Never Let Her Go

David Gates | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 13, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B0013KCCOI
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #118,574 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

David Gates is best known as the leader of the group Bread. After Bread dissolved, he issued a number of fine solo albums. Never Let Her Go was issued in 1975 and reached #102 on the Billboard charts. It is now making it's worldwide CD debut. Wounded Bird.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's About Time!, May 15, 2008

By 

Record Producer (Burbank, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Never Let Her Go (Audio CD)

So nice to finally have some of the missing pieces in the David Gates story available on CD. After the slightly-saccharine title tune "Never Let Her Go" are some excellent songs, including hard-rockers like "Angel," "Watch Out" and "Chain Me." Even on the harder-edged songs, melodicism abounds, as it always does with Gates, but for those who like his more well-known softer side, there are excellent tracks like "Playin' On My Guitar," "Someday," and others. "Strangers" is a haunting tune, but my personal favorite is the upbeat "Greener Days." While best known for his ballads, Gates displays a wide range of styles on this short, but very rewarding album.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars David Gates' second solo album, June 9, 2008

By 

A. Butterfield (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Let Her Go (Audio CD)

David Gates' 'First' album was such a tour de force that the second one was never going to match it, but he had a pretty good stab at it. Sadly there's no epic on here like 'Clouds Suite' but there's plenty of variety and a whole bunch of memorable songs done very nicely.

The title track and the exquisite 'Part Time Love' also appeared on his 'Goodbye Girl' album, though they appeared here first.

'Angel', 'Watch Out' and 'Chain Me' are the album's three 'rockers' though we're not talking Iron Maiden here, just David Gates with bit of attitude. For me they're okay but I can't take them totally seriously.

Much better are songs like 'Playin' on My Guitar' which probably should have been a hit single. It's one of my favourite Gates songs of all time and has a really haunting melody.

'Light of My Life' is an okay song with a typically well fleshed out and distinctive guitar solo (a feature of many of Gates' songs), while 'Someday' is the album's soppiest ballad (nice tune though), 'Greener Days' and interesting uptempo tune with a catchy hook and the final track, 'Strangers' an odd and slightly melodramatic tale about people not connecting with each other.

Though there's not exactly a bad song, there are a few that don't try too hard among the gems like 'Part Time Love and 'Playin' on my Guitar'. It's also a very short album - one of the shortest I own I reckon. He wouldn't have got away with it in today's world of sixty minute CDs and bonus tracks!

Even so, I still highly recommend this album to fans of David Gates and applaud the record label for finally, after 33 years, releasing it on CD.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best one, July 25, 2011

By 

J. LAPUZZA (Omaha, NE, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Never Let Her Go (Audio CD)

I own all of David Gates' solo albums, and of them, "Never Let Her Go" is the best one. Sure it sounds a lot like Bread, as three-forths of the group are laying down the tracks. David's vocals are as perfect, with Larry Knechtel's keyboard work as flawless as ever, and Mike Botts drumming, really defining "in the pocket". Master studio guitarist, Dean Parks, adds some great texturing. The songs are all very different, and always stay with you. David is one of the greatest creators of romantic pop music of all time. Buy this one.