Gavin DeGraw - Dark Publications

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Customer Reviews: Read 50 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

A place to be warm and welcome May 15, 2008
18 out of 20 found this review helpful

"'cause the heart can't erase once it finds a place to be warm and welcome,
To be held in shelter" - lyrics from "In Love with a Girl"

Way back in 2003, I reported that Gavin DeGraw's debut CD Chariot was the best album you'd never heard of. Fast forward to 2008 to his second studio album, and although he's a lot more popular now, this is probably the best album you've heard only one song from.

That song is "In Love with a Girl", the first single, but by no means the only good track on the album. DeGraw's easy-listening melodies and simple arrangements make for timeless songs that will still be current in years to come.

This very talented young man writes his own songs, and also plays piano and guitar, and I strongly encourage you to check out the following songs.

Next to You (Wait a Minute Sister)
Cheated on me
Young Love
She Holds a Key
Untamed
Let it Go

Not that the other tracks aren't extremely good, but these are the ones that stand out, and the ones I think are single-worthy. There are no filler tracks on this album, which can be listened to anytime, anywhere and often. I rather think that DeGraw's time under the radar is coming to an end.

Also recommended for Maroon 5 and Jason Mraz fans.
Rated 4.5 stars

Amanda Richards, May 15, 2008

2 out of 5 stars

Big disappointment. May 12, 2008
11 out of 14 found this review helpful

I've anxiously awaited the release of Gavin's followup to Chariot, which is still to this day one of my favorite albums of all time. Admittedly, I've always liked the "Stripped" version of Chariot the most. So when I heard this over-mixed pop sounding album for the first time I was very disappointed.

There are only a couple of songs on this album that are worth a second play. Most of the lyrics are corny and vanilla. The musical sound is way too bubble gum pop for his soulful voice. It's almost as if he was writing to sell albums to teenage girls. I've listened to the album a handful of times hoping it will grow on me, but to no avail.

After being such a huge fan of Gavin's debut album I'm probably harder with this review since I had high expectations. I miss his killer combination of a soulful voice and equally soul filled lyrics.

5 out of 5 stars

its all about the music May 6, 2008
8 out of 12 found this review helpful

I've been enjoying his music since his last cd Chariot. So when i heard the first single "In Love With A Girl". I knew it had to be Gavin and sure enough it was. He has so much soul in his songs that you can't help but be drawn to them. Each one of the songs on this cd feel like a personal statement or a journey that he has gone through since his last cd was released. Not preachy or anything just a collection of songs that will have hitting the play button again to hear it one more time.

Some cds have songs that you can skip over and not miss much. But not with this one each and every one of the 12 songs on "Gavin Degraw" need to heard more than once to get the effect. He also wrote all the songs on this one as well piano and other instruments.

With the aforementioned "In Love With A Girl". There are several songs of note on this cd to keep track of:

"Cheated On Me"
"I Have You To Thank"
"Young Love"
"Medicate The Kids"
"She Holds A Key"
"Let It Go"
"Next to Me (Wait A Minute Sister)"

Also the cd isnt filled with any unnecessary interludes or intros. It still manages to come in 46 minutes and that time will fly by while listening to a cd that should be on everyone's Top releases.

4 out of 5 stars

A soulful return, but it's all relative May 7, 2008
5 out of 7 found this review helpful

Gavin's soulful voice and infectious energy returns in the long-awaited
arrival of his new self-titled CD.

Our first taste of the CD was the catchy "In Love With a Girl", which set a popsy expectation for the CD. Thankfully, Gavin does flesh out the CD with a spectrum of emotion. He follows up his love story with "Next to Me", in which he seemed to channel a little Jason Mraz in the intro and eventually falls back into his own style.

Bound to get a lot of airtime is the strongly melodic "Cheated on Me". "I Have You to Thank" is cute but sounds a little Maroon 5 and is the most forgettable song in the bunch. He's back having fun with strong rhythms and piano riffs in "Cop Stop". "Young Love" continues to deliver a great sound with old-fashioned heart. "Medicate the Kids" will hopefully bring awareness to the issue with his message. "Relative" is a hard-rocking anthem then Gavin is back at the piano on "She holds a Key" which is finished by a driving gospel sound. Gavin's inner Tarzan comes out on "Untamed". Contrasting, is the "Let It Go", tender and vulnerable, reminding me a little of Queen.

The CD finishes with the idealism of "We Belong Together". This song is everything that I was looking for in Gavins follow-up to Chariot: melodic, deep, soulful.

The self-titled CD is surprisingly, harder to identify with than Chariot. The lyrics speak to a younger age group and with a definite masculine take, most would not be found singing to in the car. Given Chariot's bullseye mark, it is hard to imagine that Gavin is lyrically unripe. So, like he says, 'it's all relative'. This CD does not follow down the same road as Chariot but if taken on its own merits will still deliver. Overall, Gavin's sophomore effort is well-worth a listen.

2 out of 5 stars

Dissapointing May 6, 2008
4 out of 7 found this review helpful

I was pretty torn about writing this review. I do honestly like Gavin DeGraw for his voice and musical chops. I thought Chariot, both the produced and stripped versions were flatout amazing. I still listen to those CDs. This CD though should be a growth in some direction that holds to his strengths. It certainly does not.

"In Love With A Girl" was pretty promising to me as a first single as it almost mirrored his release of Chariot, but this time, it was one of the brightest spots on the album. I'll tell you why: there's nothing that hooks me into this one. He had a gift on the last album to write licks and melodies that just took me in immediately. In addition to this, the songs had different feelings to them, but still that DeGraw style. For example, "Crush" had that uplifting, full intro that brought into a funk break down for a bit. Contrast that with the sickest intro with "Chariot" with a chorus that lives up to that intro. I'm looking for anything that can hold a candle to this feeling on this new CD... and I don't.

It's not all bad. In fact, I think there are points where DeGraw feels more comfortable singing on this CD (with the exception of "Medicate The Kids", where the spoken intro ruined it for me even though the rest of the song isn't bad). I do really like "Next To Me", and "Let It Go" is a beautiful heartfelt song. The lyrics still have the same DeGraw charm of being simple, corny, but truthfully Gavin.

Overall, it's just boring. There's nothing that grabs my attention, a lot of the songs sound the same to me, and there's none of that magic that I heard so often on Chariot. There are bright points in the CD, but not enough to make me push this any farther than 2 stars. It was something I've been looking forward too all year too!

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