William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Can I Have My Money Back? ; Year: 1971; Genre: Folk Rock Whilst not exactly the sound that might come to mind when you think of Gerry Rafferty's more popular music, it is definitely fun to hear especially if you are a fan of his. This record was his first solo effort recorded at about the same time the band he was in, The Humblebums , ended and just prior to Stealers Wheel began. His second, and much more successful solo record, City to City would release some seven years later after Stealers Wheel dissolved.   Hear Can I Have My Money Back? on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Billy Joel - Vienna   My song pick 2 years ago today: Quasar - Logic?   My song pick 3 years ago today: Lenny Kravitz - Circus   My song pick 4 years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Starlight   My song pick 5 years ago today: Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) - Ooby Dooby My song pick 6 years ago today: Fats Domino - I'm Walkin' My so...

From: City to City ; Year: 1978; Genre: Rock Been listening to this album a lot lately for some reason. This song has a lot of charm; I especially love the steel guitar and saxophone. Hear Island on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: White Zombie - Black Sunshine My song pick 2 years ago today: The Headhunters - Actual Proof My song pick 3 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Old Ghosts My song pick 4 years ago today: Rush - The Wreckers My song pick 5 years ago today: Ian Anderson - After These Wars My song pick 6 years ago today: Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal My song pick 7 years ago today: Paper Lace - The Night Chicago Died My song pick 8 years ago today: Muse - Starlight My song pick 9 years ago today: Styx - Lorelei My song pick 10 years ago today: Three Dog Night - Never Been To Spain My song pick 11 years ago today: Concrete Blonde - Joey

From: Night Owl ; Year: 1979; Genre: Rock I absolutely love the bluesiness throughout this song and the way it was constructed. Of course what makes it all that much better is Raphael Ravenscroft's solo on the sax. Hear The Tourist on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Loudness - Let It Go My song pick two years ago today: Carmen - She Flew Across the Room My song pick three years ago today: California Guitar Trio - Ghost Riders on the Storm My song pick four years ago today: Al Di Meola and Steve Vai - Race with the Devil on Turkish Highway My song pick five years ago today: Nightwish - Beauty of the Beast My song pick six years ago today: L'Arc~en~Ciel - Spirit Dreams Inside My song pick seven years ago today: Led Zeppelin - The Battle Of Evermore My song pick eight years ago today: Jethro Tull - Black Satin Dancer My song pick nine years ago today: Rush - Limelight

From: City to City ; Year: 1978; Genre: Rock/Pop I was listening to City to City again last night; I reckoned I'd go ahead and pick another song from the album. This one has more of a laid-back sound to it, but with neat chord choices/progression. Hear Mattie's Rag on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Triumph - Battle Cry My song pick two years ago today: Porcupine Tree - On the Sunday Of Life My song pick three years ago today: Asia - Sole Survivor My song pick four years ago today: Ray Stevens - I Need Your Help Barry Manilow My song pick five years ago today: The Who - Rael (1 and 2) My song pick six years ago today: The Clifford Brown & Max Roach Quintet - Joy Spring My song pick seven years ago today: Eric Burdon & the Animals - San Franciscan Nights

From: City to City ; Year: 1978; Genre: Rock/Folk Rock Ever since the other day when I heard one of his songs whilst on the road I've had Gerry Rafferty's music on my mind; like normal, I figured that I should pick one of his songs. This is one of the lesser-known singles off the album that often times gets overshadowed by the more popular ones. The Ark definitely has a different sound as well with a great deal of traditional folk influence mixed into his signature sound. Hear The Ark on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - After Dark My song pick two years ago today: Triumph - Allied Forces My song pick three years ago today: Asia - The Heat Goes On My song pick four years ago today: Dream Theater - In the Presence of Enemies Parts I and II My song pick five years ago today: Hiroko Moriguchi - Samurai Heart My song pick six years ago today: England Dan & John Ford Coley - Simone My song pick seven years ago today: Rush - Th...

From: Right or Wrong ; Year: 1975; Genre: Rock I noticed that I've only picked one other song from the Joe Egan/Gerry Rafferty group Stealers Wheel before today, and that was quite a long while ago . Anyway, this is another single, but from the band's latter period. It's quite an interesting song to listen to with a lot of differing sections and unique musical ideas throughout. Hear Right or Wrong on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rush - Before and After My song pick two years ago today: Stratovarius - Atlantis My song pick three years ago today: Alestorm - Pirate Song My song pick four years ago today: Steve Vai - The Attitude Song My song pick five year ago today: Richard O'Brien & Richard Hartley (from The Rocky Horror Picture Show) - Science Fiction/Double Feature My song pick six years ago today: Puhdys - Bas Buch My song pick seven years ago today: The Pretenders - Back on the Chain Gang

From: Night Owl ; Year: 1979; Genre: Rock For no real reason I thought I would pick another from the late, great Gerry Rafferty. This one has a real nice groove to it, plus the singing and the instrumental solos are just perfect for the most part. Watch the music video clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: "Weird Al" Yankovic - Headline News My song pick two years ago today: Simon & Garfunkel - Richard Cory My song pick three years ago today: The Doors - Waiting for the Sun My song pick four years ago today: Black 47 - Funky Céilí (Bridie's Song) My song pick five years ago today: Duran Duran - Planet Earth My song pick six years ago today: Jethro Tull - Rocks on the Road

From: Night Owl ; Year: 1979; Genre: Rock I've had this one running through my mind for most of the morning, so as I normally do, I am taking it as a sign I need to pick it. Night Owl has much of a similar feel to his other popular songs of the time, but still is its own song. One of the neat aspect of this track is Raphael Ravenscroft, (the saxophonist who played on the song Baker Street), plays solos on a lyricon. Hear Night Owl on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Duke Ellington - It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) My song pick two years ago today: Jefferson Airplane - Somebody to Love My song pick three years ago today: John Denver - In My Life My song pick four years ago today: The Charlie Daniels Band - Legend of Wooley Swamp My song pick five years ago today: The Doors - Strange Days My song pick six years ago today: Argent - Hold Your Head Up

From: Night Owl ; Year: 1979; Genre: Rock For some I just felt like picking something from Gerry Rafferty this morning. This one takes a bit to get going, but after it does the song shines up quite nicely. Watch a music video clip on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Tommy James - Mirage My song pick two years ago today: The Rolling Stones - In Another Land My song pick three years ago today: Iron Maiden - Satellite 15... The Final Frontier My song pick four years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Hold on Tight / Epilogue My song pick five years ago today: C.W. McCall - Wolf Creek Pass My song pick six years ago today: Eddie Rabbitt - I'm Driving My Life Away

1235 Gerry Rafferty - Home and Dry I heard on the radio this morning that Gerry Rafferty had succumbed to his fight with liver disease; a writeup can be found here on BBC.com . He is another one of those acts from the '70s that I was exposed to early on in life, and while not an absolute favourite of mine, I love a great deal of his material and his music has continued to be around me throughout my life thus far. I've always liked his work with the band Stealer's Wheel, specifically the song Star ; however I've never really cared for the more iconic song Stuck in the Middle with You , which was probably the song that band was best known for. His biggest hit songs from his solo career were probably Baker Street and Right Down the Line , both of which were off of his City to City album. This is another track that I like off that same album and feels quite nice for the pick today as well. RIP Gerry Rafferty 1947-2011. Hear Home and Dry on YouTube. My song pick a year a...

998 Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street At almost 1000 song in it seems as if I am regularly looking at what songs I have already picked every time I think of a song to choose; I truly cannot believe that I have not chosen this track yet. My dad has a penchant for buying "super hit" records with various artists on them. Oddly enough, one of his favourites contained the two hits off of Gerry Rafferty's City to City album: Right Down The Line and Baker Street ; he played them both a lot. After I left home I ended up buying the City to City album at a thrift store for about .50¢. The song is probably best known for Raphael Ravenscroft's saxophone solos. It was supposedly written about what Gerry Rafferty experienced around the famous Baker Street area in London; the street is the same one made famous in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Mysteries . Also a few years prior Jethro Tull released the song Baker St. Muse , in which Ian Anderson wrote about what...

This is a song that I used to like a lot then came to dislike for a variety of reasons. However, now I am starting to like it again and it always remained on my playlist; I would usually just skip over it when it came on. Anyway, it is a really good song and I thought that it needed to be picked today. I love how the organ holds the song down in the background, plus the bass and drums are excellent as well. Hear Right Down the Line on YouTube. +

This is my favourite song by Gerry Rafferty and/or Stealers Wheel. The song is kind of melancholy and powerful at the same time; it talks about a star who is at the top of his career and asks the question: what will you do when the fame is gone? In the first line it says, "They made you a star," which I think means that it is corporate music he is talking about. In support of this view it says, "They read in the press all about your success and they believe every word they've been told, after all you've been through tell me what will you do when you find yourself out in the cold?" Almost every singer and/or movie star that does not die prematurely will experience this at one time or another, especially the artificial ones made by the corporate music industry. I think that Gerry Rafferty wanted to capture the essence of "fleeting fame" and not being the "in" thing anymore. Here is the studio version on YouTube. +