White Ladder

It’s not bad, it’s just so generic and irrelevant, can't believe this was trending back in 01' and I'm glad I missed it (on the other hand I was 13 at the time so it was all Nu metal for me lol). I'm reading this gave way to artists such as James Blunt and Ed Sheeran and well, someone owns us an apology.

The kind of music you'd hear on every late 90s/early 2000s drama or rom-com. It's got the right mood to convey the sadness of the scene, but forgettable enough to be in the background. Great for when you don't want to pay for White Flag by Dido. Instrumentally, it sounds like the music that comes preset on your phone for ringtones and alarms.

Nondescript background music for people who like Coldplay.

I distinctly remember someone comparing this dude to Bob Dylan back when this album dropped. Lolololololol.

Background music for a sad person watching rain fall down a window

The singles from this album were everywhere when it first came out, and I hated it then. I was a teenager at the time, and it seemed like everyone's mum was a fan. I had hoped it might have improved upon a revisit, but no. It actually sounds even worse. The mixes are sparse, poorly recorded, terrible production, really awful electric drum and synth sounds, acoustic guitar loops incredibly weak and monotonous. His whiny, nasally voice was, and still is, an assault on the ears. And the songs themselves are just... nothing. As if the singles weren't bad enough, the other tracks are beyond boring. I can't believe this was as popular as it was, though it clearly struck a chord with a lot of people. About as bland and uninspiring as it is possible to be. Despite being ubiquitous when first released, it thankfully never stood the test of time and seemed to disappear before too long. Unfortunately, I was reminded of it when it came up on this list. Hopefully this is the last time I ever have to hear this abomination. I have no idea why this album is on this list. Nobody needs to hear this before they die. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a few people have died from boredom while being subjected to this steaming pile of shit.

I can't be objective about this one, it was a road trip staple for my family when I was growing up. Even today, listening to sounds like watching a beautiful summer day or autumnal sunset pass by outside my car window.

Ok I guess. Pretty boring. Listworthy = 👎

god damn this album is 🔥 I didn't realize all his hits were on the same album. I LOVE david gray

So far this is the best album yet. I’m going in completely blind and love the first song. Such a different vibe with catchy lyrics.

I am in love with this album

Super nice. Interesting to read that it was self released but flopped and it only made it big through a rerelease 2 years later

Excellent

Not sure going by the cover but I want to say more scungy UK shit. hmm it's got a bit of a scumbag electronic drumbeat (and lol yep UK), but it's more of a singer-songwriter affair. Whiny shitty lyrics. Goes for too long, as if we don't get the idea by about 30 seconds in. Sounds like fucking Bob Dylan at times. Apparently Dave Matthews made it popular. Just another reason to hate Dave Matthews I guess... as if we needed one lol. 2/5.

Helplessly boring. Fans of this album enjoy vanilla ice cream, Ted Lasso, and Nancy Myers movies featuring Diane Keaton. They eschew hot sauce and profanity. Any dude who claimed to like this album only did so in an effort to seem "sensitive" and get laid. The jig didn't last, as they soon realized any woman who claimed to like this album doesn't put out.

Shitty synth patches and drum machines destroy whatever impact this music might have had. And let's just say that David Gray's voice is an acquired taste. The compositions are utterly undistinguished as are the arrangements. Bland and forgettable middle of the road pop. I can't speak to the lyrics because I couldn't get past the music.

I have a real soft spot for this album. I could debate all day about whether it deserves a place on here, whether it’s important and influential, but compared to some of the dross I’ve had to listen to I will defend it to the hilt. I remember when Babylon came out as a single and I loved the lyrics and it was such a beautiful tune – my father and I would sing along to it. Part of the video was filmed in the Joe Strummer subway near our house so it had a personal residence too. I can’t remember whether my father or I bought the album but it was played a lot and every tune had beautiful clever lyrics and a great hook. There’s not one song I didn’t love. And I think it still holds up. No, I haven’t listened to it for years, but I heard Babylon playing on a TV episode the other day and remembered how happy it made me and then this came up and I played the album two or three times straight through without it losing any lustre. Surely that’s the mark of a great album.

White Ladder Say hello to Ireland’s best selling album of all time. Say hello to 2001, say hello to Bridget Jones’s Diary, say hello your mum’s CD collection, say hello to Sven Goran Eriksson, say hello to Foot and Mouth, say hello to a 2nd term for Tony, say hello to the coughing major, say hello Al Qaeda, say hello to Popstars, say hello to Phil’s shooter, say hello to David Brent, wave goodbye to Richard Madely and Judy Finnegan, wave goodbye to The Premiership at 7pm, wave goodbye to any credibility if you liked this album, wave goodbye to its time to share or to shaft, wave goodbye to Live and Kicking, wave goodbye to Harry Secombe…wave goodbye to George 🥺 I don’t think this really deserves the amount of opprobrium it gets. It's by no means a great album of course, but it’s a perfectly serviceable folkish pop album with some very early 2000s electronic touches. I remember having it on CD and quite liking it at the time, but the problem is its ubiquity, and it's frankly insane commercial success. And of course there’s nothing like the massive popularity of something so middle of the road to rile up the snob in a 22 year old me. And looking back at it now, while he is certainly at a superior level, it’s clear that this album opened the door for the James Blunts, Ed Sheerans and Lewis Capaldis of the world. It’s not David Gray’s fault he birthed them of course, but that soggy legacy of sad boy self-absorbed performative sensitivity does remain and does hover over the album today. At the core of it though, while there are good songs on here, there’s no doubt that in many places it feels rather insipid, partly to do with the production, you can definitely tell that he made it in his flat. While not sounding totally terrible it does have some not particularly charming wonkiness in places and has quite a thin sound, contributing to that rather insipid lack of oomph. Also songs often have the habit of feeling like they are building up to something, before flatlining somewhat. Babylon is a good example, it's a good song, with a nice hook and nice melody, but it really feels like it needs a climax or crescendo, some sense of resolution or release, but instead it just stays on one level. Lyrically he’s capable of some nice lines and sentiments, Babylon does have some good imagery, but he’s also guilty of rather prosaic and generic turns of phrase, often in the same song - ‘sail away with me, what will be, will be’ etc. It’s probably telling that the best lyric on the album is the cover of Say Hello, Wave Goodbye. The strongest songs are the bigger singles - Please Forgive Me, This Year’s Love and Babylon are all perfectly well constructed catchy bits of middle of the road folk-ish pop music. My Oh My, White Ladder and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye are decent too, and despite the lack of dynamism I wouldn’t say any of the songs are terrible - the whole thing is just a fine, if slightly snoozy listen. Taking that into account a 3 feels fair. 🪜🪜🪜 Playlist submission: Babylon

With albums like this I am stunned that some people find them exceptional or still relevant when all this is is bland and uninteresting mid-90's Pop Rock with a mellow undertone that fails to deliver. This is just a dreadfully boring release with nearly no redeeming quality. 'Please Forgive Me' opens the album with a looping keyboard and a atmospheric and quiet Drum and Bass rhytmn section. While that sounds interesting, the execution is very average and boring. The songwriting aims to be introspective and deep but just does not get anything across. And that is already one of the better songs on the album. A similar approach goes with 'Babylon' and like before, the concept is not bad but the execution destroys whatever he wanted to achieve. It is only the Folktronica approach that makes this somewhat interesting throughout. The chorus is quite nice but is way to short and vanishes too fast. What follows is the on one hand dreadfully boring on the other annoying 'My Oh My' that is just bad. It has no redeeming quality, does the one thing music should not do (be boring) and becomes annoying with the performance. The only thing not making this simply horrendous is the fact that it still is somewhat listenable just with a lot of (not good) pain. The distorted drums of 'We're Not Right' with the somewhat interesting performance make this a more listenable and "standout" track even if it's still dreadfully boring. 'Nightblindness' which isn't even on the original Irish release of the album is so boring that there isn't even a bad thing that stands out. The only bad thing about this song is the song itself. The second half of the album starts with 'Silver Lining' that is slightly more listenable even if "boring" is still the main descriptor of this track. The guitar in the background and a couple of moments save this from being totally bad. It is also way too long. The title track 'White Ladder' is actually a quite nice song. Still not much interesting stuff that goes on but the things that are are pretty decent. I still think this is a very average song compared to most music but it's one of the better songs on the album. 'This Years Love' is another one of those "wannabe" introspective tracks that pretty much fail to execute all of what they try to be. The lyrics are meh, as is the piano playing and general structure of the song. This is just a 90's Ed Sheeran typical song. And after a while he repeats himself so much that I had to skip the last minute on all plays I've given this album. There is only one song that I actually slightly like and that is 'Sail Away'. It's got a nice structure and the lyrics are more what they try to be. But it's mainly the chorus that makes this an okay song. It's nothing special but compared to most of the stuff you find on the album this just feels way less obnoxious. Does that make it an album worth listening? No. The album (finally) closes on 'Say Hello Wave Goodbye' a nine minute song. I normally do not have a problem with songs that play a little longer, some of my all time favourites are in the 10+ minute range with a couple ranging into the 20 minute mark but in the context of this album it's just tiring. There is just no need for this cover song that didn't have really much lyrical content to begin with to be turned into a singer-songwriter piece. It does not work and it will never. favourites: Sail Away, White Ladder least favourites: Nightblindness, My Oh My, This Years Love Rating: decent 4 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

David Gray lucked out when he teamed up with this talented producer who elevated these tracks from bland acoustic guitar tracks to bland acoustic guitar tracks with a drum machine. These songs are perfect for underscoring an emotional scene in a hospital drama or police procedural, or for use as sleep aids.

It's better than I remember, but still rather wet.

This baby food was dog awful the first go around when it seemed to be the only music for sale at Borders - on what basis is it considered one of the top 1001 albums to listen to before you die? Just how close to death does one have to be to enjoy David Gray?

Gay

Erg goed album, maar naar mijn bescheiden mening niet eens de beste uit David Gray's oeuvre. Meeslepend, diepgang en steengoede tracks!

5/5 Good album

Een van mijn favoriete artiesten. Geweldig album! David is een held.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE ALBUMS EVER! I LOVE THIS! SO HAPPY IT IS ON THE LIST!

Love this album. Saw him in concert 2019, Mesa, AZ.

I like that Dave Matthews put him on the map. This was very good. Very british.

Pleasing listen, and reminds me a lot of Bob Dylan and The War On Drugs.

My first reaction to seeing this album come up was anger. I had to force myself to listen to it and in listening to it, I examined just what it was that makes me hate this album so much. White Ladder isn't a one star album, sure it's bland as fuck, but the music itself didn't actively annoy me in the way some others have. I think the thing that angers me most about this album is just how popular it was. It's success damaged my faith in humanity a little. Now, considering I'm writing this on the day Donald Trump was re-elected, my faith in humanity has already taken a pretty big hit, but I can at least mitigate that by pretending that Americans are stupider than us civilised Europeans. Unfortunately, this album being so successful in my native UK shows that people here are in many ways just as horrifically idiotic as they are in the US. At least David Gray isn't a proven rapist I suppose. Two stars.

Please Forgive Me…for saying this album is inessential.

Oh god. It is like someone stole all the exciting bits of the instrumentation. Even the opening track, with its drum beat that hints at drum and bass, still sounds dull.

I almost gave this 3* - the same as I gave 'The Freewheeling Bob Dylan', which is madness. It's fine, singles are OK. But there's something quite annoying about it, and him.

I didn't mind this at all. I remember when he was on the radio a bit. He's a little vanilla, but sometimes he finds something to lean into, which is good.

You know what, on the first side I wasn't completely revolted and though strictly background music was prepared to give it two stars. The second side is dreary though and culminates in the -5 stars for Say hello Wave Goodbye which is unlistenable to, by me at least. Was it the buskers fave which got him a deal. What goes on on Grafton Street should stay there.

Snooze. Folk with a drum machine, in the vein of every generic whiner on AOR today.

This guy is like Bob Dylan, if Bob Dylan has no passion. It is an entire album of the same 2 notes sung, cheap drums that never change, low-effort tune that goes nowhere. No pace changes, no tone changes, no intensity changes. It's like listening to someone whisper for an hour. Utterly unredeemable. If you've heard the first 30 seconds of any song, you've heard the whole album. Try this: load up the whole album, and then click to a random spot in a random song, and then do it again, and again, and again. See if you can even tell that you're in a different song. Utter boring trash.

This was a great album, in terms of study/background music. A few great tracks but some were a bit more forgettable. Having read about his car collection and his Top Gear time, I’m going to give this guy another shot!

Classic. As an Irish person it is impossible to vote this down. Slows a bit in the middle. According to the stats go...1 in 4 houses had a copy of the album. Although I think I had 2 😂

An absolute classic. Desert Island Disc worthy album.

Just reminds me of being a kid in the late 90s

David Gray was a bridge between Bob Dylan and, like, Coldplay. His voice, phrasing, and lyrics are very Dylan-esque. He could have just made acoustic albums with guitar/piano, but he added the whole whimsical, orchestral thing. I also never realized how many songs from this album made it to the radio. Not sure where he is now, but he certainly made his mark. Great album from a unique talent.

Favourite tracks: sail away; please forgive me; Babylon; this year's love; say hello wave goodbye

Excellent album

I fucking love this album. Loved it back in the day, and it's still a pleasure to listen to.

Beautiful acoustic guitar with hitting baselines. 5/5

This album is really lovely as music to have on while working. It has a very cosy vibe, makes me feel nostalgic for some reason. Something about it makes me want to play it on repeat, and it's really grown on me with more and more listening time

reminds me of my family <3

Quietly composed and wrapped in tiny moments throughout. There are times in this album when I really just wanted to go back to the previous track but the next one was just as good. Stellar!

Good album. Babylon is a timeless classic - many in this album have similar vibes, and are relaxing to listen to

Excellent!

I'd never heard of David Gray before now somehow, though apparently had listened to a few of his tracks. This album is stunning, and I've really enjoyed it. David's voice carries a wonderful emotion mixing love and melancholy, and this resonates in a big way purely from the vibes. I think this experiment has taught me that, for my taste, vibes are everything, and this hits that mark. I clearly missed the boat when this was popular and so don't have the negative feelings (likely resulting from this being overplayed) that some other reviewers do, but can understand why this might not be for everyone. I think this album likely popularized a style of music that wasn't quite as popular before, resulting in...whatever happened in the 2000s. Influential for sure, and well deserving of the list.

There’s a reason this is one of the best selling albums in the UK of all time.

I will admit I have very basic music tastes. Part of my goal with this challenge is to broaden those tastes. But this album is just so much of what I like. Music that showcases singing, relaxed vibes. I had no idea this artist sang This Year’s Love (a song I love!).

Fourth studio album. A piano forward Dylan. It's a really satisfying album to listen to. Glad this was in here.

Relatable lyrics, creative melodies, complementary arrangements - good listening.

Partly electronic and partly acoustic. Drum machines, acoustic guitars, piano ++. Very nice sound and very soft and humble voice. Super calming and chill to listen to. The intro track is great and really kicks of the album. Not a single bad song on the album - I’m sold! Includes famous single Sail Away.

Truly excellent! Very chill and unique

Such a pleasure to listen to. Loved This Year's Love and Please Forgive Me in particular. Not a bad song on White Ladder. A great folktronica album.

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I have a lot more nostalgia for this era of soft kind of nothing-rock from singer songwriters of the late 90s and early 2000s than I thought. 5/5 for the soft cell cover alone tho holy shit what a TUNE

added to library

I liked this one better then the first one.

Not my usual, but solidly good. I would listen again, give me more!

Nostalgia.

Great album, one I own and had not listened to in far too long.

Genres: Folktronica Formed: 1993 Run time: 10 songs, 50 min, 38 sec On Spotify the least played track of the album has 4.5M plays, while the most played is “This Years Love” with 171M plays. I’ve listened to this album hundreds of times. He has a great voice, and his song writing is fantastic. It is interesting when a singer-song-writer choices a track to cover, they tend to pick something quite amazing. That is certainly the case with “Say Hello Wave Goodbye”, the Soft Cell song. He certainly does it justice. Most of the songs on this album, I absolutely love and the rest I like. I don’t know if this is a revolutionary album, but it is fantastic. If you’re looking for food for the soul. I would highly recommend it. This is the first album in the list of 1001 albums, that I have given five stars to! My Rating: *****

Usually wouldn’t go for more folksy rock, but this one is lovely. Makes me feel like I’m walking down a dimly lit street in Dublin in 1999. Favorite is Babylon followed closely by Nightblindness.

Great album... had the CD when it came out but was excited to listen again when it came up on here.

I have a soft spot for this album, it features some of my favourite songs. I occasionally go back and relisten every couple years, I don't feel there's a weak song on here. I think David Gray's a great songwriter and has a soulful voice. The production on this album is certainly A Choice - my partner described it as sounding like a bad MP3. But I reckon it works here. Sorry to the music snobs that it's not some pretentious classic rock featuring five guys with guitars manifested in the smell of your own farts.

New to me. Mellow & I bet you didn’t know it’s ENGLISH!

I can't recall ever hearing of David Gray, but wow, I really like his music.

Wait I like this a lot? I wasn't sure for the first couple of songs but I fell in love with Gray's voice and the songs were relaxing to listen to.

Babylon alone

I thoroughly enjoyed this album. My favourite track is the title track.

top! ga ik nog luisteren die goede 2000 rock vibe

Soulful and passionate. A strange and unexpected surprise of songs that are easy to enjoy and have enough of a hook to have their own identity. Killer album... i could listen to it over and over.

Wow. I was not expecting this.

Fantastic

Nostalgic

A lovely, nostalgic siger-songwirter, with a grandiosity of sound

Brilliant.

Really great album.

Nice album. Very smooth melodies and voice.

Yuuuppppppp. Fucking love this album. The goattttt. You know what that was even better than I remembered. Nightblindess and white ladder I wasn’t so familiar with before they fuckkkk. Mega hard. Outro track too. Weakest song is probably we’re not right but that is still a tune. I was gonna say mega strong 4 but I think this deserves a 5. Banger.

I was curious when this was recommended to me: an album I've never heard of, that apparently sold a boatload of copies in the U.K. and became part of the zeitgeist. And, guess what? I can understand why. This album is fantastic, every song on here sounds as though it would have been a single. I was actually a bit sad that this album ended with the last track, as I would have wanted it to continue. It seems crazy to me that it took only a few years for it to completely take off but it was worth it. This is worthy of a repeat listen somewhere down the line.

Кажется, великовость этого альбома заключается в лирике, но мне так не пойдёт. Ритм гитарной песни аккурат не совпадает с ритмом дню, поэтому я не буду его слушать полностью)

So much nostalgia it hurts.

I used to listen to this album a lot in college. I think it's a bit harder now, but I still enjoy it sometimes.

3/16/22 I really liked this album. A very easy listen. Added two songs into my playlists. I want to be better about giving 5s so I might give this a 5, but I’m not sure. I wish this was on a 10 point scale because it would be a solid 9! Favorite song; Babylon

Nice voice

Schönes Ding, ruhige Sonntagsplatte hab zwei Songs gespeichert

2/23 He bodied this genre combo, real dope mix of electronic production with deep folk vocals. Standout Tracks: Please Forgive Me, My Oh My, Nightblindness, This Year's Love, Say Hello Wave Goodbye

Listened to on 3/16/22 4/5 Favorite song: Babylon The PERFECT background working soundtrack - so good and easy to listen to

The album still stands up today, with the stand-out tracks Babylon and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye.

Some beautiful songs here which outweigh the weaker points of the album and make it worth it.

1998! i'm quite liking this. i was going to unwind (after a long day and too much driving) listening to megan thee stallion but this works too. didn't like the last three tracks.. i'll comeback to this album for tracks 1-7 which were amazing. my brain's too fried to elaborate.

I'll never choose this, but totally appreciate the quality

Songs on here that will be in my heart forever. Early folktronica? Where David led, Ed followed.