Album Review: Gavin DeGraw – Finest Hour: The Best Of Gavin DeGraw
2 min read
There is something about Gavin DeGraw that takes me back to my angsty, emotional early teen years. Hearing his voice kicks my sense memory into overdrive, sparking an emotional connection to his music that is bigger than just whether or not I like his stuff. It’s the kind of affection that can only be described as a soft spot – the man can do no wrong. Maybe it’s the gorgeous lyrics, maybe it’s the possibility that he has the sexiest voice of any man ever, maybe it’s far too many hours spent watching One Tree Hill. Whatever. It’s awesome.
DeGraw delivers Finest Hour: The Best Of Gavin DeGraw, a collection of songs highlighting the mans extraordinary vocals, slamming piano melodies and big bad chorus’s spanning more than a decade. It’s easy to see why this man has sold more than a million records in the US alone. The track listing boasts a perfect balance between the hard-hitting, edgy rock tracks like In Love With A Girl and the beautiful bluesy ballad’s that pull at the heartstrings, like Soldier. There is a previously unreleased version of Finest Hour, produced by the incredible Ryan Tedder and it’s truly a match made in heaven.
DeGraw found huge commercial success more recently with the flawless single Not Over You, and while that’s a huge contender for my favourite, the shining star on this record is unsurprisingly the hit that skyrocketed DeGraw to international fame, I Don’t Wanna Be. It’s still just as badass as ever, and hard to pass over.
That’s not to say his newer stuff isn’t great. Fire is a little darker with a riot raising message and a marching drum beat. Think Maroon 5 meets Fall Out Boy. In contrast, You Got Me, written by Diane Warren is an echoey love song, with gorgeous acoustic guitars and a stunning lyric. While admittedly some tracks don’t quite do it for me as much as others, I’m most disappointed that Not Our Fault which was co-written by One Direction’s Harry Styles didn’t make the final cut. I’d heard the rumours and was definitely looking forward to that one!
Finest Hour: The Best Of Gavin DeGraw is full of attitude, lovely sentiments, angsty rants and nostalgics trips down memory lane. It’s awesome. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m feeling the need for a Chad Michael Murray fix…
