ReviewsQ (12/96, p.159) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...retains considerable charm thanks to the modesty of its ambition and its author's eternal gift for double-tracked melody....represents an honourably restored brick in the wall of Scottish pop." Mojo (Publisher) (8/00, p.118) - "...A fine young songwriter in the McCartney mould....[This album] still has its charm."
Additional informationThis reissue contains 12 bonus tracks from Gerry Rafferty's first group, The Humblebums. Personnel includes: Gerry Rafferty (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano); Joe Egan (vocals); Roger Brown (acoustic & electric guitars); Alan Parker (electric guitar); Rod King (steel guitar); John Van Dernick (fiddle); Tom Parker (piano, harpsichord, harmonium, organ, keyboards); Gary Taylor (bass); Henry Spinetti (drums, percussion); Andrew Steele (drums); Hugh Murphy (tambourine, background vocals); Rab Noakes (background vocals). Engineers include: Jerry Boys, Robin Black, Gerald Chervin. Originally released on Transatlantic Records. Includes liner notes by Alan Robinson. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Audio Remasterer: Ben Wiseman . Liner Note Author: Malcolm Dome. Recording information: Nova Sound Studios, London; Sound Techniques, Morgan. Arrangers: Gerry Rafferty; Tom Parker. Rafferty seems to have spent his life writing about his tribulations with the music business and the problems it caused with his relationships. This was the first of many albums, including those with Stealers Wheel, to address this subject. That should not cloud the enjoyment because some of his gentlest moments are here, such as 'Didn't I' and the lovely 'Mary Skeffington'. 'Sign On The Dotted Line', written with Joe Egan, is the first of the 'business' songs. Nowadays, 'Baker Street' pays the mortgage, but in the innocent times of 1971 Rafferty needed every record sale he could get. Sadly this underexposed gem of a record let him down.