Who knows .... my return may well be imminent. Hope everyone is well. Christina ;-) x
Who knows .... my return may well be imminent. Hope everyone is well. Christina ;-) x
Member since:03.10.2003
Reviews:126
Members who trust:101
David Gray is a fairly recent discovery for me, only having really become familiar with his music in the last decade or so. It’s hard to attach a genre to this man, though to me he comes across as a kind of rock/blues/folk combination. He has a wonderfully unique gravelly voice that adds raw emotion and a melodramatic air to his songs of love.
It’s hard to discover much about the artist himself (I don’t think he actively covets publicity) other than for his music. David was born in Manchester in 1970, although he was brought up in Wales, and went on to a University education in Liverpool.
His career got off to a faltering start and he has switched record labels often, before becoming a solo artist to be reckoned with. A New Day at Midnight was given to me as a present and finds it way into the CD player with some regularity.
So, onto the album itself. A New Day at Midnight was released in 2002. It has a real melancholy feel to it and I’ve heard some people say that it’s “depressing”. I disagree; it’s the kind of music I would listen to when I’m feeling down, in order to reflect on life and love, and act as a general pick me up! It contains loads of acoustic guitar and keyboards, with some great drum and general percussion backgrounds.
DEAD IN THE WATER 3:06
“It’s like the old man says We’re dead in the water now”
The first
track sets the general tone for the rest of the album, with a soft rock beat, supported by sublime lyrics that can be interpreted in many ways to suit your occasion. 8/10.
CAROLINE 3:38
“The final war A steel eyed dinosaur Girl I want you more”
Beautiful love songs with a folk cum rock feel to it, supported beautifully by the depth, tone and emotion of David Gray’s voice. Truly unique. 9/10.
LONG DISTANCE CALL 3:42
“If I lean my weight on it If I fix my heart to the line Might find a way from it To some easy time”
A mellow ballad, supported by great percussion, with lyrics about long distance loving and how hard it is to maintain love at a distance. One of the weaker links on the album. 5/10.
FREEDOM 6:48
“The words goodbye but I can’t say it The end is close at hand”
This is the longest track on the album and my favourite. Rich in acoustic guitar (as are most of Gray’s songs) and with a wonderful percussion instrumental, the tune is low and melodramatic. It kind of reminds me of another of my favourite singers – Leonard Cohen. A haunting melodramatic melody with lyrics about trying to admit a relationship is over and trying to recover freedom. 9/10.
KANGAROO 3:41
“Recommended by my bank And everybody in the tank First of all I’d like to thank”
This is another weak link, and one where I tend to hit the skip button. It has a soft rock feel to it, it’s rather toneless, kind of “samey” and the lyrics are quite meaningless in comparison to some of the other tracks on this album. 3/10.
LAST BOAT TO AMERICA 4:50
“Away I’ll float Into the stillness of a pure blue sky”
The percussion here has a slight oriental feel to me. It’s another track where the music is muted and subtle and enables the full talent of David Gray’s vocal’s to become very evident. The lyrics are about love (the common theme of the album) and about deep love where you hold nothing back and go “all the way”. 8/10.
REAL LOVE 4:40
“The dawn in all its majesty Is stealing me away”
As the title suggests, a song about real love, starting off with a soft, acoustic guitar entrance that builds up to a more upbeat rhythm. The track is about the “high” feeling you get from “Real Love” and about the hopes, fears and dreams associated with such deep emotions. I love it. 9/10.
KNOWHERE 3:54
“I don’t know where I I don’t know what I’m Supposed to do now”
A slightly more upbeat track, again with a soft rock feel to it with strong acoustic guitar. A song about emotional confusion, a love lost and moved on. 7/10.
DECEMBER 3:35
“Words don’t bother me no more Black money falling to the floor”
A very melancholy song, with extremely deep lyrics. I guess we take out of them individually what we will. David sings with true emotion, so clearly it’s meaningful to him! To me, it would appear to be a song about death and winter, and the general passage of time. Not one of my favourites. 5/10.
BE MINE 4:24
“That every day feels so incomplete Till you walk into the room Say the word now girl I’ll jump that moon hey”
One of my favourite songs of all time, great keyboards, acoustics and percussion reaching a crescendo of pitch, with David Gray’s vocals in the background full of the depth of emotion as he sings about love that grabs your heart and chains you down. Full of personal meaning for me. 10/10.
EASY WAY TO CRY 3:53
“And as I watch you leave I stand Inside my house of straw”
This is a really soulful mellow ballad, with great guitar and a slightly upbeat tempo. The lyrics are about what happens to love when someone loses faith and trust in you, and when that can never be restored. A favourite of mine. 9/10.
A lovely blues/rock number with good keyboard and drums.
THE OTHER SIDE 4:33
“Honey now if I’m honest I still don’t know what love is”
The track of the album with the most sublime, deep and meaningful lyrics filled with honesty and emotion. David Gray sings about love, yet admits that “I still don’t know what love is”, about hopes and dreams, regrets and fears. Beautifully supported with keyboard and guitar, it has a yearning and melancholy feel to it. 10/10.
MY CONCLUSION/OPINION
On the whole, if you like blues/rock/soul, mellow ballads; you could do a lot worse than give this album a try. Yeah, it’s a bit melancholy, but who doesn’t need that now and again?
However, this album didn’t satisfy many of his fans, and failed to deliver any hit singles. “The Other Side” – my favourite track, only reached No. 35 in the UK album charts. It has been said that this was because this album focused less on strong lyrical content and more on expensive production techniques, and had a hard act to follow after the stunningly successful “White Ladder”.
Perhaps the fan’s expectations were too high. In my opinion, it’s still a great offering, and one that I’ll continue to listen to on a fairly regular basis.
Available NEW from Amazon £5.97/USED £3.49 (a bargain!)
David Gray'sA New Day at Midnightis darker than its mega-hit predecessor, and deeper, and ... more
all the better for that. Emotionally fuelled by the death of Gray's father and the birth of his son, it possesses much the same tone asWhite Ladder, being simulta...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
David Gray's A New Day at Midnight is darker than its mega-hit predecessor, and deeper, ... more
and all the better for that. Emotionally fuelled by the death of Gray's father and the birth of his son, it possesses much the same tone as White Ladder, being simu...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Melancholy,thought provoking lyrics,beautiful emotionally loaded vocals-just lovely. Disadvantages: Bit mellow and sometimes the songs blend in to each other a bit.
Advantages: Wide range of music; some truly great tracks; consistently high quality Disadvantages: Very few, perhaps only that it is very slighty shorter than previous albums
Oct 12th, 2004
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