Reviews (page 7 of 9)
Alice Cooper very extravagantness ideas come to musicality in this album. Just was not my cup of ☕️
Coffee shop slop
Met dit album werd mijn treinrit wel een erg lange zit. Man, wat een saai album. Als vroeger dat hitje Babylon op de radio voorbijkwam schakelde ik om algehele futloosheid te voorkomen al over op een willekeurige cd. Blijkt nu dat dat het meest enerverende van zijn album is.
I didn't hate it, just didn't feel standout enough.
Not sure about this one. Never heard of him. His voice was fine, the songs were fine. I think I'd be ok if I had continued to never hear of him.
Certainly living up to his namesake. That was appropriately very Grey and Beige. For a second there I thought I was walking through a supermarket. It was not unpleasant, but it was pretty dull and boring and not quite a 3. So 2.5 stars
Dette gjør ingenting for meg. Høres kompetent satt sammen ut, men aner ikke hvorfor jeg hører på det.
Meh, ble bare bakgrunnsmusikk som ikke ga meg altfor mye. 2/5
Boring.
This album is a bit of a puzzle to me. A friend gave me this on CD when it first came out, touting it as a new big thing. And I listened to it quite a lot, which even in the context of that moment is a surprise because this is decidedly NOT my preferred type of music. Not even close. But in the moment we really enjoyed listening to this. I probably have not listened to it since 2000, and listening to it again all these years later I find myself wondering why we all liked this album so much. The music is pleasant, but fairly basic and repetitive within each song. His voice is not very good at all. Lyrics are pretty good - but also fairly emotionally repetitive. For whatever reason it captured our attention and feelings back in 1998. In fact, it sounds fairly generic - like the sound of late 90s/early 2000s. I'll have to chalk this up to it happening at the right place and right time and people enjoying the shared love of something new. For me, it didn't age well at all however, leaving me bemused by our having collectively made this a smash hit at the turn of the century. There was nothing wrong with that, and sometimes you just have to look back and cringe (which I say with a smile).
Late 90s singer songwriter stuff. It's pleasant enough as background music but not much more for me I'm afraid. Acoustic guitars with some light electronics.
That was some of the most mid white people music
Dave Matthew’s lite and initially don’t like Dave. Songs were bleh, singing bleh, instruments bleh
Nice, easy listening but idk if it's for me
The first song felt like Moby a bit. The second had me feeling good. The last few were more like Elton John and Bob Dylan. Didn’t expect this album to be like this but I enjoyed it! 2.5 in my heart
It has aged a bit and his voice is not that good so not very good overall. Some catchy things but not my style. 2.5/5
The drum machines and other instrumentation lack coherence. 2/5
I completely missed out on this in the early 2000s, probably because it didn't fit my musical preferences during my wild party time, but listening to it 26 years later, I didn't miss much. It's a bland, boring record, and I can see how this led to Coldplay, James Blunt, Ed Sheeran, and the likes, which is not a compliment. I just didn't hate it as much as I did my 1-star ratings - it's like muzak. You don't hear it until you start listening, so therefore, 2/5.
It’s fine. It’s the white bread of background music.
I'm sure someone gave me a tape of this at the time and I quite liked it. Hadn't played it for many years though, and on this listen.... Well. He started of sounding like Bob Dylan, and didn't improve from there. Can only be a very low 2.
While there is nothing wrong with David Grey. He, along with similar artists like James Blunt and James Bay are just beige, boring listens. I would not chose to listen to any of their albums unless I had severe insomnia. Admittedly Babylon is a good track, but what was he thinking with that Soft Cell cover? That made me sit up rather than nod off, but for the wrong intended reason. Competent but bland.
So boring. What is influential about this?
music to battle insomnia
The singing ranged from average to above-average between songs, without really having any emotion. The production really carried this project.
It sounded like it had a commercial Bob Dylan feel and a stepping stone towards Ed Sheeran. The singles were nice but the rest didn't do it for me.
David Grey - Not for me, bland. There are some nice moments but then he keeps singing 2
Eh. Extremely unforgettable for me.
Good for what it is. I remember seeing him play some of these songs live on TV in his heyday with a real band and they came across so much better. I didn’t really connect with it though. Some great songs that didn’t seem to really benefit from the addition of electronics. Made it all sound like it was perhaps trying too hard to be “current”, when they would have been better off being performed more organically. Not essential to hear.
137 Escribo esto mientras escucho canción genérica de principios de los 2000 que debe haber salido en alguna teleserie de alguna parte. Ni idea de por qué esto está en esta lista.
Oh.. That Babylon song. Now i remember this guy.
4/10 Top track: Babylon I've warmed to his voice over the years, a consistent album just not all to my tastes.
i'm 11 years old and i've stolen my mum's copy of Bridget Jones's Diary to read in secret under my bed covers. i'm writing stories in a Groovy Chick notebook with a honeysuckle-scented gel pen. i'm going on a school trip to the Millennium Dome (RIP) and i'm doing my SATS and i'm excited about secondary school (little did i know the horrors that awaited me). that's what this album reminds me of. i'm not a David Gray hater and it was nice to revisit the singles on this but mostly it was just so blah... there was just something lacking all the way through it. interesting songwriting, probably.
This is what happens when you order Neil Young on Temu. It's not necessarily awful, it might even work fine for a couple of days, but it's still a cheap and unoriginal copy. I'll be generous and add a star because it was just bland and inoffensive enough to listen without effort while crawling out of my jet lag induced coma. 3/10
Pretty milquetoast. Good lyricism, but pretty cliche choice of topics and didn’t really express anything new. Musically it was pretty bland.
Unnecessary
I liked how some of the songs were sorta bit-crushed like a bad Likewire download, gave the album a unique vibe. Beyond that, it’s all boring as sin.
There were a couple of songs that were memorable enough to save but it was largely forgettable. Rating: 1.7
I think the album is okay. Not that special. Pretty much the same vibe for every song, doesn't really feel like an album. The consistent guitar riffs, the same drums etc. Not the best album in the pop-rock genre for me. 2 stars.
Based on this guys promo photos, I’m not going to like it. Let’s delve in. Not big on the vocals I’m getting the feeling that this is soft rock with a techno beat. This album better not have made it on this list based off of one song. I mean, it makes the album listenable but compared to other one song powerhouses, this is the Green Day of talent. Did I say the vocals are really lacking on this album? The music is serviceable. Nice bass on We’re Not Right” The album is filled with Lilith Fair sounding guitar playing. Like that hear me roar women’s movement that came out briefly. You know what I mean? They all played that similar guitar sound that we hear on this album. Silver Lining could have been an Alanis song. Maybe it was. Listen, if I’m supposed to pull some positive out of this album, I did my best. I think if a woman had sung these songs they would have packed more of a punch. It’s just a low end early 2000’s album to me. I don’t even know if it came out them. This guy is lucky enough that I at least knew his name. Choice cut: Babylon
I really want to give this lower, but in order to try and have some form of balance where music that has possibly lessened the cultural heritage of the human race deserves a 1, I can’t quite do it to this album because it is just very boring and inoffensive, rather than being an active stain on the musical landscape. Rubbish lyrics, forgettable vocal delivery, odd choice of supporting instruments (is that an 808 on ‘we’re not right’?!) but overall just becomes a bland soup.
David Gray made an album for middle-aged white people who think John Mayer rocks too hard, buy scented candles called Calm Breeze, and order their curries mild because “spice upsets their tummy.”
Didn't like this when it came out. Was a better listen then I was expecting, but its still not great.
Illuminate by Orbital is peak David Gray for me.
Over produced, shoe gazing, sad
Generalno dosta dosadno, nije najgore što sam čula. Okej pozadinska glazba dok kiseliš kupus za zimnicu s unucima. Babylon znam otprije, ok stvar. 2/5,3/10
If I weren't alive to hear the male singer-songwriter craze at the turn of the century, I would think that David Gray was remarkable and made interesting music. Unfortunately for Mr. Gray, I was. None of this was particularly innovative. At least White Ladder is easy enough to listen to, mostly; Gray uses folk that makes it pop-like and accessible.
This is another one that I don’t really feel belongs on the list, and the final track being 9 minutes long is a bit excessive. The only highlight for me was hearing the chorus to Babylon and thinking, “ Oh yeah, I remember hearing this all the time when I was eight.”
Music so inoffensive you’d think you’d been put on hold by a call centre.
nothing crazy at all. Definitely 2 stars at the most.
I’m found myself wanting to skip songs. Some were good but dragged on and the singer got annoying. Very meh
Seemed very predicable and one note.
Non fa schifo, ma lo trovo un po' generico.
On Apple Music, this was categorized as “Rock”. Nope, pop at best. Pretty bland all around, and even Babylon isn’t one of those one hit wonder songs I need to hear very often, if ever again.
I was halfway through the first song thinking, "damn, this sounds like the Babylon guy" LOL This was pretty good, nothing to be mad at. "Babylon" was the best song here but there were other good ones. Nothing I feel compelled to revisit though.
Babylon was a lovely hit single. Actually several of the tracks are very pretty. But on the whole this album is so so so boring.
Felt like I was sitting in the doctors office
Uugh! I did not need to be reminded of this genre of music. Thing is, these are pretty good songs, and he has an appealing voice. And the production style is fine . . . for a song or two. It absolutely does not sustain for an entire album. By the end of the third song in a row of this stuff, I've had it. I'm out. Sitting in a coffee shop and watching David Gray play these songs by himself on an acoustic guitar would probably be fantastic, but as presented, I can't go higher than a . . .
Good Christ. Two songs in and time has slowed to a crawl. Sitting here on the plane, reading a book, and I feel like I've been listening to this for hours. WTF. Weird enunciation on "So definite." Yeah, no thanks.
Maybe should have given this 3, but it caught me in a mood in which I found it offensively boring.
2/5 - Babylon exists outside of time for me. It makes me nostalgic for something even though I associate it with nothing and have no idea when I first heard it. The first track was also pretty good. And that was about it. This is music that makes me feel 15 years older than I am, and I completely tune out after a couple songs because it’s all so milquetoast-y. To be fair, if I could sing and write like this guy, or knew someone personally who could, I’d be thrilled, but I’m not down for a whole album of this. I need more dynamics or something.
I'm not a fan of the cheesy electronic beats. It's like he recorded these songs acoustically, which would've been fine, but then some weak producer added in the electronic bits afterward, and ruined it for me. It's very MOR. The Say Hello, Wave Goodbye cover is a pretty good take...at least until the end of the first chorus when the drum machine kicks in.
I feel nothing from this album.
This one was a bit of a grind... I remember this album when it came out and found David Gray's voice interesting but the music... uninteresting... That has stayed true during the past 30 years...
in what world did this album need a 9 minute song? certainly not this one
Nope, Dave Mathew’s vibes
this sounded like something you would hear at a starbucks. fake and inauthentic. this was not for me.
Started off ok but got too boring pretty quick.
Some parts of this were quite pleasant to listen to, in a kind of disengaged manner. However most of it is just boring. It's all a bit sad-sack, but the music behind it isn't anywhere near good enough to elevate it to something meaningful. It's all just a bit plain and generic in every sense. I've rated worse albums higher than this, usually because they actually aspire to something or try something interesting, but this is so uninspiring that it deserves to be rated lower. 2.5 rounded down.
This one didn't hit it for me...
boring af
Great to listen to again. It's been a while. Although most songs are a bit repetitive. It does get boring quickly.
This was super popular almost thirty years ago when I was too young to pay attention to it. However, I didn’t really miss out on anything. It’s just…there. I recognise a few songs but they don’t stir anything.
I was too cool for this when it came out and still am today. A couple of the hits are a guilty pleasure if they come on but on a whole would not play the album again.
++: Silver Lining, White Ladder +: Please Forgive Me, Babylon, My Oh My, We're Not Right, Sail Away +-: This Year's Love -: Nightblindness, Say Hello Wave Goodbye 5,2/10
Perfect name for a guy with a forgettable album
I vaguely recall Babylon from my high school days. It definitely did not make it onto any of the mix CDs I burned (in between all the burn errors). Why is this on the list? So generic. So meh. I'm seeing a number of reviews that mention driving to this one, which I cannot grasp. I would fall asleep at the wheel. Listened before? N Saved to library? N Favorite track(s): N/A
**
422/1001
Meh
fairly good representation of 1998
Meh
Bland, inoffensive, boring, plodding.
So boring and repetitive. Babylon is probably the strongest track but the rest of the record sounds just like it. 2
Folk singer on speed.
Boring
I just hate this so much. It's probably technically a good album but I HATE IT. This years love is really good though, so 1.5?
Wait, do I have to learn English to enjoy music now?
You couldn’t escape Babylon in the late 90s so I didn’t come into this expecting much and I didn’t find much either. Inoffensive sound and fine but nothing memorable or great here. Production is good but I just felt so bored.
Totally pleasant. I remember Babylon... nice song. Problem is the whole album sounds just like it.
This was largely forgettable.
Soooooooooooooo booooooooooooooooring, gave up by track 7
Meh
Eh. Couple of classics but monotonous. 2/5
Know the song “Babylon” but other than that…
Favourite wobbly head singer 1) Thom Yorke 2) David Gray
Found this a tough listen...lots of sentiment, yet also strangely devoid of emotion.
This is music for: a) Richard Curtis movies b) Turn of the millenium dinner parties c) Heartbroken, drunken chavs to sing loudly in the early morning hours while walking in an alley between terraced houses and a railway d) All of the above. Best Tracks: Please Forgive Me; Babylon; This Year's Love
David Gray trousers 2/5
Very singer-songwriter focused with touches of breakbeat on certain tracks.
Bland 90's singer-songwriter stuff, just incredibly dull.
Really boring. The music didn’t add anything to his voice and every song was sung the same way. Some catchy songs though. Will never listen to this again on purpose.
Listened to before: No I think I knew the name before, but not what sound Gray made. The hype must have passed me by, at it's time. With the first track Please Forgive Me, I got interested. Minimal piano chords and a nice breakbeat make a fine introduction into a very good song - A highlight. But after that it goes downhill for me. The further Gray moves away from gentle electronica into acoustic soft rock the less interestet I get. And that is not because I don't like acoustic sound. There just does not seem anything to be there that catches me. I enjoy Grays voice at some points, but often he moves towards a Dyland impression - At these time I can't stand his voice. I know it is easy to hate on this kind of music. I don't want to do that: It has it's purpose and I find it listenable enough to sympathise with it. But I wob't play it on repeat, as it does not touch me. And if it does not touch me, there is nothing much left in this kind of music.
Ни о чём. Такого пруд пруди
Babylon is good. Maybe one or two other songs that had their moments but overall this was pretty forgettable to me.
I might forgive you one of these days, David
Have you ever wanted a singer/songwriter to set his lyrics over drum loops and randomly pick which audio quality he's going to output his master at? If so, this is the album for you!
Reminds me very much of Paul Simon’s music and phrasing combined with Rodriguez’s voice, song styling, and music - in both good and bad ways. I “liked” two songs. Which is about the same as Simon and Rodriguez. Both of whom I find slightly overrated musically, although Rodriguez’s story is incredibly interesting.
Very boring 90s pop.
Boring album, nothing remarkable.
This was cool but at some point it all started sounding the same to me. A bit generic and bland.
Not outstanding but I enjoyed his voice, no real complaints but I wasn't over the moon about anything on it. Some good lyrics but doesn't raise itself into the territory of really making an impact for me
Idk this was ok but like never gonna listen again. Very middle of the road but slightly less than average I suppose. 4/10 Favorite track - babylon
fuck is this cover art lol
Singles are okay but this is one long inoffensive dirge
I hadn’t revisited White Ladder in years. When it first came out, the hype was massive—and honestly, I never quite understood it. I always felt it had some nice moments but was overall a pretty average album. Listening to it again two decades later, my opinion hasn’t really changed. One thing that did stand out this time around was how much “Nightblindness” reminded me of The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes”—both in mood and melody. There are some genuinely solid tracks here, like “Babylon” and “My Oh My,” but the album suffers from a lack of variety. The songs blend into one another, creating a repetitive, almost monotonous listening experience. Favourite track: “Babylon” – still a great tune. Least favourite: “We’re Not Right” – just feels flat and uninspired. Album artwork: A cool and distinctive cover that holds up well.
Bland, boring, inessential. Not uncatchy, but way too samey to stand out in any way.
Forgettable. Not my thing. I didn’t like it.
Folktronica is a genre that doesn’t need to exist. This album sounds like the background music I’d be irritated to hear at a Cheesecake Factory. Still, blandly inoffensive. Would never revisit.
I guess nice enough, but not really my thing, and the drums date it badly. Favourite tracks: Please Forgive Me, Sail Away.
This is just too bland for me. Not sure who seeks this out. So uninteresting
please forgive me- 4 babylon- 4 my oh my- 4 we're not right- 3 or 4 nightblindness- 3 silver lining- 3 or 4. it slowly got better but not great white ladder- 4 this years love- 2 or 3 sail away- 3 say hello wave goodbye- 3
The line on the album art is a graph of my enjoyment of this album over time. Favorite track: idk, probably "Babylon"
Zzzzz
Please Forgive Me Babylon My Oh My We're Not Right Night blindness Silver Lining White Ladder This Year's Love Sail Away Say Hello, Wave
Very nice, easy rock, good lyrics... just finished it and for the life of me can't remember a single tune.
Muzika koja priziva kišu (ne na dobar način). Muzika koje se ne sjećaš dok traje. Muzika koja nema nikakvog efekta koliko je sumorna.
Boring and completely forgettable adult contemporary schlock.
Meh
A few elements I liked on this but it was nothing more than background music mostly. I didn't hate it but I don't think I'll be back. 4/10
I guess that some of these songs were among the first “hits” I ever properly clocked. Songs like “Babylon” and “This year’s love” were, at the turn of the millennium, absolutely massive. They kicked off a rude run of form for the perma-troubled troubadour, one that hasn’t really ever concluded (what is a Benson Boone if not, ultimately, just a sexier shade of Gray?). And yet the story of White Ladder – a self-produced effort by a young artist that didn’t much bother listeners first time around, but found a global audience (including, at one point, 1 in 4 Irish households) upon rerelease 18 months later – is, for better or worse, more interesting than the record itself. Take the hits away – songs which themselves excel at giving precious little more away than one or two charming melodies – and you’ve not a whole lot to shout about. I struggle to believe this wasn’t always drab; tales of heartache delivered by a particularly heavy raincloud. And it strikes me that to happen upon White Ladder, you first need to subtract something (The Smiths without the energy; Magnetic Fields without the magnetism; U2 without the spine). None of that is necessarily criticism, of course. Certainly, the sparseness of this album creates space for some punishingly bleak atmospherics. But it is a shame that one of the defining albums of that time feels like it’s lacking much by way of definition.
grocery store music
Nice but mid. Nothing really stood out to me, besides what I assume is theremin on We’re Not Right. Nightblindness was probably the track I liked most. But I think I’ve forgotten this entire album already.
don’t care
I didn't notice the music was playing
Acoustic pseudo break beat Britt emo pop rock. Yawn if you hadn’t heard it maybe it would matter. However, living through this I have no tolerance for it maybe you like his voice?
This album didn’t age well for me. I remember loving it when it came out, but listening to it again it was so meh I really don’t have any other words for it and so I won’t say any other words
All the songs sounded the same.
Man, very surprised to see this on here. I kind of get why a couple of the tracks were popular to the point of ubiquity at one point in time, but it's all so dreary, monotone and mid, and a very unlikely choice. 1.5
There was so much potential here, with hiw talented this guy clearly is, and his voice has so much passion end emotion in it, as well as the fact that he is clearly a fantastic songwriter. But the absolutely awful and sloppy production for pretty much the entire album drags it down so much. It sounds like it was all recorded and mixed in a day with technology from the 1700s.
Couple of good songs, but for the most part pretty dull
Meh
Coupla decent songs on this album but not really my thing.
It's a truism that period pieces sell a lot of records. This one sold mucho and periodized a piece. The more Gray belts, the more generic the music; the more powerful, the more insignificant. He can sing, but he can't be for real: 'Seems these days I don't feel anything / 'Less it cuts me right to the bone.' This isn't soul-baring, it's barely soulful - and proof that if it's big in England, it may be a big flop elsewhere. To make it worse, the songs are twice the length they ought to be. 'I put my heart in your hand' - and I've given it right back. No thanks!
proto lorde music
The opening track and Babylon are vaguely familiar, I think I remember hearing it when I was really young. I wonder if my mum used to play this in the car. The chorus on the latter is decent A lot of elements sound incredibly dated, like the drum machines. Strip it back and it's a pretty basic singer-songwriter album, as it is, it's a fairly dated 90s poppy rock album. I actually thought it did get a bit better in the second half, Silver Lining and White Ladder stood out to me. I see this was quite a big hit when it came out, but it's been largely forgotten so I don't know if it's really worthy of being on the list. It's just fine. Much if it comes across as sad background music that plays during the Misunderstanding in a romcom 2.5 Highlights: Babylon, Silver Lining
How does bland slop like this become popular? I guess I could extend this question to Ed Sheeran.
chilling and wibing hieman hmmm melankolinen vika biisi hyvä cover kai...
Gonna be honest, don't really see why this album belongs on this list. It feels incredibly derivative and just bored me to tears. Reading on Wikipedia, it says it's pretty influtial to artists like James Blunt, Ed Sheeran, etc., but I wouldn't put any of them on this list either, so I don't really get it. Maybe it's a situation of the "original" feeling passe because everyone today does it now, but like I said, it feels incredibly derivative (Singing is like Bob Dylan, but not in a good way, a lot of the songs sound like folk music I've heard that was made prior to this album). Yeah, just a very forgettable, boring album to me.
Babylon is a jam
Nothing special
Pleasant music and tasteful use of electronics in a folky context when its on, but outside of that? It's just kinda there, I feel like it worked better as wallpaper than really something I'm invested in.
This sounds like the soundtrack of any CW-esque teen drama show.
It's certainly pleasant enough to listen to but it rarely goes above "inoffensive" for me. The parts that introduce more electronic elements stand out a bit.
meh
Bland, hey.
Coffee shop background music. Nothing super memorable or impactful, but there were at least 2 songs on here that I didn't realize we're David Gray. One of those albums that I know my dad is going to rate higher than I'm rating it.
This, is pretty dull. Not abrasive, just slow and uninteresting.
Eigentlich sind die Songs ganz in Ordnung, aber sie klingen einfach alle gleich.
Yikes. So this is how the '90s died.
it's just ok 2/5
The audio quality of this album is a bit distracting. All of the instruments sound fine production-wise except the singing, which is almost painfully crackly. Don't get me wrong – Gray's voice is fine, a bit Dylanesque – but something about the vocal mixing/production makes it sound like it was recorded in the mid-40s. Once you notice it, you can't ignore it. It's a shame, really, because the acoustic instrumentation backing his voice is fairly strong and a breath of fresh air in the midst of heavily electronic (and often soulless) R&B/rap that dominated 90s charts. I'm not someone who tends to pay heed to the lyrics unless they're egregiously bad, so I can't speak to Gray's lyricism, so his voice is all I have to go on. And it's best to try to tune out his voice. Now for the compositions: they're fine. Passable. One sign of good songwriting I like to look for is if different parts of the same song are sonically distinguishable (disregarding lyrical changes, e.g. different verses). Changes in key, texture/instrumentation, and dynamics (loudness) are all examples of this. Think Stairway to Heaven, A Day in the Life, Good Vibrations, Bohemian Rhapsody... all the classic greats, you know? Some songs do this much better than others. I find that, while Gray's style is mostly pleasant to the ear, this intra-song variation is absent in most tracks. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye is one of the better tracks for this reason, slowly introducing more intense guitars and percussion as the mood transitions from mournful to hopeful. This Year's Love is also notable for (perhaps rebelliously) not using an acoustic guitar. The cinematic strings go well with simple piano chords. All that being said: there's nothing revolutionary about the music. White Ladder doesn't belong on this list. I like to call this album art "Blurry Tommy". 2/5 Key tracks: My Oh My, Say Hello Wave Goodbye
Why is this on the list lol? Home cooking again. Music for a breakup/romance scene or outro credits to some obscure TV show/movie.
This is insultingly bland. Music for department stores. The first track actually started ok; not my thing but a decent groove. It all goes downhill from there. This gets an extra star for not being actually bad, it is just the absolute zenith of boring nothing music.
Treads the line of country music and im not a fan
I remember staying at my cousins student flat after a night out. He put this on to help him get to sleep. It didn't work for me. It was too irritating.
I could not stop thinking about James Blunt and for that I will never forgive him.
Please don't. This is way too corny and not what I enjoy at all. How could this get on the list? Fine, one must say it's well-produced to some extent, and the melody is...okay? I like the opening track, "Please Forgive Me." It's classic folk/folk rock, but other than that, I have to say this album lacks creativity and is actually quite dull. The vocals are also not that much of an enjoyment. A 2 is the best I can give to this kind of music. A 1.5/5, if you want me to be precise. It is tolerable, but honestly? Boring as these singer's life.
2.5
guy pretending to be Bob Dylan with a shitty country voice and beats playing in the background
Dido, but male. Music, but dull. Emotional, but barely. It's hard to understand why this was so popular, other than the need for mums to have something to listen to when they feel sad but can't have wine. Bland and inoffensive, other than in its blandness. Even the decent songs get dragged down by all the beige
First track didn't need vocals. Whrn he started singing I got sad. Half of this album doesnt need to exuisyt.
Beige horrible shit
2.5
booooooring. Early 2000 vibes but not in a good way.
This album borders with b being offensively unoffensive. The lyrics are repetitive and I don’t like his vocal affectations. It melts seamlessly into the background when I’m not paying attention. Is that good or bad?
Bad. Idc
Generic
The music was okay, but I'm not sure I like his voice
an odd tour of the fallow music landscape of 1998. 1.5
"This Year's Love" was a jumpscare of recognition for reasons I don't understand. The rest felt like daydreaming except my daydream was me working in a 90's grey cubicle with yellowing electronics and dim fluorescent lighting.
Boring.
First few songs I liked, after My Oh My the rest of it felt bland and so uninspired. There's something specially annoying the way this guy repeats his lyrics incessantly, it's very apparent on Sail Away. I really wanted to give this a 3 but there is no shot after listening to all of that. Top 3 Favorites: Please Forgive Me, Babylon, and Nightblindness Top 3 Worst: We're Not Right, This Year's Love, and Sail Away 2.50/5
Babylon is nice but I don’t think there is anything new to find here
It's outrageous that this is the all time best selling album in Ireland. I am outraged. I'd be like yeah ok whatever if it was U2. David Gray never even lived in Ireland. What the hell you guys It makes sense that Babylon was a hit, and I can see Please Forgive Me as a hit in that era of pop too. I think both are basically ok (though I once hated Babylon), and both suffer from being mixed for that era of radio pop. After the first two tracks it's forgettable. I thought my review was going to be that you only need to listen to one version of Damien Rice, and he's nothing to put on an essentials list either. This doesn't match up with that in a way that's neutral (more electro pop influence), and a way that's terrible (doesn't even try to be gripping). music: hated. (⌐■_■)
First track - not bad, Scrubs! Rest of it - boring as sin.
I kinda liked this, but I don't think it's something you absolutely must listen. It's fairly regular 90's singer-songwriter stuff. Some good songs, some uninteresting ones. I have no ideia how big it was in its day, but certainly doesn't seem very relevant now. Key tracks: Babylon This Year's Love
90s easy listening adult radio bullshit.
Once again I must ask, why do I have to hear this album before I die? 2 stars.
Started out decent but dragged a lot in the second half
Artiste inconnu. Certains morceaux ont des harmonies vocales intéressantes, et l'accompagnement est plutôt varié, avec parfois (trop rarement) des petits chorus. Mais rien de vraiment remarquable, je ne l'écouterais pas une seconde fois. =>2/5
Other than 'Babylon', I wasn't familiar with anything on this album. Overall, kind of a slow listen. Not terrible, but not great either - decent background music. I don't know that I would listen again.
Boring background music
David Gray is but one of many male solo artists who partake in what I like to call "sad white boy music". He is an influential precursor to the likes of James Blunt, Lewis Capaldi, and James Arthur. Guys who seemingly picked up a guitar, weren't particularly interested in doing anything genuinely outstanding with it, and hoping to stumble across an easy melody that radio stations would eat up and play their material for decades to come. Because I can guarantee you, as I write this in work, I will be hearing David Gray on the communal radio at least twice today. I'm so glad we're living in the rise of a trend, and I apologize to my fellow millennials in advance, but 'White Ladder' by David Gray is the very definition of what is now called "co-worker music". It is millennial co-worker music. It is about as pedestrian as this genre of music gets; and every time I have had to hear the many generic hits this album produced throughout my life - 'Please Forgive Me', 'Babylon', 'This Year's Love', and 'Sail Away' - I die a little inside. Sure, they're catchy enough. But there is absolutely nothing groundbreaking or unique about them. I normally list some personal highlights but there was none. I was hoping that maybe the deep cuts on the album would at least have some standout elements but they didn't. The same tired type of crooner lyrics, even less interesting musically than the singles, and after a while Gray's voice tends to hit my ears in a negative way. He's a competent singer, but the whole tone of his voice is just off-putting to me. I can tolerate the odd radio play he seemingly gets on a daily basis, but an entire LP was getting too much. This was teetering between a 1 and a 2 from the second it popped up on the generator. But I'm nice, so it gets a 2. Because while there are many elements I dislike, I won't deny David Gray can write good melodies. But that’s about the only positive I can take away from my listen of ‘White Ladder’ this morning. 2/5
Has best chill out album ever written all over it. Not much to like really.
Kinda bland and depressing, not something I'd return to. Middling 2.
Weinig aan eigenlijk. Niet slecht ofzo, maar het voegt ook weinig toe aan deze lijst.
Babylon more like babble on
Not very exciting, but a couple of good tunes. Theres a "vibe" here, and its "sad man music". The name David Gray really suits him - a totally middle of the road man, making ordinary music. I am struggling to understand why this album was so popular, I suppose it does have a realness to it. It reminds me of a Sunday afternoon in England, driving back from the pub with my parents where I'd had a coke and a bag of crisps. The sky is grey, its drizzling, its probably April - not that cold but chilly. I've got that "School tomorrow" sunday scaries feeling. I'm staring out the car window and Babylon or Sail Away is playing. That's how I feel about this album. But I might listen to it again to try and give it another shot.
Typical 90s music. It had some good ideas which where not really followed and thought through.
I listened to this. No thank you.
Adequate, nearly lovely, but wholly forgettable
its the same song over and over again
Never heard of David Gray, but I have heard Babylon. It must have been everywhere in 1999 if someone as off the popular music radar as I was remembers it. He sounds like he was influenced by someone else who was influenced by Bob Dylan. But besides Babylon, it's mostly bland and boring. Nothing I'd want to hear again.
nothing special, i've never heard any of the songs, but they are just so bland that i feel like i've heard them a million times before
Pretty generic pop rock stuff.
Forgettable
Good album from the late 90’s. Good voice.
Starts off a bit like Death Cab/Postal Service. Gets kind of boring towards the end.
Some serious youth pastor vibes here. Definitely a cooler pastor, but still a pastor no less. I didn't mind this, but I didn't love anything specifically about it. I've definitely heard This Year's Love before. Ultimately, I found it pretty forgettable, but could understand the appeal. Mostly snooze inducing for me... 2 / 5
No my style, a little to Ed Sheeren british soft rock. Tough to get through. 2 stars
I immediately hate this guys voice for some reason. Reminds me of a James Bluntish kinda singer. Hoping some of the electronica will help. Something about this pisses me off idk why. I feel like one song in this style is ok but a whole album is too much. Something just seems so fake about it. I did like This Year's Love, definitely remember it from Girl Next Door. This was meh to me and super forgettable. Maybe next time David Gray.
It is not bad, it is just really boring
The 2 songs that border on interesting are right at the beginning. Then nothing else even comes close.
The train guy. I’m not gunna give this much time lol.
Another one of those bland and uninteresting albums that hasn't aged well. 2/5
Very pretty, but very boring. This type of music really doesn't do anything for me other than keep my anxieties in check in medical office waiting rooms. 2/5
Eh. It started ok, but I got real tired of it by the end. I remember Babylon, and it's catchy but also not a song I'd ever intentionally turn on. Later, I kept thinking "oh, this is like Jewel, but sung by a guy". That's not positive or negative. Just not for me. 2/5
didnt love it, beat/lyrics were pretty repetitive but had a good voice
Singing is good. Production value is decent. Instrumentation is decent. Pacing is slow. Overall David Gray feels like a lesser version of James Blunt. I think if you're into soft rock this is good enough to garner appreciation. But for me and my tastes, it just doesn't stand out enough to be noteworthy.
Ah, a charity shop classic - alongside Travis' The Man Who, and any Robbie Williams CD - this is ubiquitous I also suspect this could be ground zero for the hideous state of modern music, or at least responsible for the moody, vulnerable troubador tribe that eventually became Ed Sheeran and his acolytes? Loses a star for that
David Gray was certainly popular enough back in the day. Gray also claims that he paved the way for artists like Ed Sheeran by being a male singer-songwriter willing to bear his soul. Well, maybe, although I think it's a stretch to say that he pioneered that idea. It's enjoyable enough background music but I'm struggling to find much to sink my teeth into. It's just a bit too safe. Which is fine, just not very exciting. I feel guilty giving this a 2 as much of it is pleasant enough to listen to. But it's not something I could put on repeat and I didn't find it particularly interesting.
Too monotonous for my taste. Quickly faded into the background while listening. I perked up when hearing the last track as I recognized it. But the cover of "Say Hello, wave Goodbye" was again too monotonous compared to the original where Marc Almond made you hear the emotions of the protagonist, but Gray's delivery was a kind of depressing.
Fake ass Bob Dylan
mediocracy at its best
This wasn’t awful, but it was boring and monotonous. These songs would be good on a better album as a change of pace, but here you get the same thing over and over.
haven’t listened to this since it came out . it’s inoffensive and largely bland , with a couple of singalong singles.
not bad but i don't get it
I really didn’t enjoy this for the most part. It came across as mostly middlebrow (boring) songs that I largely forgot an hour or two after hearing it.
A bit too bland for my liking.
It was just too much. I imagine there is a valid reason that this was on here but honestly, cheer up
2/5. Soft indie rock-pop ballads is probably the best description. He has a very unique voice and although I want to like it, some of these songs are just straight up boring. It sounds like he just discovered this sound with the electronic snare in the forefront and that's the song now with some introspective lyrics. To be fair, I do like some of the songs but I lose myself among them because they start to sound similar. It wasn't terrible but wasn't a repeat listen, save some songs. Best Song: Babylon, This Year's Love, Sail Away
rym 3.52 50 minuti di cantautorato. non so se reggo almeno non è bob dylan siamo a due canzoni e ne ho già le palle piene ATTENZIONE HO SENTITO PER UN SECONDO UNO STRUMENTO DIVERSO DAL CHITARRINO ziopera che fatica 2/5
It’s not like it’s bad, but why?
Rimelig stenet, det gør ikke nogen fortræd 🤷♂️
Echt nich mein Ding 1-2
It was fine, but I’m wondering how the hell this qualifies as an essential listen? Nothing terrible, nothing great. I forget what I just listened to 😂
#226: minivan music for soccer moms who accidentally left their Coldplay cassette at home. 2/5: meh
Just ok. Dont rlly care for it. Pretty boring
BABYLON!
It was fine. Chill. Not terribly memorable.
mundane
On the whole it is very boring. I did quite enjoy the little Dylan-esque Soft Cell cover at the end though. The saving grace of an uninteresting album.
Folk people come and go....
Ei kovinkaan kiinnostava folk-levy, vaikka alussa vähän yritetään elektroonisempaa otetta. 2.5/5
I like the music. I don’t like his voice. 3
Ugh. This is perfectly bland and inoffensive and should rightfully get 3 stars, but it was wildly overplayed back in the day, and a bunch of the tracks I'm just sick of hearing - gonna have to mark it down. Slap one of these vaguely melancholy tunes over a montage at the end of an episode of House and I'll tolerate it, but a whole album is too much. Fave track - uh.... "My Oh My" I guess?
I think I can see how this record would be popular, but for me it is a bit bland and non-descript. I listened to it and did not dislike any part of it, but it was not something I would consider to be necessary to listen to.
Bland. Boring. Soulless. John Mayer without the edge. It’s bad enough that I had to have “Babylon” played at me constantly for six months in a row in 2001, but now I had to listen to it twice on this Nilla Wafer of an album. Boo.
Bland and unseasoned British music... shocking
I remember liking a few of these songs when this came out. Ultimately this isn't something I'd return to though. 2/5
Felt like I was in a cafe on a rainy day in 2008 listening to this.
I find his voice quite grating, even ruined say hello, wave goodbye!
A pretty peaceful vibe easy listen but prob won’t revisit; I just know someone’s aunt loves to let loose with a Pinot to this album
Don’t like the voice
Nachdem ich bei Elton John beim Hören der Platte von zufriedenen vier Punkten am Anfang auf letztlich nur 2 Punkre abrutschte, weil ich es immer generischer fand, war ich hier beim ersten Stück wegen des Schlagzeuges aus der Dose auch kurz bei 4 Punkten. Dann stellte ich fest, dass die Stimme gelegentlich etwas hat, was mir (also ungerecht subjektiv) sehr zuwider ist und schwankte zwischen 1 und 2 Punkten. Schließlich kamen aber doch noch 2 Songs, die ich auch stimmlich ganz ok fand.
No thank you David. For all that Babylon has kind of entered into the ironic appreciation stage, this, on the back of Jones, was just more MOR, boring nothingness. He's a United fan, so gains 0.1 marks for that.
Overplayed when it first came out. Still has good songs, but can’t imagine choosing to put it on
It wasn't particularly bad but quite forgettable. Seems like music for people who don't really like music. That might explain why it stayed in the charts that long.
Tekee mieli olla tätä artistia kohtaan armollinen: hän kykenee toden teolla projisoimaan kuvaa popparista, joka vain tykkää soitella ja tehdä musiikkia. Babylon ansaitsee paikkansa unohdettujen radiohittien maailmassa.
First two songs had me like “oooh the John Denver-Moby collab might hit!” and then it lost its energy completely. Apparently this was on the UK Top 100 albums chart for THREE YEARS from 2000-2003. Toyota Corolla Music was truly an epidemic in the early 21st century and I’m glad we finally got the cure (Party Rock Anthem)
Ok
Melancholische Supermarktmusik.
This record paved the way for a wave of folk pop singer-songwriters that would dominate pop charts, like John Mayer and Ed Sheeran. Apparently a dude singing with a guitar isn't good enough, so he shoves layers of repetitive basic electronica on top to make it seem sophisticated and powerful to gullible audiences at the time who ate this up. The lyrics are bad. His acoustic guitar just adds fluff. The beats are generic. His vocals are lame, and too focused on impressing the audience with his range and dynamics. The tracks fall into so many cliches and try hard spamming ear worms to hook audiences. I think the first 3 tracks are decent, and I also liked "Sail Away" near the end. Didn't care for anything else.
interesting sound, a mix of synths and country soft rock. not bad but not my favorite. 2.5/5
Hearing this brought me back to listening to WXPN. God, they loved this guy. But every time he came on, I would switch the channel. Dude's voice irks me as does his tepid approach to songwriting and arranging. Not a fan.
I like David Gray when he's backgrounded somewhere and a couple songs may be ones I come back to, but mostly didn't spark my fancy over a couple listens.
Just mid. Forgettable
All those radio-friendly adult contemporary sounds from the 90s distilled into one record, I wasn't a fan. I will say that Gray's got a good voice for this kind of music, even if it does sound like a rough Dylan impersonation at times. Could see myself being slightly more into this album if it was closer to 35 minutes, the average track is nearly 5 minutes long and I don't think any of em earn it
Dave Matthews and Bob Dylan vibe. The folksy tunes were good/needed in their time.
Not a fan. Generic and pretty boring.
so dull. nothing really pops out. 4.5/10
Striving to hear that bit in Sail Away when he whistles, live. Just wow. Sunday afternoon, Glasto legends spot. The world stops. For 5 minutes there’s peace in the world. Everyone listening. Everyone whistling. I think we can all agree that THIS was what John Lennon Imagined! 1.9
meh.... 2/5
Well, Babylon. and on. and on. and on. and on. and on
First two songs are absolute bangers. The rest of the album is just kind of OK
Of all the amazing artists and albums not represented on the list, I can’t for the life of me understand why this was included. Bland, boring, awkward, and sonically dated. It’s not offensive to my ears, just lame. It’s like if you took Ed Sheeran and subtracted from him until all that remained were the things that make him uninteresting.
Greys Anatomy closing credits sounding ass...
Not a big fan of this, talented singer and songwriter, probably won’t listen again.
Not my thing.. sorry
So much whinging. That's what y'all call it, right? Track 1 had the least inspired use of the Amen Break that I've ever heard.
As bland and unremarkable as tepid tapwater. Every single song sounds like a budget option for a tv drama to play over end credits. the sort of stuff playing in the background of an intense coffeeshop breakup scene. It sucks. Another album taking up a spot in this list it doesn't deserve. 3/10
this album has divorced parent energy. i can't explain it. this is the type of album my dad would have listened to on trips between his house and my mom's. vaguely sad, vaguely uplifting, vaguely everything. which means that this album does not hit in any particular way. not unlistenable, but insufferably boring.
Pretty boring and not my style of music. My wife liked it quite a bit though, which is nice, and there were a couple sings I liked. My Oh My is probbably my favorite here.
A bit too nice, makes it dull
ol' wobbly head, the james Blunt prototype, the first ever singer song writer in history. remember when this music was the soundtrack to any hardship on TV in the the 2000s? everything but the singles is turgid, but i bet he's got a bloody lovely house from it.
The popularity of this basic singer songwriter album shows how bereft of guitar music 1998-2000 was. Shove it in the oven with Travis and Coldplay and serve us up some lukewarm pie.
Stylistically, I liked this a fair bit. Reminds me of the James Blunt era of music and he had some interesting sample/instrument selections. Vocal styling was good as well. But the album is just way, way, way too long. If every song was 1-2 min shorter, this would be a really solid album. The last song is miserable, and the album just repeats way too much. Have more to say, or cut it short. Fav tracks: Please Forgive Me, Babylon
I owned this album as an awkward teen and this trip down memory lane was enjoyable as the music holds up better than most of the CDs I owned
This faded into the background every single time for me, did not leave an impression at all. Maybe I didn't take the time to listen to it properly, 3.5/10
This is dreadfully boring, to the point where I have nearly nothing to say about it. It comes in one ear and out the other, and does not earn its extended run time at all. Perhaps there are parts that remind me of singer-songwriters like Bob Dylan, but why would I not listen to him, then? Because this certainly is worse than anything he's ever made. Scrapes by with a two.
Not a bad album, but nothing special. It's something I could have on in the background while I am working on something else. Tracks I liked: Nightblindness This Year's Love
It was OK. A few good songs. Struggle to understand why some singers who are not from America, sing in an American accent, but I suppose it is folk music.
i didnt need to hear this album again nothing bad about it just nothing exciting about it
Yet another that ended up being background noise. Interesting hearing "Babylon" heard this one a lot before and one of the ones I didn't mind on here.
Far too milquetoast and inoffensive. While listening, I never felt the album was *bad*, but that it just didn't grabbed my attention. Far too many of the songs faded into each other and left me with an experience that wasn't at all memorable.
Good musician but I do not like the music
Overall I thought this was a fairly boring album.
I can understand why this would have been mildly popular when White Ladder came out. But this is yet another album that has almost put me to sleep at my work desk. It's the perfect "mum" album with that crooning voice and slow-ish tempo. Best: Sail Away Worst: Silver Lining
extra star because I couldn’t Finnish this so can judge it propperly but damn this was boring
C’est plaaaate, c’est genre un wannabe Ed Sheeran avant qu’Ed Sheeran lui vole sa personnalité pour devenir Ed Sheeran