A New Day At Midnight is David Gray's follow up album to his 7 times platinum selling White Ladder and was released in 2002 and has continued to sell at a steady pace since it's release.

For those of you who are not familiar with White Ladder or David Gray, Where have you been? That particular album sold more than 2.2 million copies and
spent over 100 weeks in the top 40.

He has an easy listening folk sound that has been compared with Bob Dylan by some; but I feel on occasion he can let down his stunning lyrics. He is, I
believe, a great singer/songwriter, part of a new breed that will be around for a long time to come yet. He is not frightened off by live performances
either; in fact he's been seen at some of the biggest festivals this year so far.

You may recognise him because of his `wobbly head' during a performance, he tends to remind you of Bill and Ben The Flower Pot Men, lol, saying that though they have stood the test of time.

The album running time in total is 50.37 minutes which I attempt to describe track by track as follows:

Track 01 - Dead In The Water
Good way to start an album, get the listeners attention straight away, solid drum beat intro leading to pleasant chords strummed on the guitar. Stunning lyrics throughout. This is beautifully written and in my opinion one of the best tracks on the album.

“A premonition of the killer’s angel eyes,
An Armageddon sky, tell it like it is,
It’s like the old man says,
We’re dead in the water now”

8/10

Tack 02 - Caroline
Intro has a 80's feel going on with the electric organ and drum machine although the second verse changes with the introduction of an acoustic guitar. Very country feel to it, not as good, I felt it is one of the weaker tracks on this whole CD.

“Caroline, those crazy eyes that shine,
The days blowing through my mind,
Like falling leaves, it ain’t no good,
I tried hard as I could,
But you just won’t let my poor heart be”

5/10

Track 03 – Long Distance Call
Pleasant bongo drum and acoustic guitar intro with lyrics coming in early on, quite a moody feeling song but lightens a bit on the chorus. Nice poem, shame the music goes on a bit towards the end of the track but it’s worth a listen.

“Early morning sun shine it and I’m gone,
To plane out on the lake,
Hey hey yeah yeah,
To glide out on the wing,
Turn around and sing,
The fear now taking hold,
I’ll bring you love but it’s all been sold”

6/10

Track 04 – Freedom
Simple track with lyrics doing all the work, disappointing intro though, got the feel of the local marching band lol, but the final chorus does not disappoint as it builds into a stunning crescendo.

“Time out on the running boards,
We’re running, through a world that lost it’s meaning,
Trying to find a way to love,
This running, ain’t no kind of freedom”

7/10

Track 05 – Kangaroo
Simple guitar and drum introduction, don’t like the music on this track, definitely one of the poorest tracks on this album.

3/10

Track 06 – Last Boat To America
Simple and slow start to this track which carries through to the pleasant effect of the chorus, this track improves as the song continues. Nice lyrics.

“Make me a boat,
Away I’ll float into the stillness of a pure blue sky,
There’s nothing here to hold me now and I got no more tears to cry”

6/10

Track 07 – Real Love
Nice acoustic introduction giving way to a solid drum beat. Love the piano feel to this track, it’s a much stronger tune musically (possibly due to the piano), reminds me of previous CD White Ladder, luv it.

8/10

Track 08 – Knowhere
Simple soft guitar and drum introduction, touching lyrics. Drum machine is very overpowering on this track which ruins it for me. I enjoyed the chorus because the electric drummer stops, yeay! Forget the tune and listen to the words.

“Slow voices speaking through a hurricane,
Said that I wanted but I lied,
You’re looking good,
Hey man I can’t complain,
Ghost on the road at night”

6/10

Track 09 – December

This track starts with David Gray singing a few lines accompanied by an electric organ. I get the impression he was a bit depressed whilst writing this, leaving me thinking where’s the vallium???

“Words don’t bother me no more,
Black money falling to the floor,
Flags out on the balconies,
Black money washing to the seas,
Oh my mind, what happened to the time, December!”

2/10

Track 10 – Be Mine

Soft jazzy drum intro, bit more uplifting than the previous effort, it must be Spring now lol! Seriously this is much better, I enjoy the chorus but I think it’s because the piano plays a big part in this track. I bought this CD after I heard this song when it was released as a single. Brilliant.

“From the very first moment I see you,
That’s when I knew,
All the dreams I held in my heart,
Had suddenly come true,
Knock me over stone cold sober,
Not a thing I could say or do,
Cause Baby when I’m walking with you now,
My eyes are so wide,
Like you reached right into my head
And turned on the light inside”

9/10

Track 11 – Easy Was To Cry

No intro, we go straight into track with lyrics accompanied by an acoustic guitar, clean sound. Another key change for the chorus which seems to lift the spirit of this track. I like this track although I feel it seems to be lacking something, possibly a guitar solo in the middle.

“Smoke curls through my hands,
These one nights stands,
Are making me crazy I know, morning I’ll go,
Crowds in the rain all passing by”

7/10

Track 12 – The Other Side

Soft piano introduction giving you an eerie feel, stunning lyrics and this time he gets it right musically too, apart from the dreaded drum machine again, but it should be better live!

“Maybe I oughta mention,
Was never my intention,
To harm you or your kin,
Are you so scared to look within,
The ghosts are crawling on our skin,
We may race and we may run,
We’ll not undo what has been done,
Or change the moment when it’s gone”

8/10

If you are like me and you love listening to and analysing the words of a song, then this is for you, but let’s be honest it won’t win any prizes musically. I got the feeling that at times he was trying to hard to emulate the success of White Ladder and it falls flat on it’s face. A great CD to help you unwind, but don’t listen to when feeling depressed or else you may be tempted to do something silly!

The CD comes in a traditional jewel case and on the front cover is a enchanting scene of the sky at dusk, the words David Gray is printed in yellow text and a New Day At Midnight is printed in white text. Inside you will find full lyrics of all the songs. He also goes on to thank people and musicians that performed on this album.

I purchased this last year (2002) in HMV, I think it cost around £13.99, but I am sure you could purchase cheaper elsewhere now, try the usual outlets, Woolworths, Virgin, play.com, CD wow etc.

Thanks for reading, I look forward to hearing your comments, take care, Heather:)