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Two years after the release of Night Owl, Gerry Rafferty presented his fans with Snakes & Ladders, and although some of his former album's charm and lyrical appeal manages to resurface, the whole of the album comes up short. The memorable melodies, moving allegories, or genuine lyrical warmth that was put into past efforts arise in a couple of tracks, like in the beauty of "Bring It All Home" or in the mystique of "Look at the Moon." It's not that Rafferty's writing is weaker or has been restrained, it's the fact that he fails to present enough passion from an instrumental standpoint throughout the entire album, and to a lesser extent a vocal one, to establish the same type of emotion or atmosphere as he did with City to City or Night Owl. "Royal Mile" was released as a single in the U.K., but only climbed as high as number 67 there and number 54 in the U.S. The album went to number 15 in Britain, but Rafferty showed signs of relinquishing his genuine style ever so slightly, and 1982's Sleepwalking disappointingly confirmed this. Even though his exterior talents had dwindled only slightly, the intangible qualities that made Rafferty such a compelling artist seemed to be left behind in the past decade.
© Mike DeGagne /TiVo
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Frank Ricotti, Percussion - Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Mo Foster, Bass Guitar - Richard Harvey, Penny Whistle - Ian Lynn, Keyboards
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Pete Wingfield, Organ - Chris Mercer, Brass Arranger - Frank Ricotti, Congas - Billy Livsey, Piano - Barry Hammond, OverdubEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Composer, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Mo Foster, Bass Guitar - Bryn Howarth, Slide Guitar - Steve Lipsom, RecordingEngineer
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Frank Ricotti, Percussion - Billy Livsey, Piano, Clavinet, Voice - Barry Hammond, OverdubEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Jerry Donahue, Lead Guitar - Mo Foster, Bass Guitar - Raf Ravenscroft, Saxophone - Richard Brunton, Guitar - Ian Lynn, Synthesizer - Steve Lipsom, RecordingEngineer
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Frank Ricotti, Percussion - Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Jerry Donahue, Guitar - Ian Lynn, Keyboards - Pete Zorn, Bass Guitar
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gavin Wright, Strings Leader - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Wil Malone, String Arranger - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Ian Lynn, Keyboards - Vixen Barking, Voice
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Pete Wingfield, Organ - Billy Livsey, Piano - Barry Hammond, OverdubEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Mo Foster, Bass Guitar - Raf Ravenscroft, Saxophone - Richard Brunton, Guitar - Steve Lipsom, RecordingEngineer
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Billy Livsey, Keyboards - Barry Hammond, OverdubEngineer - Gavin Wright, Strings Leader - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Wil Malone, String Arranger - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Mo Foster, Bass Guitar - Richard Brunton, Guitar - Ian Lynn, Synthesizer - Steve Lipsom, RecordingEngineer
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Frank Ricotti, Percussion - Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Jerry Donahue, Guitar - Ian Lynn, Keyboards - Pete Zorn, Bass Guitar
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Betsy Cook, Background Vocals - Frank Ricotti, Tambourine - Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, Background Vocals, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Jerry Donahue, Guitar - Pete Zorn, Bass Guitar
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Frank Ricotti, Wood Block Percussion - Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gavin Wright, Strings Leader - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Wil Malone, Arranger - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Ian Lynn, Keyboards - Pete Zorn, Bass Guitar
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Frank Ricotti, Percussion - Billy Livsey, Melodica - Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Jerry Donahue, Guitar - Richard Brunton, Guitar - Ian Lynn, Keyboards - Pete Zorn, Bass Guitar - The Baron De Bon Bon, Voice
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Pete Wingfield, Organ, Piano - Barry Hammond, RecordingEngineer - Gerry Rafferty, Producer, Vocals, Writer, MainArtist - Liam Genockey, Drums - Hugh Murphy, Producer - Mo Foster, Bass Guitar - Richard Brunton, Electric Guitar - Bryn Howarth, Slide Guitar
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Album review
Two years after the release of Night Owl, Gerry Rafferty presented his fans with Snakes & Ladders, and although some of his former album's charm and lyrical appeal manages to resurface, the whole of the album comes up short. The memorable melodies, moving allegories, or genuine lyrical warmth that was put into past efforts arise in a couple of tracks, like in the beauty of "Bring It All Home" or in the mystique of "Look at the Moon." It's not that Rafferty's writing is weaker or has been restrained, it's the fact that he fails to present enough passion from an instrumental standpoint throughout the entire album, and to a lesser extent a vocal one, to establish the same type of emotion or atmosphere as he did with City to City or Night Owl. "Royal Mile" was released as a single in the U.K., but only climbed as high as number 67 there and number 54 in the U.S. The album went to number 15 in Britain, but Rafferty showed signs of relinquishing his genuine style ever so slightly, and 1982's Sleepwalking disappointingly confirmed this. Even though his exterior talents had dwindled only slightly, the intangible qualities that made Rafferty such a compelling artist seemed to be left behind in the past decade.
© Mike DeGagne /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:48:33
- Main artists: Gerry Rafferty
- Composer: Gerry Rafferty
- Label: Parlophone UK
- Genre: Pop/Rock Pop
© 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1980 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
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