Live From London (iTunes)

Chronique

Live from London, different than Live in London (which was a promo EP from 2003), finds David Gray performing songs in the manner expected of an accomplished and revered songwriter. Devoid of any studio overproduction, the set is intimate, finding only Gray's voice soaring over guitar strums or piano keys, three songs on each instrument. It was performed in London's Apple Store's promotion for 2005's Life in Slow Motion, hence the reason four of the EP's six tracks come from those sessions. "From Here You Can Almost See the Sea" actually isn't much different from its studio cousin, but manages to feel freer when fully stripped of a second guitar and Theremin. "The One I Love" is somber, as it should be for a song about a soldier remembering his loved one as he's dying on the battlefield. It's impassioned even if it's not as spirited as a normal live Gray performance. The only new song from the set is actually an old one that was never properly released. "A New Day at Midnight" is the only version to date of what essentially would have been the title track to Gray's 2003 album of the same name. At the beginning of the song, he mentions that it was written the day after his first daughter was born, although he also seems to brush aside the idea that it lends itself to any true meaning immediately after stating it. His voice cracks slightly on the second to last line in the performance, but it seems to add, not detract, from effect. If only we got to hear more of these moments from studio performances from all musicians instead of having songs whitewashed with spliced takes to create a pristine recording, perhaps we would all learn that honesty always trumps perfection. "Shine," a self-professed flagship song, is a subdued take on a typically fiery song. It still evokes unharbored passion, but feels as if it's being remembered in the past instead of lived in the present. Time has aged it, but it still glows -- much like his unbridled passion for his musical calling.
© Eric Luecking /TiVo