Gerry Rafferty

Contributor: Damien Spanjer

My first contribution to Toppermost introduces Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, best known for his 1978 mega-hit Baker Street, arguably one of the greatest balladeers of his era. Though he has written many up-tempo numbers, it is through the ballads that the magic of his Celtic-folk-infused melodic songwriting and velvet voice can be truly appreciated. This list excludes Rafferty’s work as half of The Humblebums and Stealers Wheel, both perhaps deserving of their own entry in the Toppermost Music Bank.

I’ve started the list with Mary Skeffington, a dreamy look back on his mother’s early life that evokes fond memories of his father, Joseph Rafferty. Curiously, the version that appears on CD/digital releases of Can I Have My Money Back? differs to the that of the original LP release. The LP version starts with an acoustic guitar intro yet the CD version features the synth/harmonium intro. A 2014 Rab Noakes release of Demos and Rarities Vol.2: Adventures with Gerry Rafferty includes the original LP version he recorded with Rafferty plus an acoustic version from 2001. The song holds up very well no matter how it is performed or by whom. Indeed, my talented compatriot Olivia Newton-John has covered two Gerry Rafferty songs during her career, Mary Skeffington and The Right Moment, both of which appear on this Toppermost.

Next up is another from Can I Have My Money Back?, Rafferty’s first album to be produced by Hugh Murphy marking the start of a three decade long creative partnership. To Each And Everyone narrowly beat Sign On The Dotted Line, featuring a lyric to which professional musicians reading this may well relate. Tempting as it was to stay with Can I Have My Money Back? for a third, maybe fourth or fifth entry in this Toppermost, it would leave no room for the gems which follow. To Each And Everyone won its place here for its lilting musicality and unusual fusion of genres. It’s 2:42 of Celtic Folk/Baroque Pop perfection.

Next up is the 1978 mega-hit Baker Street. No treatise on Gerry Rafferty could be complete without mentioning this epic pop masterpiece. Featuring one of the most recognisable saxophone solos in popular music (perhaps rivaled only by George Michael’s Careless Whisper), the song also has a lot of intricate detail in the arrangement that often goes unnoticed: for example the calypso counter-rhythms of the verse and the subtle piano flourish at 4:38 (as a pianist I notice stuff like that). Sadly, this immaculately produced hit would ultimately contribute to (and fund) Rafferty’s alcoholism as he failed to replicate its success.

Moving swiftly on to Night Owl where again I have selected two songs for inclusion. The first, Family Tree, opens with a delightful recorder ensemble reminiscent of the Baroque chamber music written before the recorder was mass produced as a plastic instrument of torture used against elementary school children, their parents and teachers. Already Gone has a George Harrison feel to it, and wouldn’t sound out of place on Somewhere In England. Rafferty cited the Beatles and Bob Dylan as significant influences and fans of both will find much to enjoy in the Scotsman’s body of work.

Welcome To Hollywood is a tongue-in-cheek dig at superficial hedonism highlighting the contrast of the night life and the morning after, complete with an unconvincingly American accented monologue (not Rafferty’s voice) extolling the virtues of LA. This one made the cut for its humour more than anything. By contrast, the introspective and sparsely arranged The Right Moment documented Rafferty’s desire to break free of the merciless album/tour cycle. This was indeed the right moment for Rafferty, as he took a six year break after the release of Sleepwalking.

Returning in 1988 with a more country-infused offering, North And South maintained its Celtic influences and featured some beautiful Irish low whistle and uilleann pipe and playing from Davy Spillane who would later take a prominent position as a soloist in the Riverdance phenomenon on the pipes. It was tricky to select a song from this album for inclusion as it is one of his most consistent albums and Rafferty was in fine voice. Clearly the break did him some good! In the end I settled on Winter’s Come for its atmospheric intro, Spillane’s piping and Rafferty’s tasteful guitar soloing. Unfortunately North And South is one of two Rafferty albums currently out of print (the other being 1994’s Over My Head) but it’s worth tracking this one down. If you happen to be a fan of the mellow country-folk of Mark Knopfler, North And South is certain to appeal.

This list closes with two tracks from 1992’s On A Wing And A Prayer, a body of work heavily influenced by Rafferty’s divorce – it really is an album for the lovelorn and certainly connected deeply with me when I first experienced heartbreak towards the end of the last century. Suffice to say it received a lot of airplay on my radio shows at the time.

Rafferty would release two more albums after On A Wing And A Prayer but the superb songwriting and production of this album, and particularly Don’t Speak Of My Heart and The Light Of Love warrants their occupation of the last two available slots in this Toppermost. Both were co-written with Rafferty’s brother Jim and stand up as two of the finest songs written by either. It’s a great shame that personal disagreements had driven them away from each other for so long, as one can only imagine what the pair may have been capable of had they worked together from the start. Had they done so, this list may have been even harder to compile.

Gerry Rafferty didn’t match up to his prolific heroes in terms of quantity, but the quality of his back-catalogue more than compensates.

Gerry Rafferty (1947–2011)

Official Gerry Rafferty Website

Gerry Rafferty: Right Down The Line (BBC Scotland TV documentary)
Part 1 of 4

Stealers Wheel toppermost #465

Gerry Rafferty biography (iTunes)

Damien Spanjer is a classically trained musician and former member of Sydney-formed studio outfit Starflight. Check out his Soundcloud page for samples of his other musical work.

TopperPost #433