for someone who was trying to push his own music, but then, the album sold over seven million units despite this, so I guess people weren't that bothered. Still, I would much rather have had one of his own originals instead. It's a decent version of the song, but I never liked the original, so that doesn't really say all that much.
But as a way of introducing David Gray to the world stage, “White ladder” certainly does its job. Hard to believe the guy had to finance this album himself, and that if it hadn't been for his mate Dave Matthews it might never have seen the light of release. I haven't heard any of his material since this, apart from one or two tracks from “A new day at midnight”, which I thought were okay, but they didn't push me to buy the new album at the time. Nevertheless, if he never sold another album, this cemented his reputation for all time in music, and you'll go a long way to find anyone who hasn't heard at least one or two tracks off this album. Not bad, for a struggling singer/songwriter who had no idea of the influence his music would have on the world.
TRACKLISTING
1. Please forgive me
2. Babylon
3. My oh my
4. We're not right
5. Nightblindness
6. White ladder
7. This year's love
8. Sail away
9. Say hello, wave goodbye