Draw the Line (David Gray album)

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

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
"Fugitive" Released: 7 September 2009 "Full Steam" Released: 28 December 2009

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	62/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
BBC	(favourable)[3]
The Guardian	[4]
The Independent	[5]
Planet Sound	(5/10)[6]
Slant	[7]
The Telegraph	[8]

Album information

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 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 long-time 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, 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 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.[17]

Chart Performance

Draw the Line entered and peaked on the UK Album Chart at number 5 and charted for only 5 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

No.	Title	Writer(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.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Second Halo"	Gray	4:08

Bonus disc

No.	Title	Writer(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, McClune	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	6:48
8.	"Nightblindness" (Live at the London Roundhouse)	Gray	11:09

Personnel

• 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

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". Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. 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. "Sat, Aug 08, 2009 – A line under the ladder". The Irish Times. 8 August 2009. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
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.