Draw the Line (David Gray album)

Draw the Line
Studio album by
David Gray
Released14 September 2009
RecordedMay 2008–May 2009
StudioThe Church Studios
GenreFolk rock
Length46:55
LabelMercer Street/iht
Producer
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 Sound5/10[6]
Slant[7]
The Telegraph[8]

Draw the Line is the eighth studio album by 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, a duet with Annie Lennox, "Full Steam", released on 28 December 2009.[10]

Album information

[edit]

Gray recorded the album, his 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. The track, described as "a broad political thing,"[12] is one of two duets on the album. The second, "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.[13]

Draw the Line is the first studio album after Gray parted with longtime collaborator Craig McClune in 2007.[14] Gray said that he felt "the creative spark was sort of diminishing between the people who were involved."[15] The album includes 11 new songs, with a new band: Neill MacColl on guitar (brother of Kirsty MacColl and who had played on Gray's first two albums), 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."[16]

A deluxe hardcover 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.[17]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Draw the Line entered and peaked on the UK Album Chart at number five and charted for only five weeks,[18] making it Gray's poorest performing release since The EPs 1992–1994 which charted for only one week. In Austria, it entered and peaked at number 74, charting for only one week.[19]

In the United States, the album performed better on the Independent Albums chart, peaking at number 2[20] and charting for 20 weeks. The album also did better on the Swiss Music Charts, peaking at number 18 and charting for four weeks.[21] 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.[22] It also did well in New Zealand, peaking at number 15 and charting for 3 weeks.[23]

Track listing

[edit]
Draw the Line track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Fugitive"Gray, Malone, Prior3:43
2."Draw the Line"Gray, Malone, MacColl4:23
3."Nemesis"Gray, Malone, MacColl5:26
4."Jackdaw"Gray3:54
5."Kathleen" (featuring Jolie Holland)Gray3:49
6."First Chance"Gray, Prior6:00
7."Harder"Gray, Malone, MacColl, Prior3:51
8."Transformation"Gray3:23
9."Stella the Artist"Gray, Malone, Prior3:37
10."Breathe"Gray4:39
11."Full Steam" (featuring Annie Lennox)Gray4:12
Total length:46:55
iTunes-only bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Second Halo"Gray4:08
Bonus disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You're the World to Me" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray3:43
2."Sail Away" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray5:24
3."Ain't No Love" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray3:17
4."Babylon" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray6:29
5."Slow Motion" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray, McClune4:38
6."The One I Love" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray, McClune4:12
7."The Other Side" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray6:48
8."Nightblindness" (Live at the London Roundhouse)Gray11:09

Personnel

[edit]
  • David Gray – vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, Wurlitzer, hi-strung, vox organ, vibraphone, harmonium
  • Keith Prior – drums, percussion, b/v 's
  • Rob Malone – bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonium, b/v 's
  • Neill Maccoll – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, hi-strung, b/v 's
  • Caroline Dale – cello
  • Jolie Holland – vocals on track 5
  • Annie Lennox – vocals on track 11
  • Iestyn Polson – programming
  • Simon Changer – mix engineer

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Draw the Line
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[24] 18
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 74
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 45
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 21
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 70
Irish Albums (IRMA)[29] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[30] 87
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[31] 15
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[32] 18
UK Albums (OCC)[33] 5
US Billboard 200[34] 12

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Draw the Line
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Ireland (IRMA)[35] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]
2009 release 		Silver 60,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37]
2015 release 		Gold 100,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Draw the Line by David Gray". Metacritic. 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)". Independent.co.uk. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Cheap Holidays: Great Cheap Holiday Deals – Teletext Holidays". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  7. ^ "Slant Magazine". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  8. ^ Brown, 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. ^ [1] Archived 3 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Information Not Found". Billboard.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  12. ^ "A line under the ladder". The Irish Times. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  13. ^ Photo by Phil Knott (17 August 2009). "Catching Up with... David Gray :: Music :: Features :: Paste". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  14. ^ "David Gray parts ways with drummer". Hotpress.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  15. ^ "David Gray 'Draws The Line' On Upcoming Album". Billboard.com. 14 September 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  16. ^ "Draw the Line by David Gray Songfacts". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Music | Mp3 Player | Satellite Radio at". Musicratty.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  18. ^ "David Gray – Draw The Line". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  19. ^ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  20. ^ "David Gray Music News & Info". Billboard.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  21. ^ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  22. ^ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  23. ^ Steffen Hung. "David Gray – Draw The Line". charts.nz. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  24. ^ "Australiancharts.com – David Gray – Draw the Line". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  25. ^ "Austriancharts.at – David Gray – Draw the Line" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – David Gray – Draw the Line" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  27. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – David Gray – Draw the Line" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  28. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – David Gray – Life in Slow Motion" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  29. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography David Gray". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  30. ^ "Italiancharts.com – David Gray – Draw the Line". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  31. ^ "Charts.nz – David Gray – Draw the Line". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – David Gray – Draw the Line". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  34. ^ "David Gray Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  35. ^ "The Irish Charts - 2009 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  36. ^ "British album certifications – David Gray – Draw the Line". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  37. ^ "British album certifications – David Gray – Draw the Line". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
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