White Ladder For this self-financed effort, necessity was the mother of invention. The forced intimacy of recording an album in Gray's living room with guitar, keyboards, samplers, and drum machines gives White Ladder a haunting power. The mechanized beats and synthesized washes of melody don't dull the edges, but throw into greater relief the passion and vulnerability in Gray's gritty voice. The record's lush simplicity puts posher productions to shame. Gray gets further props for spinning a vintage Soft Cell number, "Say Hello Wave Goodbye," into the disc's melancholy climax; along with some canny Van Morrison nods, it makes musical and emotional connections that no one had previously imagined.
A Century Ends A Century Ends earned David Gray a reputation as a Welsh-accented Bob Dylan. The comparison is fitting, given both singers' penchant for plaintive, poetic lyrics and powerful balladry. Unlike Dylan, though, David Gray possesses a voice that is exceptionally warm and inviting. From the solemn "Gathering to Dust" to more upbeat rockers like "Wisdom," Century showcases the young Gray's vocal versatility as well as his gift for clever wordplay. Backed mainly by acoustic guitar, Gray infuses each song on this debut with passion and intelligence, hinting at a promising career ahead.
Flesh For his sophomore effort, Gray enlisted with a new record label, but his sound remained unchanged. Although "What Are You?" opens Flesh on an intense note - Gray growls the lyrics over layers of raucous guitars - the strongest cuts on the album are tender ballads that reflect a newfound love in the songwriter's life. Among these songs is "Falling Free," a heartfelt piano ballad that exposes Gray at his most vulnerable. As on his debut album, the mostly understated production and straightforward instrumentation of Flesh complements Gray's intimate songwriting style. His soulful, heavily-accented vocal delivery invites comparisons to Van Morrison and Mike Scott of the Waterboys.
Sell Sell Sell Gray landed at a third record label for the release of Sell, Sell, Sell, a more rocking affair than his two previous efforts. Despite the optimistic title, it would be his next album, not this one, that would finally break him commercially and garner a massive international audience. Still, Sell, Sell, Sell did receive critical acclaim and found fans in Dave Matthews and Radiohead. Musically, Gray approached Sell, Sell, Sell with a more mainstream sensibility, largely eschewing the sparseness of his earlier recordings for a more intricate sound. The result is the most popish album to date from a sophisticated songwriter poised to take on the world.
