Gavin DeGraw Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
Free follows Gavin DeGraw's eponymous second album by less than a year -- a quick turnaround by any standard, but its swiftness is shocking considering that it took him half a decade to deliver a follow-up to his 2003 debut, Chariot. Free feels as if it were recorded quickly: it weighs in at a mere nine songs, including a reworking of the previous album's "Young Love" and a cover of Chris Whitley's "Indian Summer," bringing the total of new tunes to an EP-length seven songs, every one given a treatment that's decidedly looser and smaller in scale than the slick, overworked Gavin DeGraw. Such intimacy suits DeGraw's new songs, which tend to be ruminative, but this subdued setting also shows the seams in his writing and performance, whether it's his adoption of a mush-mouthed, bluesy growl for "Indian Summer" or how he stitches together clichés and naiveté on the spartan closer, "Why Do the Men Stray." But between these two bookends is the most consistent music DeGraw has yet made -- yes, he could use at least one hook as big as "I Don't Wanna Be," but Free manages to flow easily and warmly, something that couldn't quite be said of the blue-eyed soul bluster of his first two albums. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Five years separate Gavin DeGraw's 2003 debut, Chariot, and its eponymous follow-up. Gavin DeGraw exists in a world where he's ubiquitous, played constantly in malls, movie theaters, TV shows, and American Idol, where his "I Don't Want to Be" was a virtual standard. Gavin DeGraw pretty much offers more of the same as Chariot, polishing up the sound, turning it into something bigger and slicker, but not changing his somewhat rootsy, somewhat soulful pop a whit. Unlike Maroon 5, he doesn't chase after modern trends in either R&B or pop -- he sticks with what he knows. Anybody who enjoyed Chariot will probably like this. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Not as baroque as Rufus Wainwright, and more downtown than Matchbox Twenty, but embodying elements of both acts, Gavin DeGraw's J Records debut is a strong showcase for his soulful wail and piano playing, even if it's occasionally grayed out by bells-and-whistles production that pushes it too strongly toward beigeist AAA accessibility. DeGraw's willowy vocal on opener "Follow Through" brings to mind Jeff Buckley, even if the cut is musically vacant adult alterna-whatever, but the title track and "Just Friends" are much better. There's meaningful sway in the piano, and palpable bitterness/hurt in DeGraw's vocal on the latter. "You were just friends/At least that's what you said," he sings. "Now I know better/From his fingers in your hair." It's a nice little lyric, adding impressive emotional gravity to an easily identifiable everyday moment. The flirty "Chemical Party" crosses chunky electric guitar with easy twang and vintage R&B -- it's a stylistic match with label mates Maroon 5, who took the same cocktail to number one and beyond with 2002's Songs About Jane. While the majority of Chariot follows a similar, basically catchy path, it can be hard to locate DeGraw inside the soundalike arrangements of "Crush" or "(Nice to Meet You) Anyway." Even "I Don't Want to Be," which enjoyed placement as the theme to the WB's high-school-and-perfect-cheekbones drama One Tree Hill, only makes an impression during its rousing chorus. Still, DeGraw's piano and vocal work is strong enough to keep Chariot largely on course, and mark it as a promising, mainstream-ready debut. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide
