White Ladder

The 2000s scene kid in me really wanted to hate this album, but unfortunately he now lives in a boring middle aged man.

never heard it before, so I'll have to see how it develops, but so far i am absolutely digging it!

Fun. A bit samey. I assume two months from now I won't remember it.

I'm really glad we got an album by David Gray in this collection--I remember hearing him on the radio many decades ago (probably "Babylon" and/or a radio version of "Please forgive me" from this album) and then trying to time my BMG Music Club purchases to get one of his albums on a mega-sale before BMG quietly folded. I don't think I was ever successful in that quest (or at least my ripped collection doesn't have any of his music), so this is the next best thing. Highlights for me were the first two tracks (his hit singles "Babylon" and "Please forgive me"), the title track and his single "Sail away" (nice that it's a different version than the radio single I remember hearing), with honorable mention to his other single "This year's love" (especially the interesting video) and the creative cover of Soft Cell's "Say hello wave goodbye". I'll admit "White Ladder" isn't quite as exciting or fun as I imagined it would be (perhaps too much drum machine at times...), but I still enjoyed hearing his distinctive voice and the album overall, and then remembering my frugal quest. I'm also really impressed at how successful this album was in the UK, and even more impressed that it remains the top-selling album in Ireland.

Favorite track(s): did music piracy become so prevalent in the early 2000s that the only people buying music were keeping this album on the charts for 3 years?

Montage music so aggressively 2000s TV drama I kept waiting for the Zach Braff voiceover.

Despite some promising production at the start of the album (props of the first two tracks), the album is simply an unmemorable pop singer/songwriter album. I don't see a good reason for this being included, unless you really want to see the sonic origins of James Blunt and Ed Sheeran. There isn't much to say about the album, positive or negative, it's just very beige.

Indeed it is an album of all time

At my first job out of college I was in some cubicle spaces. The desk I moved into had a few pieces of debris left over. One was a hilariously poorly thought-out sticker for some corporate effort and the other was David Gray's White Ladder. I don't think I ever put it into the disk tray on my work computer but I always wondered about the person who worked there before and were they missing their David Gray's White Ladder cd. It wasn't actually that bad. It's kind of a maudlin and sensitive work that could be easily placed as a late 90's artifact. When I heard the single off of it I remembered hearing it on the local pop station in the late 90s. I can't fathom it being something that everyone needs to hear before they die,

Nothing here for me. ★★

I recognize a few of these tracks by title. I didn't like them when they came out. I was recently listening to a podcast where a guest was saying this album was fantastic. So I'm going to try to approach this with a fresh perspective. This is thoroughly meh. It's just squarely in that no man's land of not good enough to be great and not bad enough to be awful. Throw in a bit of boring, and you get this album.

This album suffered from massive overplay in the late 90s! I can still picture David Gray shaking his head about like a lunatic behind a piano! It made me wince every time I heard it in the early 2000s (similar to my reaction to hearing the Lighthouse Family). However, 28 years later I don’t wince and actually like this album. Please Forgive Me is great!

Einzelne Songs ja! Das ganze Album? An trüben Herbsttagen eher nicht! OK? Ja! Unverzichtbar? Nein!

Perfectly decent pop album that I could have had a perfectly happy life without.

20-something me would have been furious with me if I liked this now. 40-something me can happily report it's still bland ephemera.

Boring and bland as hell. Don't know how this was so popular.

I knew Babylon a bit, and the rest was nice enough.

Meh

There's something intriguing in his songwriting and his singing moves me. Give me a mix with only his vocals and guitars and I could probably finish the album. I'm not sure I'd remember it 3 months on. But I could finish it. The robots ruin it for me; as they always do. Life is too short and there are too many beautiful humans making beautiful human music to spend time listening to machines programmed to imitate them.

Very nice album

I'm not sure how I knew all of this really well, but i did. And it's wonderful.

Started off really interesting, specifically the blend of lo-fi percussion with acoustic guitars and synthesizers, but quickly devolved into alt country bullshit.

Boring

It's fun and not trying to hard. Babylon reminds me of my sister which is cute :)

It's pretty, it's sad, it's kinda bland

Maso

ну таке

Sounds like James blunt with less swag

it's alright.

White Ladder is big leap forward from Sell, Sell, Sell, David Gray's previous album. Eschewing the electric guitars that were prominent on that record, White Ladder is an acoustic based wonder that's infused with trip-hop beats and a more introspective and personal feel. Gray has always been an excellent storyteller, but I feel like this is where he started to feel comfortable in his modern troubadour shoes. What's more, despite its 1998 birthday, White Ladder still sounds fresh and contemporary...a rare feat, to be sure. Great music ages gracefully, and have no doubt, this is an album filled to the brim with greatness. Even more mind-blowing is the fact that this isn't even David Gray's best work!

Lots of negative reviews here. They are correct.

Sympa mais ça va pas changer ma vie

could really shake a plastic egg to this

Is David okay ... ? In the early 2000s, comedy sitcoms like "Scrubs" and "How I Met Your Mother" were all the rage. These shows focused on humorous, albeit often quite unrealistic, slice-of-life stories, and most of the time it was just goofy fun. However, they occasionally featured more heartbreaking topics. The songs on "White Ladder" could have easily been featured in a season finale of one of these shows, playing over a montage of all the moments that led to the breakup of an inseparable couple. It is prototypical melancholic music from that era. I really appreciated the instrumentation on this one. It blends acoustic sounds, mostly guitar, with some understated lo-fi electronic elements. The recording feels like something that was put together in a home studio, giving it an authentic and intimate feel. David sings about transience, unrequited love, and a general disenchantment with his own life. While his songs are melancholic and somber, they still hint at some hope. He doesn't believe that this year's love will end any better than last year's, but he still yearns for it. He sings with the energy of a beaten street dog that refuses to die. His vocal performance reminds me of Damien Rice, but less theatrical and more mature. The album managed to put me into a contemplative headspace, pondering the bittersweet realities of human existence. While I greatly enjoyed the album overall, it lacks variety, and a few songs felt too generic for me to give it top marks. Still, this is a strong 3 to light 4 in my books.

Mixed emotions. Overall great production and song writing but, the vocal performance and mudanity at times really killed the impact of piano ballads. I did enjoy the subtle country undertones combined with really robust additional instrumentations. Overall good album with a tiny smidge of bias. This Year's Love is a truely iconic ballad though. My wife to be and I share that song. Might bring it up a whole star.

It was shit when I first heard this and is still shit all these years later

Very interesting album that sounds like it could have been released yesterday. Remarkably fresh; I wouldn't bat an eye if I heard one of these songs on a 2020s indie radio station. I wasn't overly enthralled with this album, but enjoyed how it does a lot of things that I would not have expected from an album released almost 30 years ago. Top tracks: Please Forgive Me, This Year's Love, Sail Away

Nice album!

..

This holds up. His vocal texture and melodies are pleasant and listenable years later.

I already owned White Ladder on CD, but it had been a long time since I listened to it from beginning to end. Revisiting it reminded me why. It’s a good album, but it’s definitely a vibe. David Gray settles into a mellow, introspective singer-songwriter sound and rarely strays very far from it. “Please Forgive Me” is good, but it also establishes the template for much of what follows. A lot of these songs have a similar sound and can start blending together. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This would be a great album for chilling on a Sunday morning or putting on as background music. You just have to be in the mood for it. There are a few songs that rise above the overall atmosphere. “Babylon” is easily the standout for me. It has a memorable melody and hook that still sticks with me after all these years. “This Year’s Love” and “Sail Away” also distinguish themselves from the rest, while “My Oh My” is good and has such a solemn, cinematic quality that it sounds like it should be playing over an emotional montage at the end of a TV episode. Overall, White Ladder is consistently good, but there isn’t enough variety for me to rate it higher. I enjoy the sound, and the highlights are strong, but after a while many of the songs occupy the same musical and emotional space. 3 stars. Since I already own the CD, I don’t feel any need to add this one to the vinyl collection.

Songs sounded fine; his voice is okay (doesn't vary enough); no one track really stood out for me.

Sounds like Britain, as I remember growing up in it - and it still stands up as being pleasant

This is #day778 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... another artist/album I've never heard of before. The first song was kind of promising, but then... I mean, the whole thing is fine overall and has its moments? Except... overly safe and mellow? I don't quite get why you'd have to hear this record before you die. "This Year's Loving" rang a bell from hell knows where, though. Still, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day779.

"Babylon" is a solid classic which I had not heard in absolute years, and my jaw dropped in surprise when that chorus kicked in. Everything else though? Complete and utter rubbish. Imagine a 1990s romcom that wanted to use Coldplay for this big emotional moment but couldn't afford it, and you get David Gray. This ain't it, chief.

mostly boring

Easy listening album, but I didn't capture any relevant songs.

Decent album! Liked the lyrics, was a bit slow

Some classic ‘90s singer-songwriting; just alright.

It's not bad, it's just so unremarkable. It's clean, shiny late 90s undistinguished inoffensive, innocuous and lots of songs from it have millions of listens on Spotify. It’s a good summation of the time, sit com drama music for white bread consumption of the no need to chew variety. That this is a massive seller probably many moved to landfill from Bill and Mary’s 10 cd record collection. A generation or 2 earlier he may have had emotion and bite in the same songs, as he is a fair songwriter but here it all passes in a sheen of sparkly background haze. It really isn't bad, just to my ears is so slick it presented as extremely dull, 2.5 stars

9/18/26. Just okay, found it predictable and boring in a lot of spots. I could've paid attention to the lyrics more but they didn't grab me right away.

Good

Pleasant easy listening. Always enjoyed Babylon but this was the first time listening to an entire album.

Can’t forgive this guy for playing way too long as Alison Krause’s opening act!

In the 30 or so records so far, "Sail Away" has been one of two songs i haven't been able to shake. For that alone it gets four stars and not three.

75/100. Some good folky pop rock. I've known about this album for a long time, mainly due to 'Babylon'. I think it's alright, nothing that totally blows me away, but for sure a nice record to put on. The whole project has a mellow tone, which works really well with Gray's vocals. I think the singles are the strongest songs by a mile on this release.

Zzzzzz..... Åh sorry, jag somnade

Det är musik som pågår. Jag känner ingenting, varken positivt eller negativt, för det här.

Inledande Please forgive me är riktigt fin och höjer förväntningarna på vad som komma skall. Emellertid tas de snabbt ner. Låt efter låt maler på utan att lämna någotsånär helst avtryck. Kille med gitarr som ylar på till en nyköpt trummaskin. Det är väl först med Sail away som det blir aningen intressant igen (med betoning på en aning). Det räcker till en stark etta.

Meningslöst

Should I mention Dylan? 3,4

Big at the time and fairly influential for incorporating some(from today's perspective very minor) electronic touches to an album that a few years earlier would have been analogue. Without that it's just a solid pop album. The bad reviews are just people who don't like pop, which is fine but misses the point. Pretty marginal but I'll give it five stars for being a good example of its kind and helping to influence broader uptake of electronica in mainstream pop

Wow I like really like that more than i expected. Loved the lite vibes with lite beats mixed in

gray? white? klonk nogal beige vond ik

Simples, mas legalzim de ouvir.

I still get nightmares from hearing Babylon for what feels like half a decade straight. It's MOR dad rock, maudlin, sappy, just like the rest of the white boys singing confessionals that took influence from this. It's got some fairly good electronic textures which saves it from a 1.

This was a nice throwback, and it was a pleasant listen. It’s been a while, my old friend.

This album WAS all over the radio when it came out but I don't think that warrants it a spot on this list.

The first three songs: Please forgive me Babylon MyohMy are quite good, music and lyrics. The other songs seemed to me too similar, no much variation. I couldn’t hear this album frequently

Lovely discovery!

idk if this is a hot take but I love David Gray

WHAATTINYAAHUH WHAATTINYAAHEY idk nfm

Honestly not bad despite the adult contemporary cheese. Decent tunes. Maybe I’m biased because of my foundational Scrubs memories.

Ed Sheeran???

Immediately recognised Please Forgive Me. Apart from that most of the album is forgettable.

It was a good Saturday morning coffee album. It begat a lot of the chill singer songwriters of the early 21st century. It was fine.

I loved this song.....and the next song like it.....and the next one.....and the one after that. Before long, it was all one song. I went to see a show .... the drummer was very entertaining. 'Nuff said.

I’ll say decent. A fair three. Not the voice I was expecting, but not a bad one. I like the folk/singer songwriter thing. There was clearly a lot of Bob Dylan influence. I thought the title track was good. All in all, a fine album. Didnt get me too excited or make my eyes wide, but I didn’t mind it a bit.

Good all the way through. Strong emotions.

Maso

Pretty uninteresting. You’ll know Babylon, but everything else is just a less good version of that. Bland downbeat rock that feels pretty typical of the early 2000s.

A perfectly serviceable album of downbeat folktronica, with some fairly decent tracks at the beginning (‘Please Forgive Me’ and the famous ‘Babylon’) and end (‘This Year’s Love’, ‘Sail Away’, and a nice but overlong cover of ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’ incorporating a few Van Morrison lines) bookending some very forgettable, run-of-the-mill stuff in the middle. I doubt I’ll listen to even the better tracks again, though, hence it goes to the upper end of 2 stars. By no means a terrible album, but it’s nothing special either, so I was amazed to read on Wikipedia how commercially successful it was.

Heartfelt, earnest, and soft, if a bit bland. I am a sucker for a song about sailing away though (a surprisingly rich category). In the 90s I feel like they were really into having a fast beat in the background of an otherwise not fast song - what's that about?

Funny how British accents seem to disappear in music

It wasn’t horrible. It wasn’t awesome. It was just…there. I enjoyed his voice and it reminded me of someone else, maybe I’ve heard this album or some of its songs before. But in the end nothing really stuck out as super impactful. I listened to it throughout the day and some parts were enjoyable to sit back and listen to and others just felt like he was droning on. It’s by no means a terrible album and the reviews I’ve read are WAY too harsh but there is some truth in what they say. It’s a good night album if you like any background noise. Favorite tracks: White Ladder, My Oh My, This Year’s Love.

lindo pero nada del otro mundo. nose, un 2,5. pero la verdad q me genero un poco de paz en continuo, pro nada me resalto

A few good songs on there but a fairly uninteresting album. 100 weeks of charting? No idea how he managed that.

Nothing special at all. 2/5.

So close to being really cool, so early 2000s indie

Okay album, forgettable and mid 3/5

This was okay. Kori asked me who it was and I said Ryan/Brian or something which was inaccurate.

Actually surprisingly really liked this. Exudes that 2000s soft rock that I have a soft spot for. The music kinda drags behind, in no rush to get anywhere or do anything to spectacular. But thats exactly why I like it, offers a calm welcoming energy that can sometimes be hard to find in soft rock. I can see this being boring or generic for a lot of folk, but for some of us, this type of non challant rock just hits the spot. Reminds me of a brighter, maybe slightly less creative version of the Verve.

I went in expecting to hate this but it turned around on me! Not really my genre, but the combination of sounds and instruments used here just makes it a very interesting listen at the very least. Nothing really stuck out and grabbed me, but I did find myself enjoying this more often than not. It's worth a shot at the least.

Oh shit the Babylon guy?!? Not essential at all but I did enjoy my time with it. The combination of acoustic and electronic actually worked pretty well and David has a great voice

A nice album that seemed to usher in that soft folk sound of the new millennium. I can't say that I think of this album often, but when I do hear a song from it, I think about it fondly. There's certainly nothing NOT to like here, which I suppose might not be a selling point for those who like to be challenged by the music they listen to. The songs on this album are NOT challenging!

I really like this one. Maybe it’s because of the past albums I got being kinda mid, but this one slaps.

There were a couple good bits and pieces, but I kept looking for the skip button. I made it all the way through, but really didn't care for this at all.

David Gray was an artist who got a lot of regular play between 2000 and 2002 on Nashville’s independent radio station, Lightning 100. That’s where I first heard him. I’m pretty sure I picked up a promo copy of this exact CD while working for the Yellow Tag, and I remember being pleasantly surprised by just how good the album was. An English folk singer-songwriter probably wouldn’t have normally been on my radar, especially in my mid-20s, but this album had an excellent chill vibe that really clicked with me. And now, all these years later, it’s hitting a very different chord: nostalgia. Listening to it sends me straight back to that period of my life and my first real taste of independence, when I left my parents’ home in California and moved all the way out to Tennessee. Funny how an album you once listened to simply because you liked it can eventually become a time machine.

I can't remember the last time I listened to an album that was this homogenous. Every song was the song before and they were all the same song. The same repetitive chord progressions, the same beats, the same vocal phrasing. I guess if you like just one of these songs, you like them all. It's amazing that this album did as well as it did. However, considering Gray recorded all of this in his spare bedroom with basically no budget, you have to give him some props for what he produced. This somehow encompasses the vibe you think of for every late 90s/early 2000s WB show. It's not horrible, it's just not something I would gravitate towards unless I was wanting to stay in a somber, melancholy mood.

Damn, the song Babylon was all over the radio back in the late 90s when my parents were driving me around. While that song is nostalgic, and I appreciate the electronic elements that David occasionally weaves into the mix, it mostly sounds like alt muzak to supplement a good shop at The Bon Marché. 2.4/5 -> 2/5