Album Essentials: David Gray - "White Ladder"
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
Initially released in November of 1998, 'White Ladder' proved to solidify everything David Gray had been working towards since the early part of the decade. With three albums under his belt, Gray settled in at his home studio to record his fourth album in the spring of 1998.
The first three albums had all seen the light of day via Virgin Records, in the UK, and it's indie imprint, Caroline, in the U.S., but things we far from big time for Gray. "I was very naive," he said in a more recent interview. "I just wanted to write and sing and see where it took me, and where it took me was through three albums. But things just got steadily worse."
Having been dropped by his label, album number four was initially a self-released affair, on his own IHT Records label. But fast forward to the spring of 2000, and Gray found he had a major fan in Dave Matthews. Matthews in turn, re-released 'White Ladder' on his ATO label, thus giving Gray that much needed boost into a bigger audience well over a year after the album seemed left for dead. In addition, Gray hit the road as opening act on Matthew's tour and helped Gray win over DMB audiences.
The release of the single 'Babylon' turned out to be a major part of the album's success, as it scored high on several charts of the day, including a stop at No.1 on the 'Adult Alternative,' and a No.5 hit in his native England. His folk meets electronica in the post-alternative world, seemed to find a home with both mainstream and indie fans. Other singles such as 'Please Forgive Me,' 'This Year’s Love' and 'Sail Away' pushed the album to number one in the UK and into the US Top 40.
Its real success story, however, was in Ireland, where the album stayed at the top of the charts for six weeks. His status in Ireland continued to grow, as over the three years that followed the release of 'White Ladder,' it was certified 20 times Platinum, and to this day remains the biggest selling album in Ireland.
"It's a record that was made in my bedroom, " Gray recalled on the album's 20th anniversary. "So it's not like a big major production, it's quite low key. I'd always been a singer songwriter in this traditional mode but was itching to find some new sounds.” It was the right record at the right time for Gray, selling over 7 million copies worldwide. It ranks in the top 30 best-selling British albums of all time and is one of the ten best-selling albums of the 21st century to date. That seems pretty essential!