David Gray
Greatest Hits

THE REVIEW

I always feel a bit down when, wandering the world, I find a basket full of someone's "GRATIS HITS" whom I've never even heard of. But how? Me, a die-hard DeBaser enthusiast, musician, and musicologist (ha ha ha) almost DeProfessional?

Oh well, the opportunity is welcomed to review the CD, without any preconceptions. So, I buy it (fair price, as always abroad), and I write.

The start with "You're The World to me" says a lot... we're talking about LOVE SONGS! what a beautiful novelty. Anyway, the song is pleasant, polished, and pop just right. "Babylon" is a bit too predictable and the chorus is a little whiny because David goes nose-to-nose with Dylan without being Dylan. "The one I love" doesn't shine for the originality of the title, but the melody is more successful and catchy despite the very predictable musical background.

With "Please Forgive me," I note the first attempt to offer something a bit more musically unique. The piano and drum "ostinato" is indeed engaging, although it practically never changes. Nice overall, but I would have avoided the background with the usual overused strings. "Be mine" shines for its atmosphere and the stadium lighter-waving chorus; a successful song. "Hospital food" follows suit without being thrilling but holds up well and highlights the author's voice a bit better than elsewhere.

"This year's love" seems like something from Elton John that I don't remember, empty, too slow, and heavy with the usual reinforcing strings. "Alibi" neither praise nor blame, "Sail away" reminds you of something already heard above, but the chorus catches you, and the usual strings try, but fail, to ruin a vocal melody that holds up well overall. "Shine" (live), works reasonably well thanks to the voice, although musically too lacking.

"Caroline" is beautiful and quite sophisticated from the perspective of production and sound choice. It has something country in the choruses and the slide guitar that appears occasionally. "The Other Side", very slow, piano and voice, nice but a bit empty, despite the attempt to add some verve with a drum echoing slightly techno. "Farms Turns Blue" works fairly well when the guitar arpeggio lends a hand from beneath; otherwise, it's rather sluggish. It closes with "Destroyer" which I don't like at all.

Upon rereading, I realize I've been harsh, so I'll add that the sounds are very banal, reverb everywhere (too much in the piano), and the production is as predictable as it gets. Bass is nowhere to be found, elemental rhythm. For the more technical, I'd say my impression is that of a nice "edit all" at the end with a "cheap POP effect" like those provided by default in recording programs like Cubase or Garage Band.

To balance things out, however, I'll add that all in all, it's an honest pop/acoustic record, pleasant if listened to as background music. To be clear, it's something like Simply Red with a bit more underlying songwriting skill and less focus on production. Nothing groundbreaking, anyway, in my opinion, especially if these are the greatest hits.