Draw the Line is the eighth studio album by the English singer-songwriter David Gray, released on 14 September 2009 in Europe and 22 September in the US. The first single “Fugitive” was released on 7 September 2009.
Gray recorded the album, the first set of new songs since 2005′s Life in Slow Motion, in his own studio–The Church Studios–while un-signed to a record label. The studio previously belonged to the Eurythmics, and when Gray invited Annie Lennox to guest record the duet “Full Steam,” she reprimanded him for not changing the carpets. The track, described as “a broad political thing,” is one of two duets on the album.
The second duet, “Kathleen,” features Jolie Holland. Gray revealed in an interview that the original choice for “Kathleen” was Dolly Parton, to whom he wrote a letter with a demo of the song. Parton turned down the offer as she was busy.
Draw the Line is the first studio album with his new band after Gray parted with long-time collaborator Craig McClune in 2007. Gray said that he felt “the creative spark was sort of diminishing between the people who were involved.” The album includes eleven new songs, with a new band to back him up: Neill MacColl on guitars, Robbie Malone on bass, and Keith Pryor on drums.
Gray told The Irish Times that these changes were part of the thinking behind the title: “It’s the end of one thing and the start of another. Because there was a chapter and it’s ended and now there’s a new one. But also it’s like, ‘don’t cross this line!’ It’s confrontational, which is intentional. That’s how I feel.”
David Gray – vocals, guitar, piano
* Neill MacColl – guitar, backing vocals
* Rob Malone – bass, backing vocals
* Keith Pryor – drums
* James Hallawell – keyboards
* Caroline Dale – Cello
* Iestyn Polson – Programming
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