Right Down the Line--Gerry Rafferty Never Toed the Record Company Line

Gerry Rafferty arrived in London in 1969, leaving the Glasgow, Scotland, music scene for a stint with The Humblebums. It didn't take Rafferty long to learn the ins and outs of the music industry--as a result, he developed a healthy dislike for record companies and their profiteering machinations, an attitude which he has maintained to this very day, as far as I know. Rafferty's first taste of commercial success was with Stealers Wheel, formed with old Glasgow buddy, Joe Egan. This group produced Stuck In The Middle With You, a number one hit in America that was a satirical stab at record company pomposity and glamour. After a four year run that produced little else of any substance, Stealers Wheel disbanded and Rafferty embarked on his solo career, and that's when he began to produce some of the most classic pop music of this era.

Right Down The Line--The Best Of Gerry Rafferty is a fifteen track collection of Rafferty's best stuff from 1977 through 1988. Personally, I think that the earlier music is best, but even the later tunes have a sense of structure about them that prove that Rafferty was a quintessential pop tunesmith.

The tracks on Right Down The Line--The Best Of Gerry Rafferty are:

1. Baker Street
2. Whatever's Written In Your Heart
3. Bring It All Home
4. Right Down The Line
5. Get It Right Next Time
6. The Way That You Do It
7. Tired Of Talking
8. The Garden Of England
9. Sleepwalking
10. Night Owl
11. As Wise As A Serpent
12. A Dangerous Age
13. Family Tree
14. Shipyard Town
15. The Right Moment

Highlights Of This Collection

Baker Street and Right Down The Line are two of Rafferty's best known songs--the former has one of most recognizable sax lines in the music world (competing with Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side), and the latter is a smooth, rhythmic exercise that fuses Latin beats with pop melodies. Whatever's Written In Your Heart blends southern gospel choir vocals deftly with good piano-based pop, while Bring It All Home has a bawdy roadhouse blues feel and a growling sax.

Get It Right The Next Time has a galloping beat and a bluesy tone that reminds me of Atlanta Rhythm Section, while The Garden Of England proves that Rafferty was capable of sharp social and political commentary in the context of a pop song. The Right Moment also offers good insight into Rafferty's philosophy, while Sleepwalking is a choppy, electronic diversion that was probably a product of the disco movement. Night Owl, Family Tree, and Shipyard Town are each good examples of Rafferty's uncanny ability to craft solid pop music.

Right Down The Line--The Best Of Gerry Rafferty is a good representative collection of the music of Gerry Rafferty, at least from 1977 through 1988. I haven't heard anything from Rafferty in several years--perhaps the music world has passed him by, I don't really know. One thing I am sure of--he will always have my undying respect for his attitudes (correct, I might add) about the way that record companies exploit the talents of their artists, all for the sake of a buck.

This is a good collection--I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading.