Hidden Gem: David Gray's White Ladder

London, November 1998. A year and a half after the shooting of The Notorious B.I.G and a few weeks after the release of Britney Spears’ first single. Following brief and unsuccessful stints with Hut records and even EMI, British singer-songwriter David Gray released the fourth studio album of his so far unremarkable career, White Ladder, quietly on his own label, IHT records.

Together with engineer/producer Lestyn Polson and drummer Craig McClune, initial recordings for the album had taken place in the main room of Gray’s London flat. Due to the absence of financial backing, the recording took place with two cheap, commercially available microphones, a mixing desk borrowed from a mate, and Gray’s volatile early Mac. Initially, the demos reached little success in England, though charting in the top 30 in Ireland, where Gray toured throughout 1999, selling out every show.

Back in London with the financial backing of label East West and as Dave Matthew’s first signing on indie label ATO Records, work on the album began again, with a new mix of the songs laid down six months earlier taking place. Vocals were re-recorded in parts, and White Ladder was re-released, taking the form that we know today. Phenomenally well-received by the music community, the album hit the UK #1 spot in the charts, with a re-release of Babylon, as a single also contributing to Gray’s success.

The album itself represents a marked deviation from Gray’s previous work - three primarily folk oriented albums released over the previous six years, while retaining a low-fi, bedroom aesthetic, with Gray’s acoustic guitar playing central to the sound. Samplers, strings, drum machines and modern synth sounds also feature in the final mix, adding atmosphere and intrigue on tracks such as Please Forgive Me, with Polson and McClune layering percussion around Gray’s trademark melancholy vocals.

Please forgive me if I act a little strange, For I know not what I do. Feels like lightning running through my veins, Every time I look at you.

Every aspect of the album is stellar. Beautiful songwriting and the production to match. The album’s mega-hit, Babylon, speaks for itself, but it is by no means the sole highlight on a record full of hidden depths, including a cover of 80s synth-pop duo, Soft Cell’s Say Hello Wave Goodbye, clocking in at nearly nine minutes in length.

I never knew you. You never knew me. Say hello, goodbye.