My Amazon Reviews: Gerry Rafferty "Right Down The Line: The Best Of"

Deserving of Better  
3 Out Of 5 Stars

The late Gerry Rafferty was an enigma of a singer songwriter. As half of Stealers Wheel, his best work was often mistaken for Bob Dylan of CSN. With three albums of excellent but neglected material, Rafferty broke up SW and became a semi-respected producer (he was even the original producer of the classic Richard and Linda Thompson album, "Shoot Out The Lights," before Joe Boyd rerecorded it). It took several years after Stealers Wheel for Rafferty to become comfortable with a solo project, but when it did, it was the instant classic "City To City."

That album finally established Rafferty as a star, mainly due to the unforgettable "Baker Street." Alleged to have been written after Rafferty and fellow Wheel Joe Egan had a get together, Rafferty distilled the stalled life of an old friend, lifted by the soaring saxophone solo of Raphael Ravenscroft. However, the true meaning of the subject's delusional life is the guitar that grabs the sax at the end of each run and jerks it back to earth with a dizzying thud. He managed another hit from the album, "Right Down The Line." The minor hit "Home and Dry" is inexplicably absent. Also unacceptable, that "Baker Street" is remixed.

The success of "City to City" guaranteed at least some form of success for the follow-up, and "Night Owl" delivered. Again, Rafferty's soft delivery and personal lyrics were the focus of the album, and the songs "Right Down the Line" and "Get it Right the Next Time' are included here, but "Days Gone Down' is - inexplicably again - absent. Rafferty was also falling deeply into the severe alcoholism and general cantankerous attitude towards the music business that would ultimately sabotage his career. While the music on the following albums, "Sleepwalking" and "Snakes and Ladders" was not bad and generally adhered to the style he'd presented on the previous albums, it was clear he was tiring of the 'star life' and said as much in "Sleepwalking's" title song.

It took another six years before Rafferty would release "North and South," a very personal album that brought him back to "City to City's" producer Hugh Murphy. Songs like "Shipyard Town" and "Tired of Talking" are as smooth and delightful as any of his earlier work. There's more than a hint of Dire Straits in this period, which you'll hear. While Rafferty made a few more albums afterward, they were not connected to EMI and are not represented here. Also, this being a late 80's CD issue, the mastering isn't up to snuff. "Right Down The Line" is - at present - the best of Rafferty's collections, but the missing singles, remixes of the "City to City" tracks and missing time period (both of Stealers Wheel and before, and post "North and South), leaves this disc lacking. Gerry Rafferty deserves better.