Personally selected from Gray's first quarter-century as a recording artist, The Best Of leans heavily on recent albums as well as the still ubiquitous White Ladder singles that catapulted him from struggling troubadour to transatlantic star.
The non-chronological order emphasises Gray’s consistency at penning solid if unspectacular, slow-tempo folk songs. In a career featuring subtle tweaks rather than radical redesigns, picking highlights is like being asked to choose your favourite shade of white – the soporific piano and guitar-based numbers eventually morph into one.
That said, the textures introduced on 2014's Mutineers are promising, and completists should justifiably enjoy new song Smoke Without Fire, while the curious will find an effortlessly mild playlist for dinner parties.
