Review # 1 :
 , by music_duchess on 2 July 2008 |
When Gavin Degraw makes an album, he sticks to his style and his promise to make inspiring music. However, it's been a total of five years since he released anything new other than his debut album "Chariot" and the 2-disc "Stripped" version. Well, the wait was worth it. Degraw's latest self titled album released in May of this year has shown how Gavin kept his romantic, honest edge, only with a little twist.
The songs "In Love with a Girl", "Relative", "Medicate the Kids", and "Untamed" had a lot of dissonance and color to reflect a slight change in his musicality. "Relative" is bluesy and almost country style, where Degraw delivers a nice swagger. What is interesting about that song is that it corresponds to the lyrics that "everything is relative" because of the haunting tone and repetition. It teaches a lesson about comparing ideas and people that no matter what they are, they're all the same in some way. There is some kind of subliminal message saying "don't discriminate". The hit single "In Love with a Girl" also adds a surprising touch, especially with the lyrics. It starts off in a minor key with a dark, creepy tone until it gets a little lighter with the verse. The verses give a rock and roll edge as the lyrics show precisely what a man feels when he's with a woman who treats him right.
And to top it off, Gavin still uses his old style that was used in his first album "Chariot", romantic and faithful, in the songs "Young Love", "I Have You to Thank", "We Belong Together" (which was featured in the motion picture soundtrack of Tristan and Isolde), "Let it Go", "Cheated on Me", and "Next to Me". In fact, "Cheated on Me" is merely a continuation of the song "Just Friends", according to the lyrics. It depicts how a woman has been cheating on someone because she isn't in love with her old lover and now she is in "someone else's eyes". In "Just Friends", a man is worried that his girlfriend is having an affair with someone who she defined as 'just a friend' and that he would forgive her if she said she still loved him. Somehow, there is a continuation of thoughts from both songs.
Offhand, Degraw is truly gifted with pure music talent. A recent review by a writer in the All Music Guide (AMG) downplayed this album very recently, saying that Degraw hasn't changed much musically and that "it's hard to wonder why it's taken him five long years to deliver..." What this reviewer has written was seriously mistaken; the artist is only staying true to what he has created in the past and true to listeners. And Degraw has put changes on his music. He's becoming more soulful and real, similar to that of "Chariot Stripped". His sophomore follow-up is brilliant, delicious, and more exquisite than the last. If no one believes this, stay tuned for the "Stripped" version of this album if it is released. Listen to this CD, get caught up in it.
Grade: 10 out of 12 tracks. (B)
My reccomendations for this album: In Love with a Girl, Next to Me, Cheated on Me, I Have You to Thank, Young Love, Relative, Untamed, and Let it Go. (Best songs on the album) |
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