White Ladder

ok. not more,

Bland as fuck

The music isn't distinctive enough to draw me in, so this album wants me to be drawn in by some profound lyrics which really aren't there. The title track is actually pretty distinctive musically from most of the other tracks which really bleed together and sound samey. This Year's Love isn't particularly novel, but it also stands out from the rest of the songs. I guess this guy gets points for influencing the 21st century British singer-songwriter scene, but I don't particularly like those artists either.

Nothing shockingly bad about this, but just not pulling me in.

Doesn't hold up. Pretty vanilla but not awful.

Perfectly pleasant, low-key folk-pop. Good background music, like something you'd hear in a cafe ca. 2000. Nothing I'm likely to come back to, but I enjoyed it well enough. Fave Songs: Sail Away, Silver Lining, Nightblindness, This Year's Love, Babylon

Nice, easy listening

Nostalgic

7,5/10

I quite enjoyed this. This Year’s Love was stuck in my head.

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

It s nice. 2.5

Does anyone else in the group even use these?

Took me back to CP

Bland but pleasant.

Trite, shallow singer/songwriter pop written for teenage girls after their first heartbreak. Bleh.

I'm not sure if I really like this album or if I just had a good mood today in general. At least I don't find it bad or anything.

Very nice.

I wasn’t sure what to think at first, as I’m not a huge fan of that voice style but the more I listened the more I enjoyed - the lyrics are beautiful. I added a couple of songs from the album.

"Dad! I want an R.E.M. cd!'' ''We've got R.E.M. at home.'' R.E.M. at home:

Top 3 Songs: 1 - Please Forgive Me (1) 2 - This Year's Love (8) 3 - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye (10)

Not my thing.

Not bad for background music, a couple good songs. Mostly all sounded the same

Surprised I didn't know more of these songs. Good, though I didn't add anything to my favourites

Þessi plata hefur selst í 7 mil. eintaka, og ég hef bara heyrt þriðja mest spilaða lagið (Sail away), vel gert. Ljúft og vel pródúcerað, en mér finnst röddin ekkert spes. Má spilast í bakgrunni en ég mun ekki sækja í þetta. (sorrý @Ragnheidur80)

Uf uf zaboravila sam na ovaj album. Imali ga sprzenog prije 20 godina. Lik je malo one album wonder al je dobar album

Heiiiii, ovo je dobar album, kinda cozy, kinda catchy, kinda nice. 3.5. u mojoj knjizi.

Strong opening, okay finish

Mid. 2 stars

As I said previously, you can only like so many folk artists. Since the music / riffs usually are nothing to write home about, you can like them only if you invest time with the lyrics. If you don’t invest the time, you will never start liking them regardless of how how good they are. I didn’t invest the time with this English brother.

This is very soft, like James Taylor for the next generation. There's a lot of mega selling modern folk singers out there these days who sound equally bad. The modern production makes it worse. The cover of Say Hello Wave Goodbye is bearable, but not for 9 minutes.

Not too unpleasant but not too exciting either

Pop inglese, un po’ romantico, niente di che

Babylon 2000s rock

The synth and fake drums are kinda corny

Good background music, acoustic rock not really my thing.

Great

IDK exactly why, but I like it.

Oooh I really like this and had never heard of it.

Meh

Couldn't get through all of this...maudling overplayed meh. Agree with comments about bad drum machines.

David Gray is the Adele from the early 00s. Their albums are very popular (you could hear White Ladder everywhere 20-25 years ago) and very skilfully made, and whilst listening to a couple of songs is nice, listening to a whole album in one go might be a bit too much. WL contains quite a few very strong songs and I was thinking about a 3-star score or so, but had forgotten about the horrible 9-minute Soft Cell cover in the end (+5* original -> -5* cover).

A decent, but mostly uneventful album.

Really nice album. Standouts "Babylon", "Please Forgive Me", and "Sail Away". Pleasant voice, sounds like a precursor to James Blunt sounding English soft rock, piano rock, pop feel. Not stripped down but not overly produced to still feel folk-y.

boooring

Surprisingly good.

This is OK, I guess? It feels kind of middle-of-the-road to me, and the top track "Babylon" is extremely forgettable. British people seem to love it though. 2/5

Relaxing acoustic-ish album. Nothing too special but I'd say it was pretty enjoyable. No song stands out in particular as a "hit", and nothing was that memorable, though it was nice to have on at work.

This album is so ADULT©! This album is 1998/2001 and people who kept telling me to grow up always seemed to mark this as the favourite album. They were probably right but if their idea of adult was David Gray I'm glad I kept on being a ne'er-do-well. Also, why does this album sound like a bunch of bad B-sides by the Verve?

Doriyah ah, doriyah hey

I was familiar with a couple of songs. I did not skip any songs. I am not sure I would listen to this album again in its entirety. Overall the album was alright.

Interesting mix of sounds. Very '90s.

Holds up very well! “Please Forgive Me” is a perfect song. 4.5.

very nice "folkatronic" album that has nice pop ballads with electronic backing to create a very chill record

Another artist I had never heard of--and right off the bat I know this is not for me. The folktronica aspect of the beats complementing the backbone of these songs is just too distracting and too much for me. Though there are some more straight up singer-songwriter guitar based songs in the middle of the album that I did find appealing. His voice reminds a ton of Ryan Adams and the whole album I just wished I was listening to one of Ryan Adams early solo records instead. I'm sure this album is great for a lot of people, but it's not for me.

First song is funky. I think I'm familiar with the song Babylon, I've heard it on the radio before. Has a certain familiarity to it, I've probably heard this somewhere as a kid, I've definitely shazamed this from the radio. I do think the singles released from this album are probably the best songs. Slow chill album, I liked please forgive me, babylon, and this years love.

Some nice easy listening tunes. Has a folk music sound, have to be in the right mood for that. Gets a little slow towards the end. Babylon is a song I’ve heard a lot before but never new the name/artist.

Есть несколько композиций, которые выделяются. В целом интересное звучание для романтического вечера.

Remember enjoying it

It was aight.

Overall, it has some enjoyable songs, but most of it was indistinct and boring.

Very chill

very pleasant and well mixed album.

Pop com maior presença de elementos tecno, mas sem grande relevância para mim.

highlights: why they all sound the same liked: no, poopy album sounds bland, repetitive, generic, most of times boring USE DIFFERENT DRUM PATTERNS FOR GODS SAKE

Love his vocals

Very chill album. It’s not my cup of tea and wouldn’t ever choose to listen to this over a lot of other albums but I’d respect you if you liked this. 3/5

The big singles were a nice trip down memory lane. Pleasant overall but didn’t hold my attention.

It is what it is. I enjoyed it and make no apologies for that.

I've never been angry at a record just for existing before, yet here we are. This is a album so banal it's offensive. One star because I can't give zero.

Everyone had this album in the 00's. There are some nice songs on it. On the whole it's a bit boring though.

Baaaaabilooon

It's not the worst album I have heard here. I actually like the singer's voice. It's really nice. I am just not a fan of synthesized instruments. If there were real people playing along then there would be such different energy in the songs.

It's a nice cute album. Not exactly my type that much but I can appreciate it for what it is. Also the production is really good and sometimes feels like it's ahead of its time. Favourite songs are Please Forgive Me, We're Not Right, Nightblindness, This Year's Love (my fav), and Say Hello Wave Goodbye.

1998, четвертый сольник. Меланхоличные баллады. Не ужасно, но скучно и нудно. Лучший трек: Sail Away

kinda neat

Well, I thought that Babylon song was by Harry Nilsson and recorded in the 70s, so I guess that says something about the timelessness of the sound of this album.

another english singer-songwriter zzzzzzz

Enjoyed David’s album

Interesting performance, songs weren’t bad they just didn’t move me any which way.

Interesting record. Never heard of this guy, but he sounds somewhere between Bob Dylan and Natalie Merchant, I kept thinking of her voice on "These Are Days." Generally easy listening, and it's got the classic singer/songwriter spirit but musically does feel modern. Not sure if that's the melodies or what. I wasn't too impressed, especially at the beginning, but really settled into it on the back end. Great album! Favorite tracks: This Year's Love, Sail Away, My Oh My, We're Not Right. Album art: Actually a pretty cool one. The background picture filtered through a fence is cool, and the little geometric stuff in the middle is cool too. 4/5

Kind of bland, but surprised I had heard a few of these tracks before.

Not a chance. No. No. No.

-Honestly very boring -The only point that stood out in the album was the passion in the chorus of "My Oh My" -Everything was sonically just very plain and boring

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.

This feels like an album I should like (kind of slow, meloncholy, unassuming) but I just found it annoying and boring. Every song sounded the same. I barely noticed when it changed to the next track.

This is David Gray's fourth album and was a huge success. The album spent three years in the UK top 100 and is the best selling album ever in Ireland. Wow! Not bad for a singer-songwriter who recorded this in his apartment. I can see why it's included in this 1001 list, I guess. It's easy enough listening for me. Nothing making me want to jump immediately on Amazon to order the vinyl but nothing stopping me from appeciating this singer-song writer and well-crafted songs either. These songs are about some aspect of love, a relationship or a breakup. The music is more in the folk-pop style led by a piano and/or acoustic guitar. The drumming is slow and sometimes electronic. Gray said this album paved the way for folk-pop idols like Ed Sheeran and James Blunt. OK. Something tells me they might have been successful nonetheless. I do hear a vocal and music style similar in Amen Dunes which is something since he has some fantastic songs. There were five singles released from this album. "Babylon" and "Please Forgive Me" received very heavy air play in the US and are the two songs I thought of immediately when I saw this album pop up this morning. The album ends with the last three single- released songs "This Years' Love," "Sail Away," and "Say Hello Wave Goodbye." Of particular note, "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" is a nine minute cover of The Soft Cell song and maybe my favorite on the album. There is not really a drop off in the other songs as everything here is well crafted as previously mentioned. Overall, this was an enjoyable-enough listen if not lighting my pants on fire. What was lit on fire were the album sales charts which makes this album at the very least historical.

Kind of chill indie folk I guess. Nice, but nothing too special imo.

This is a classic album, which I really enjoy.

I did not like it.

mehhhhhh

Me ha gustado!!

It's fine! I really liked Babylon. The rest of it is kinda... stripped synthpop folk, which isn't my thing, but I think i can see why other people love it.

p825. 1998. A perfect example of the artist's surname reflecting the content. It's a bit like porridge, you consume it to fill a need but it leaves you feeling vaguely unsatisfied. Every track sounds the same, and the cover of Say Hello Wave Goodbye is appalling, it sounds like a dirge. The entire album is background noise for a 90s dinner party. Definitely not essential listening.

ugggg.... maybe? 3?

Brilliant.

05/20/2022 Pretty dull and unmemorable. Same vibes as Coldplay, etc.

N0pe

Really great album.

Nope. Selling loads doesn't mean i have to listen to it, I heard all the identical singles 1001 times, that's plenty. Babylon is a place where this doesn't exist.

Pretty weak

Maybe just not in the mood but this kinda sucks!

honestly, pretty average.

Het begin beviel me wel, maar na ongeveer de helft van het album had ik zo ongeveer gehad. Daarom net iets minder dan de helft van de punten

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.

Babylon saves this from being a one. Very sleepy.

Decent but didn't really capture my attention.

tecno folk no es mi estilo, pero es pasable.

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.

This was a very nice album. Very much of a Ryan Adams vibe for a lot of the songs. Great singer too with a bit more of a raspy voice than Adams. I wish some of the percussion was more natural, less electronic sounding. 3.75 🌟

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)

David Gray is what Ryan Adams wants to be. I'm not really a fan of either, but it's remarkable how more talent there is on this album than on any of Adams' work. 3.5 stars

I really like David Gray, I know his voice is a bit Marmite but I actually would say I lean on the love side rather than the hate. I have some nostalgia with Babylon as I had a NOW album with that song on it haha! I also love This Year's Love too I think that's a bit of an epic and maybe slightly underrated love song and that's the climax of the album for me then it should have stopped there. Sail Away really falls flat after that high. But the rest of the album I've never listened to. I am fond of it but I don't have much attachment. I love the minor keys and the general sound of the album. I just wish I had more connection to it but I can't be arsed to push for that. Soz David.

Well I enjoyed relistening to some of the more well known ones from back in the day, have to say the rest of it wasn't that memorable and a bit beige. I don't care what anyone says though I do like Babalon. I had an acoustic version on my iPod that a boy sent me once on a skiing holiday, so I like it for that reason too

Like James Blunt without the bants. Guess it wasn't bad

Pop that's just forgettable enough thanks to the underwhelming production (electronics that mostly disappear after a few tracks!?) and way-excessive length. It would make a pretty good EP, but it's always a bad feeling to check and see you're less than halfway through a project.

Great acoustic work. I do not know if it was because I was on the right mood or what else, but happened to like most songs from the first listen.

Ugh.

Njae, det lirar inte tycker jag. Det är inte helt urkasst men det är för välproducerat på något vis.

Payback time. From wiki: "Gray believes that the success of White Ladder paved the way for 'soul-baring' artists such as James Blunt, Ed Sheeran, George Ezra, James Bay and Tom Walker."

the biggest test yet to my no skip policy. 2*s only for the fact that it is a bit of a nostalgia trip, despite the fact that it's bringing me back to places i don't want to go

Interesting, can see the influence it had.

Grew on me, but still felt like it should stay in the 90s.

Some nice, cool stuff. Loved the vibe of it all; I just wish it got more daring or exciting at times instead of playing it safe.

Forgettable as a project, songs on their own are not too bad though.

Not bad. Wasn't familiar with much of it. Quite liked his voice.

Great! Brings back memories for all, including a blue Mercedes, trips to the beach, Fatima Mansions, and David Gray's big bobbly head. Very coherent album, even if that means it's a little samey. Some fantastic individual songs like 'Please Forgive Me' and 'Sail Away'. 4/5.

Não conhecia tbm e adorei, mais um pra lista de ouvir mais. Melhores músicas: This Year's Love e Please Forgive me

Its....ok. I actually think DG has better songs elsewhere but this is obviously the radio friendly megahit album. In this particular genre, its not a bad album. In an overall context, there's no justification for it being here. This Years Love is a decent tune, but I actually find the two super-singles quite irritating.

Not really a fan of this type of music but was pleasant enough. 2.6

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

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.

Smooth like Skippy

An enjoyable listen. Nothing really jumps out and the songs are fine, but his vocals are rich and strong and overall a solid record.

A nice, albeit bland, listen. This Year's Love is the standout song.

Well bad.

Solid album overall, easy listening. Babylon, Sail Away, This Year's Love, White Ladder, Nightblindness, We're Not Right and Say Hello, Wave Goodbye all leaves a strong impression.

Good album for a rainy day

This LP has aged worse than spoiled milk - the drums sound straight out of the 90s Korg catalog, and the synths could be presets on any old synth you'd find at a garage sale. The only part that makes this semi-tolerable are the mildly unique arrangements, but even those are hard to find under Gray's melodramatic vox.

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

Soft and easy listening. There wasn’t a song I absolutely LOVED so I’m going with a 3.5, rounding down to 3.

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

A joint effort between US and UK governments to wean people off of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car.’ 3.3.

This was good album to get in the post-spring break shitty period. Wistful romantic stuff and pretty decent

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 😂

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!

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.

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

Pleasant.

A real soulful peace of work. Melancholic and cheery at once. Some great lyrics and hooks. Favourite Track - Please forgive me

Good enough

I have no idea if I've ever heard David Gray before. I find the album cover quite off putting for some reason. But it gives me no clue as to what I'll be hearing. OK that's a familiar voice. Opening track is fine but doesn't really blow me away. But here we are, Babylon. Also fine. These songs are all reminding me of Dave Matthews, who is fine but I never understood why people loved him quite so much. Same here, he sounds sincere enough, but this doesn't even have the quality music behind the vocals. Oof. We're Not Right and Nightblindness are not fine. By the last song I am desperate to be done, even though some of the later songs were inoffensive and 50 min isn't an outrageous run time. Just too much for me. I'm looking at the cover art some more and I think it tries to be interesting in a way that is actually pretty boring. So I guess it *does* give some idea of what's inside.

It's kind of boring for my taste

Urrgh. Yes, Babylon is a good song but the whole album?? How is this Ireland’s best selling album of all time? Is this guy responsible for James Blunt? The horror.

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

interesting

It's good, it's soft. It feels like something I wanna cook eggs and chill out on rainy day too. It's just simple. And i like that about it.

3, pleasant enough

Algumas músicas boas. This year's love a melhor, mas as duas começo assim, como a em sequência da principal são boas;

Nice album. Easy listening, mellow music. Enjoyable sound, nice vocals.

Really nice soothing sound. Thoroughly enjoyed even though nothing in here jumped out as exciting or innovative. Nothing much to say about it, but I did like the sound.

Enjoyable listening, but all of the tracks sounded the same

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!

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

Very pop, though I confess to liking "Babylon". Inoffensive, but also doesn't really speak to me.

I wouldn’t call this anything special, but I will concede it makes for a pleasant afternoon’s soundtrack.

tepid

Low 2, didn't make me feel much

Very good.

I forgot about the song Babylon until being assigned this album. That's a great song. I also like the title track. I vibed with the rest, but didn't find it as memorable.

A haiku: Never heard of Gray, But knew a few of these songs, Was nice listening. 6/10

David Gray's voice reminds me a lot of Ryan Adams. Am I alone in that? The music isn't nearly as all over the place as Adams, but the voice is just about the same to me. This is pretty bland for me, though.

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?

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

Not bad blue eyed soul

Solid throughout

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

It's all quite a bit bland isn't it? It's okay, sure and completely inoffensive but nothing worth writing home about.

I'm not a fan really. This was absolutely everywhere back when, and if something isn't quite your bag, but it's in your face at every corner you end up really disliking it. I did listen to the whole album partly as I'm committed to 1001 albums... and partly as therapy for the damage inflicted by Babylon every time I walked into a shop in 1999.

What an interesting album. Almost too easy listening in parts. Quite a voice though. Now, next track - synth or acoustic?

I genuinely enjoyed this and found there were a bunch of songs I knew but had never really thought to put into the same basket.

great voice, classic album sound.

Not too bad, kinda sad soft rock vibes.

Not grand, not bad. Solid listen

I’m depressed

Top heavy

I didn't realize I actually knew the song Babylon already. Never knew who sang it, but have heard it millions of times on 90's radio. This was a pleasant Monday morning album to listen to while I caught up on my work. It kinda gave me Damien Rice vibes. But it's not one I'm going to return to, it's just not me.

I really liked this album when it came out and I saw David Gray perform in Boston when he toured in the U.S. right after the album was released here. It was a good concert. Likable fellow and performs well. I haven't really listened to it straight through in a long time. I never got sick of it per se, but I think the long break is good because today listening to the whole album again shows me the songs still click nicely for me. It's a really strong group of songs. I have to admit I don't think I've heard much of his catalog since then and looking at the Wikipedia entry about him, he's done a ton of stuff over the years. I'll have to check it out.

I haven't listened to this for ages, and had forgotten how much I liked it. It's a bit of its time, particularly his voice, but overall it's very good.

Terrible, overwrought shit.

gooey

I like David Grays sound but it is not something that I am searching out generally.

3.1 - great voice and layered with some catchy beats and hooks, but becomes a little respective, and weirdly saccharine despite the rather muted/down mood for the album as a whole.

Dad tunes - I like This Year's Love

This is better than I remember!

I remember this being on a lot my first year working in a record shop. I expected to hate it (I hated EVERYTHING back then) and while there's a lot of filler in there, the opening two tracks are both great, and the close is maudlin and lovely (and has given me a reason to hear Soft Cell, though admittedly as a cover this time). The music is pitched between Bob Dylan, and that sort of MOR chill out of the late 90s and early 00s, but not so offensively as to put me off it. It's not a mind blowing five star album, but was quite a nice nostalgic trip into a couple decades ago.

This album got monotonous for me in the middle and I had to take a break. So I don't know if it's that or if it's just a coincidence, but my favorite songs on this album are the first two and the last two: Please Forgive Me, Babylon, Sail Away, Say Hello Wave Goodbye.

This is really nice. Very mellow but has a great feel to it, and David Gray's voice is one-of-a-kind. 4 stars.

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

Easy to listen to. Enjoyable. 3/5

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.

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.

I didn't make it through this whole album. It was very much like department store background music to me, and did not hold my interest. Maybe the last 2/3 of the album is great but I will never know.

I'm glad this list picked the album that has the only tolerable song on it. Babylon was a tune back when I was a teen and listening back to this song brings with it memories of the 90s and carefree days. But I think it's more with nostalgia that I am fond of this rather then any real musical credibility. Not if the rest of the album is anything to go by. I'd like to say it was mediocre and middle of the road, but I think that would be giving it too much accolade. Dreary at best, track after track goes by without a memorable melody, lyric or rhythm. The sort of music you can put on in the background and completely forget its on. It's so disturbingly apologetic that I find it offensive. Bland. Boring. If this is an album I have to listen to before I die, I'd have preferred to have waited til I was in a coma and couldn't remember it.

Næs og kósí plata.

Nondescript background music for people who like Coldplay.

This one's pretty good, bit surprised not to have encountered it before tbh.

Really surprised to see that Babylon is not the most listened to track on this one. Very pleasant overall and 90's to the core. Not one I'd clamour to put on specifically but wouldn't switch off.

Really easy listening but honestly if anyone can tell where one song ends and another begins, you're doing better than me!

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.

Couple of bangers Solid

It was alright. Some songs were good but nothing amazing

Helt fin!

Pleasant

Trevligt att lyssna på men int mer än så.

A bit too dramatic for me. Some lyrics on the cheesy side such as Sail Away. Didn't hate it but won't put it on again.

Fine, but nothing special. I guess you had to be there.

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

Not too bad! Didn't know what to expect going in but liked most of it!

I guess it's really very OK. It sounds very decent and it's easy to see how it may have inspired some current days popular musicians. But I just really can't get into it that much. Just nice background music for me and nothing more.

Yeah - listened to this a bit when it came out and was all over the UK radio. Sounds like a good pub singer who had the right sounds for the right time. good for a road trip.

I love this album

7/10

Wasn’t bad, wasn’t amazing.

pretty good classic country album

Couple of really good songs on this album. Like the lyrics. Reminiscent of Dylan in a way.

I seem to remember hearing Babylon a few times. The album feels like one of those 90s singer / songwriter guys, like Jason Mraz or John Mayer. Listenable, but not memorable. Having said that, the last song on this album was WAY too long. I was expecting it to be like Phil Collins "We Said Hello Goodbye," and it went on for EIGHT MINUTES. OH MY GOD say GOODBYE already!

I have listened to this album a few times before. Babylon was a massive hit (deservedly) when I was in university and my brother's roommate had a copy of the album that we would borrow. I love his voice; this is the kind of album I'll put on when I'm looking for a little nostalgia and maybe a little longing for something gone by (single tear). It certainly has that mood. This Year's Love in particular gets me every time - I can rarely listen to it just once. An all time fave. Lyrics are good too, as long as you're up for sadness. What I don't love is the drum tracks and computer synth that became all the rage then and/or continued for singer-songwriters (e.g., Daniel Bedingfield, eventually Gotye). Tracks 3-7 are a little monotonous (or uneven) but I am a fan of the other 5 tracks. So probably a 3.5 in the end, and I fully admit I'm rounding up because of nostalgia.

This album is a bit of a snooze fest. While the songs were mildly pleasant, they were also nothing great. I found I was more bored with it on the second listen, which isn't a good sign. I liked My Oh My and Silver Lining. Please Forgive Me sounded like an attempt at being Bob Dylan. Babylon is overplayed, but not bad. Overall, it wasn't a terrible album, but I could easily go without ever hearing this album again. Zzzzz.

Recognized Bablyon, and it's still a pretty good song. The rest of the album was pretty good, but not typically my taste.

Ol' wobby-head has still got it.

ok

Una buena voz para una colección de temas de corte sencillo. Minimalista. Íntimo. No suena mal, aunque no destaca especialmente

Another background album. Painfully mid. 4/10.

I dig it

A little embarrassed to admit it, but this is a great album.

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.

It was alright many of the songs where cool and soft and the lyrics were romantic.

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

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

Co-worker asked if I was okay listening to this album all day. Solid album with lots of great mellow songs. Was especially impressed with the nine minute closer. Fave tracks: “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” “Babylon”

More of a unique success story than a musical masterpiece, White Ladder is known for being David Gray's self-financed album that managed to stay in the UK top 100 for almost three years straight. Big seller in Ireland too, hitting 20x platinum in it's first week. How does it hold up? It's nice singer/songwriter stuff from the 90's. Soft, sweet, and an easy listen. Some interesting production choices including electronic-geared drums. Good voice, good songs, good album.

A classic

Pretty bland post folk

‘White Ladder’ is basically a collection of accessible, well produced songs about love and loss with some electronic elements thrown into the mix. I particularly like the ‘tronic parts of this folktronica proposition, especially the heavy bass drums. I can see why people jumped on this when it came out.

3/5 eventually no.

Babylon is a dated hit. Boorrrring soft rock nonsense. technically and sonically competent.

chill indie rock that keeps you from completely chilling

Hm hm. Solid fusion of nostalgic love songs and pop music, I'd say.

I liked!! Big main character energy

White Ladder is a fine electronic music album. Too bad it did not age that well and sounds a bit dated. Combined with several songs of mediocre quality and no classics, I cannot consider this a must listen album for anyone.

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.

Unashamedly bland, the clarion call of the middle class. The soundtrack to a million dinner parties. And while this is true it's better than you'd expect.

nope

I didn't think I would like this, and I was right. But I don't hate it as much as I thought I would, either...the music is nice but the vocals are irritating. Not enough here to justify that third star...sorry.

OK - but a little dull. Not sure what the album is doing on this list

Decent, some nice tracks

2.5 | No ubicaba a David Gray, nunca había escuchado su disco ni su música (que recuerde). Me sorprende mucho por lo que leo la magnitud de éxito que fue este disco, años y años en el top 100 de ventas, millones de ventas, por un momento, sin que yo siquiera tuviera conocimiento de él, al parecer fue de los artistas más fuertes que había... y después pareciera que nunca logró volver a rascar siquiera un nivel cercano a ese. De hecho parece que todo se basa en la canción de Babylon, la cual debo aceptar es bastante buena; sin embargo el resto del disco se siente un poco repetitivo, canciones de amor sin ton ni son, sentimentaloides, no mal escritas pero tampoco nada brillante. Veo también que se creo mucha expectativa desde antes que saliera en masivo el disco, se habló muchísimo de él y del sencillo antes de que Dave Matthews lo relanzara con fuerza y me pregunto qué tanto fue la calidad verdadera para llegar a ese nivel y qué tanto fue simplemente la maquinaria promocional que infló un álbum como la nueva virtuosidad del alternativo basándose en una canción brillante. No es malo, no es excelente, se me hace una curiosidad interesante de escuchar al conocer la historia del disco pero hasta ahí... Disco algo olvidable para mí a pesar de no tener problemas graves.

Empecé pensando que qué aburrido y que era otro de esos discos que se habían colado a la lista por gusto personal de algún editor, pero en la segunda vuelta sí encontré varios detalles que me alcanzaron a gustar para llegar a la tercera (y casi cuarta) estrella. Además de la historia de como este disco que es casi casi casi para el olvido de pronto es uno de los más vendidos de la década del 2000 y como David Gray es casi el burro que tocó la flauta, la verdad es que su voz sí me agradó y por la fecha en la que hizo esto es definitivamente pionero en mezclar loops hechos en casa con guitarra y voz folk.

A good chilled out electronic pop folk album. If that's a genre? Stand out tracks - My oh My - Sail Away - This Year's Love.

Quite good. Makes me feel peaceful

Но мне не очень

Plenty of heralded wit, I didn’t mind this. Reminded me of Gomez a bit

Ok

Very nice. Will listen again

White Ladder by David Gray (1998) When a singer/songwriter begins an album (“Please Forgive Me”) with a self application of the first of the seven last words of Christ (“Forgive . . . They know not what they do” Luke 23:34), followed by the anti-rhetoric rhetorical device of ironic self deprecation (Antony: ”I am no orator, as Brutus is . . .” Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Act 3, scene 2), the careful listener knows he/she is in for some seriously persuasive soul-baring. I don’t know if David Gray melted the heart of his former love, but he nearly melted mine. And so he proceeds, step by step, humbly, with musical quality and apparent honesty: confessing, bleeding, pleading, agonizing, fearing, and soiling the listener with his personal emotional dirt—completely devoid of gems or nuggets. Now I, for one, am willing to get dirty. And I’m sure we can all relate. But does he go too far? Does he repel the audience with overwrought transparency? Does he produce a certain detrimental empathy, if only in the hearts of his more sensitive hearers (i.e., those who are the only ones likely to ‘get it’ in the first place)? Perhaps so. Feelings of exile (“Babylon”) are not quite right, especially when, in your inebriation, you “can’t tell the bottle from the mountaintop” (“We’re Not Right”). Is this why White Ladder was so hugely popular in Ireland? Perhaps the real lessons of the Babylonian Exile and the Betty Ford Center are being missed here. Is it only a matter of discipline and accountability? I don’t think so. David Gray seems reluctant to embrace the good, the true, and the beautiful. A whole album full of this is unbalanced. Even faith (“Sail Away”) is tormented by a history of shattered trust. Even hope (“Silver Lining”) can only grope about for a dark cloud in which to wrap itself. Even love (“This Year’s Love”) is encumbered by the anxiety of ephemerality. And even in the eloquent kiss-off of the closing track (“Say Hello Wave Goodbye”), Mr. Gray is depressingly and unrelentingly self absorbed. Don’t listen to this album if you’re blue, unless you just need to be reminded that someone’s life sucks more than yours does. 2/5

For the first few tracks, I thought this was pretty boring. And by the end of it, I still didn't think there was that much to it. But in fairness to the album, it kind of sucked me in - I went with the vibe of it, and the vibe is pretty strong. Cool combination of acoustic instrumentation and electronic production and mixing too - but basically, if you let this album take you along for the ride for 50 minutes, I think you'll have a good time

Un dels millors discos del génere dels 90. 'Babylon' per suposat és un dels grans hits dels 90, per la seva bellesa i la seva qualitat, però és que la resta del disc no va gaire per sota. Destacant sobretot el portentós de la veu de Gray i la seva manera d'omplir l'espai, gairebé de forma cinemàtica.... un disc per conservar

7,0/10 Legal

Loved a few songs for nostalgia reasons but I think they go downhill after the first 2.

Some (let's say 4) very good and celebrated songs. A famed Soft Cell cover version. I think the somewhat effected vocal style grates in the second half. The downbeat gentleness needs a boost. Not as good as people made out at the time.3 out of 5

Slow soft rock, easy listening and a decent album, List worthiness comes from influence

Ok I guess. Pretty boring. Listworthy = 👎

Good background folk with some electronic twinges. Doesn't feel super special or groundbreaking.

I've definitely never listened to this whole album. I know Babylon and remember when it was a big hit and maybe I've heard another song or two from this album in passing at some point. It's not bad, I probably wouldn't go too far out of my way to put it on again or explore more of Gray's music but it wouldn't make me change the station on the radio or anything if it came on. It's fine.

Gay

Lots of songs I didn't realize I knew. A relaxing album. I will be listening again.

Приятное исполнение, лёгкая хорошая музыка в жанре фолктроника конца 90х

Might be good but hard to enjoy because it's been so overplayed as classic 90s lovey music

I can see how this album paved the way for acclaimed artists nowadays. Favourite track: this year's love

Meh. Wikipedia describes this as Folktronica, I guess I can see that. It's honestly pretty boring, but necessarily bad though.

So much nostalgia it hurts.

I like the smooth chillness of the music, but the singer has this Bob Dylan-ish 'eaaaaagh' sound that doesn't work for me. Middle of the pack.

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 found the track "Babylon" a few months before it was in regular rotation on the radio. I listened to that track again and again. I was curious about the rest of the album and was happy to find that "Babylon" was not an outlier. The album works as a whole. "Babylon" is still my favorite, with "Please Forgive Me" and "Silver Lining" as a good follow up. I would listen to this album again.

This was a very nice album. Very much of a Ryan Adams vibe for a lot of the songs. Great singer too with a bit more of a raspy voice than Adams. I wish some of the percussion was more natural, less electronic sounding. 3.75 stars

Pretty standard singer/songwriter stuff with some nice drum machine flourishes here and there. The songs are well written, if a little forgettable. Gray clearly has some Bob Dylan influences. Not bad, more of a 3.25/3.5. Favorite tracks: "White Ladder", "We're Not Right", "Nightblindness"

Nice voice

3.5 - Simple, soulful songs that feel emotionally genuine.

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.

Melodic and gentle.

If i heard it in a coffee shop would i mind? No Would i care if i never got to listen to it again? No Was it ok? Yeah. A bit boring.

Nice but not memorable.

Excellent

Great easy listening, a couple obvious greats.

Great songs and great album

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Nightblindness, this year’s love, sail away

// Favs: This Year's Love / Sail Away Score: Decent to Strong 3

Non descript and pretty boring