David Gray released his amazing new record Dear Life on January 17th 2025. The roll out of this release has been a beautiful experience for me personally as a David Gray fan.
First, I took part in the album pre-sale in September 2024 that coincided with the fresh 1st single off the record titled "Plus & Minus". You can check out the pre-sale of the signed vinyl page here.
If you had a chance to read my previous article, you will know that I discovered David Gray's music as a teenager and to have something signed by him sure means a heck of alot. The same can in fact be said for every artist who has ever signed anything for me!
There is a new trend in the music industry that I would like to point out as truly awesome!
I have now experienced this with the recent new releases from David Gray, Coldplay and the upcoming Doves record.
What the bands have chosen to do is have a limited amount of signed vinyl records on offer on their merch site for pre-sale. The cool part is that they are selling the signed editions of their respective albums at the same price as their unsigned copies of the record on a first come first serve basis.
To be on the receiving end of this experience as a music fan feels a bit like getting a golden ticket in some way …. and I love the first come first serve approach!
Therefore, instead of charging more money for the signed copies of the album the artists here have chosen to bring a bit of luck and fun into album pre-sale.
I believe this is a great way for bands to connect with their fans further making the vinyl vs streaming war much more interesting too.
We all know of the many plights and inequalities for artists in our current streaming era of music consumption. It is for that reason, I believe the purchase of a vinyl record says so much more to the artist than an album stream.
I believe that music streaming’s true function in the world is to window shop for music. When I've streamed a record several times and find myself returning to the artists music, I then buy the album on vinyl.
To me, it is showing much more support as a music fan to buy the vinyl. In a way, the music fan is showing the artist. "I have streamed your album enough times now (a.k.a window shopped) that I now want to know more about your music and commit to it as a fan.
I want to hear it with better sound, I want to study your album art which I know artists and sometimes teams of people came together to create.
I also want to read the lyrics and read the album credits, to learn who helped make the music that I’m listening to. It’s also fun to see if there are any familiar names in the credits and if not, I may want to learn about them too!
Above all I want to invite the artist’s music on my record shelf with my other favorite bands over the years in my life.
Anyway, back to David Gray's album roll out! On January 23rd, after an anticipatory 4 month wait, I received my signed copy of Dear Life which is on a very stunning sea blue vinyl.
The best part about when I did receive the vinyl was that I was about to see David Gray for my 6th time on January 31st at Massey Hall in Toronto.
The Concert.
Massey Hall is a Toronto venue that is for me, hands down the most special place to take in a concert in the city. There is intimacy, history and an incredible vibe and sound to the room that is so complimentary for artists and fans alike.
The only downside about the venue if I really had to reach is that there are some seats with obstructed viewing. Just avoid those seats and read the fine print when buying your tickets!
Here is a bit more about massey hall taken straight from their website for anyone wanting to learn more about the historic Toronto venue: "Known as “Canada’s Carnegie Hall,” Massey Hall is Canada’s oldest and most venerated concert hall. It opened in 1894 and was the home of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir until 1982. The site of many historic events and performances, it has been repeatedly voted Canada’s best live music venue over 1,500 seats and venue of the year by Canadian music industry associations. It is a National Historic Site and a heritage site in the City of Toronto. It was closed between 2 July 2018 and 24 November 2021 to allow for a $184-million renovation."
David graced us with his greatest hits, deep cuts, fresh new material and covers that any audience could ever hope for. The setlist was steller, the energy in the room was palpable between artist and audience and I got to watch the show with my family which was extra special.
Here is the set list from the show:
From Here You Can Almost See the Sea
(Depeche Mode cover)
(Van Morrison cover)
As you can see an amazing mix of new and old songs. And just like the last time I saw him, he performed two amazing covers! The first was of Depeche Mode's "I just can't get enough" and the second was a jangly and hypnotic cover of Van Morrison's "The way young lovers do".
I have to say, I am much more familiar with Jeff Buckley's version of the song. To hear it with a full band's, a bit more faithful to the original but with a David Gray twist was an amazing experience. I embarrassingly only listened to Van Morrison's original version of the song after the concert, but that Jeff Buckley cover has been on rotation for me since I was 18 years old. Back then I worked at music world where I bought his Jeff Buckley’s Live at Sin-e double album with my paycheck from the record store. If you have not heard that album, please do!
All this to say, if you have not had the chance to hear the David Gray’s Dear Life or any of his 13 previous albums for that matter I highly suggest you check out his bountiful music career. And if he is playing in a city near you, Go! You will not be sorry :)
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