Gerry Rafferty R.I.P.

[Tom 1960]

MSNBC

[Peter Johnson]

Holy crap, I was just listening to City to City last night. What a fuckin' bummer. Loved his stuff when I was in the mood for that kind of thing.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

I WAS JUST THINKING OF HIS MUSIC RIGHT WHEN I LOGGED ON TO THIS MAINPAGE AND SAW THIS. OH MY GOD

[sidewinder]

Sad news. He hadn't been well for a very long time, I believe. RIP.

'Baker St' is a classic.

[Tom 1960]

I remember during the late 70's the album City To City getting a huge amount of airplay on rock stations and I'm not just talking about Baker Street. It was a pretty damn good album and I still own it on vinyl. I will defintely be playing this at some point in the next day or so.

[Dan Gould]

I need to remember to tell my boss about this - she told me recently that Stuck in the Middle with You is her all-time favorite song, how she has made up compilation CDs to fit different moods and that the song fits into every single one of them. Its a great song, I actually spent $15 once on a 70s compilation just to get that track (this was before downloads, natch) but jeez.

Sad news especially since it sounds like alcoholism was a prime factor.

[Bright Moments]

right down the line - also a good tune

[sidewinder]

Apparently, he was keeping a low profile and renting a big place in Upton near Poole, Dorset - which is a place I've picked up Mosaics from the Post Office in the past. The royalties from 'Baker Street' made him a rich man.

[medjuck]

Stuck in the Middle was a Lieber Stoller production. I presume they had nothing to do with Baker Street (which I don't believe I've ever heard-- seems like I should look for it.)

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

really? they produced the whole steelers wheel album? ? im telling you one of the early solo lps, i just didnt "get". i admit that. in fact i actually never really you gotta believe me, baker street, did nothing for me, the vocal part is ok but the intro, in fact all the saxophone, i dont like that saxophone part, its creepy, i never liked it, when u listen to hank mobley and yusef lateef all day, Baker St. comes at you like a ton of bricks, i dont like it. remids me of the sax part in TURN THE PAGE/BOB SEGER, i am sorry, it does, always thought that. im hip to the Seeg but i still dont dig the sax in that one either, i like r&r saxophone, i have no problem with andy mckay or rob lind- but the single i dig or was it a single, i dont know if it was a single, 'home and dry' on city to city. it kind of has this whole gary wright vibe to it and its deffintely #1 single on that lp, i cant believe baker st was even the single, i recently got a pretty immaculate UA press of it to replace my very good+ copy which i had previous.

[Alexander]

The summer of 1978 (when was seven years old), "Baker Street" was EVERYWHERE. I can still remember all the windows on my street being open (no air conditioning in those old Buffalo houses) and the sax riff from that song emerging from nearly every one...

You never hear music coming from people's open windows anymore. I miss that...

[GA Russell]

...Baker Street (which I don't believe I've ever heard-- seems like I should look for it.)

Medjuck, I'm sure you'll recognize it when you hear it:

http://www.youtube.c...zg&feature=fvsr

Edited January 6, 2011 by GA Russell

[JSngry]

baker street...i dont like that saxophone part, its creepy, i never liked it...remiinds me of the sax part in TURN THE PAGE/BOB SEGER, i am sorry, it does, always thought that. im hip to the Seeg but i still dont dig the sax in that one either, i

Dude, sometimes you are like the kid brother I never had...another one is "Careless Whisper", an otherwise fine (enough) song interrupted by a creepy soap-opera-theme-sounding alto.

(no disrespect to the decesed intended, btw. "Stuck In The Middle..." has long been a favorite, and it sounds like the man's last years were painful. Sorry to hear that, and RIP)

[A Lark Ascending]

Gerry Rafferty clearly brought lots of people a great deal of pleasure; his passing is unfortunate.

But I also never cared for that sax on 'Baker Street'. It seemed to become a template for using a sax on rock records, when there are so many other ways you can use one.

Which, of course, was not Gerry's fault.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

u know it, jsngry, but i negeleted to mention...i **LOVE** Careless Whipser, incl the sax part-- in fact, i frequently recall, that i think, that i think i can recall, the FIRST time EVER hearing a SAXOPHONE ever, FIRST TIME EVER HEARING A SAXOPHONE, was in 1984, on MTV, the video: Careless Whisper!!!!!!