Draw the Line (David Gray album)

Draw the Line
Studio album by David Gray
Released 14 September 2009
Recorded The Church Studios, 2008
Genre Folk rock
Length 46:55
Language English
Label Mercer Street/iht
Producer David Gray, Iestyn Polson, Rob Malone
David Gray chronology
Greatest Hits
(2007)		 Draw the Line
(2009)		 Foundling
(2010)
Singles from Draw the Line
  1. "Fugitive"
    Released: 7 September 2009
  2. "Full Steam"
    Released: 28 December 2009
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic62/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
BBC(favourable)[3]
The Guardian[4]
The Independent[5]
Planet Sound(5/10)[6]
Slant[7]
The Telegraph[8]

Draw the Line is the eighth studio album by the English singer-songwriter David Gray, released on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 22 September in the United States. The first single "Fugitive" was released on 7 September 2009.[9] The second single was the Annie Lennox duet "Full Steam," released on 28 December 2009.[10]

Album information

Gray recorded the album, the first set of new songs since 2005's Life in Slow Motion, in his own studio—The Church Studios—while unsigned to a record label.[11] The studio previously belonged to the Eurythmics, and when Gray invited Annie Lennox to guest-record the duet "Full Steam", she reprimanded him for not changing the carpets.[12] The track, described as "a broad political thing,"[13] is one of two duets on the album. The second duet, "Kathleen", features Jolie Holland. Gray revealed in an interview that the original choice for "Kathleen" was Dolly Parton, to whom he wrote a letter with a demo of the song. Parton turned down the offer as she was busy.[14]

Draw the Line is the first studio album with his new band after Gray parted with long-time collaborator Craig McClune in 2007.[15] Gray said that he felt "the creative spark was sort of diminishing between the people who were involved."[16] The album includes 11 new songs, with a new band to back him up: Neill MacColl on guitars, Robbie Malone on bass, and Keith Prior on drums. Gray told The Irish Times that these changes were part of the thinking behind the title: "It's the end of one thing and the start of another. Because there was a chapter and it's ended and now there's a new one. But also it's like, 'don't cross this line!' It's confrontational, which is intentional. That's how I feel."[17]

A deluxe hard-cover book edition of the album, featuring a booklet with 20 pages of illustrations and a bonus CD of tracks recorded live at The Roundhouse, was also released simultaneously.[18]

Chart Performance

Draw the Line entered and peaked on the UK Album Chart at number 5 and charted for only 5 weeks,[19] making it Gray's poorest performing release since The EPs 1992–1994 which charted for only 1 week. In Austria, it entered and peaked at number 74, charting for only 1 week.[20]

In the US, the album performed better on the Independent Albums chart, peaking at number 2[21] and charting for 20 weeks. The album also did better on the Swiss Music Charts, peaking at number 18 and charting for 4 weeks.[22] Draw the Line also made it into the top 20 in other charts such as the ARIA Charts, peaking at number 18 and charting for 7 weeks.[23] It also did well in New Zealand, peaking at number 15 and charting for 3 weeks.[24]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Fugitive"  Gray, Malone, Prior 3:43
2. "Draw the Line"  Gray, Malone, MacColl 4:23
3. "Nemesis"  Gray, Malone, MacColl 5:26
4. "Jackdaw"  Gray 3:54
5. "Kathleen" (featuring Jolie Holland)Gray 3:49
6. "First Chance"  Gray, Prior 6:00
7. "Harder"  Gray, Malone, MacColl, Prior 3:51
8. "Transformation"  Gray 3:23
9. "Stella the Artist"  Gray, Malone, Prior 3:37
10. "Breathe"  Gray 4:39
11. "Full Steam" (featuring Annie Lennox)Gray 4:12
iTunes-only bonus track
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
12. "Second Halo"  Gray 4:08
Bonus disc
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "You're the World to Me" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray 3:43
2. "Sail Away" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray 5:24
3. "Ain't No Love" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray 3:17
4. "Babylon" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray 6:29
5. "Slow Motion" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray 4:38
6. "The One I Love" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray, McClune 4:12
7. "The Other Side" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray, McClune 6:48
8. "Nightblindness" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray 11:09

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Draw The Line by David Gray". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Diver, Mike. "BBC - Music - Review of David Gray - Draw the Line". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  4. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (10 September 2009). "David Gray: Draw the Line". Retrieved 3 October 2016 – via The Guardian.
  5. ↑ "Album: David Gray, Draw the Line (Polydor)". 11 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  6. ↑ "Cheap Holidays: Great Cheap Holiday Deals – Teletext Holidays". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  7. ↑ "Slant Magazine". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  8. ↑ Brown, By Helen. "David Gray: Draw the Line, CD review". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. ↑ King, Stacey (12 December 2011). "Celebrity Gossip, latest Celebrity News and Showbiz Gossip | Eleven UK". Spinnermusic.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  10. ↑ Archived 3 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Information Not Found". Billboard.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Adrian Thrills (27 August 2009). "David is using his Gray matter | Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  13. ↑ "Sat, Aug 08, 2009 – A line under the ladder". The Irish Times. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  14. ↑ Photo by Phil Knott (17 August 2009). "Catching Up With... David Gray :: Music :: Features :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "David Gray parts ways with drummer". Hotpress.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  16. ↑ "David Gray 'Draws The Line' On Upcoming Album". Billboard.com. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  17. ↑ "Draw The Line by David Gray Songfacts". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  18. ↑ "Music | Mp3 Player | Satellite Radio at". Musicratty.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  19. ↑ "David Gray – Draw The Line". Chart Stats. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  20. ↑ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  21. ↑ "David Gray Music News & Info". Billboard.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  22. ↑ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  23. ↑ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  24. ↑ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". charts.org.nz. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
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