City to City
| City to City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Gerry Rafferty | ||||
| Released | 20 January 1978 | |||
| Recorded | 1977 | |||
| Genre | Rock, folk rock | |||
| Length | 51:12 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Producer | Hugh Murphy | |||
| Gerry Rafferty chronology | ||||
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| Singles from City to City | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B− [2] |
| Rolling Stone | (not rated) [3] |
City to City is a 1978 album by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. It was Rafferty's first solo release in six years - and first release of any kind since 1975 - due to his tenure in the band Stealers Wheel and subsequent legal proceedings which prevented Rafferty from releasing any new solo recordings for the next three years. The album was strongly received, peaking at #1 in the US and going Platinum,[4] as well as reaching #6 in the UK and achieving Gold status. "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Home and Dry" were successfully released as singles. "Baker Street" is widely regarded as Rafferty's signature song and by October 2010 had reached 5 million plays on British radio.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Gerry Rafferty, except where noted.| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Ark" | 5:36 | |
| 2. | "Baker Street" | 6:01 | |
| 3. | "Right Down The Line" | 4:20 | |
| 4. | "City To City" | 4:51 | |
| 5. | "Stealin‘ Time" | 5:39 | |
| 6. | "Mattie‘s Rag" | 3:28 | |
| 7. | "Whatever’s Written In Your Heart" | 6:30 | |
| 8. | "Home And Dry" | 4:52 | |
| 9. | "Island" | 5:04 | |
| 10. | "Waiting For The Day" | 5:26 |
Singles
Baker Street
United Artists wanted to use "City to City" as the lead single from the album, but Rafferty felt that "Baker Street" would be a better choice and eventually the latter song became the first single in most countries (see "City to City" single release below). Released on 3 February 1978, "Baker Street" became hugely popular, peaking at #3 in the UK Singles Chart and at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The song greatly aided its parent album in reaching the top of the Billboard 200 Album Chart for one week in the summer of 1978. The b-side of "Baker Street" featured "Big Change in the Weather", a rare song that, until the album's reissue in 2011, had yet to appear on any other Rafferty recording.
Right Down the Line
"Right Down the Line" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart in the U.S., making this the only Rafferty song to ever reach number one on any US chart.
Home and Dry
"Home and Dry" was the third single from the album in the United States, but did not have a UK release. It peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, marking a third consecutive Top 40 hit for Rafferty on that chart. The b-side featured the fifth track from City to City, "Mattie's Rag".
City to City
The title track had releases in Belgium (1977) and Holland (1978). The b-side featured an extended version of "Mattie's Rag".[5]
The Ark
"The Ark" was released as a single in Holland and Germany in 1978. The Dutch single featured "Waiting for the Day" as the b-side, while the German single used "Whatever's Written In Your Heart". Both b-sides were from the album, used as the tenth and seventh tracks respectively.[6]
Whatever's Written in Your Heart
"Whatever's Written In Your Heart" was only released on a-side as a promotional single in the United Kingdom in 1978. "Waiting for the Day" was used as the b-side.[7]
Personnel
- Gerry Rafferty – vocals, acoustic guitar 1 4 5, backing vocals 1 7, piano 10
- Gary Taylor – bass 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 9 10, backing vocals 4
- Henry Spinetti – drums 1 2 3 4 5 6 8 10
- Hugh Burns – guitar 2 3 4 5 8 9 10
- Tommy Eyre – piano 1 3 6 7 8, electric piano 5 9 10, grand piano 5, Moog synthesizer 2 5 7 8, organ 3 9 10, keyboards 2 4, brass arrangements 10
- Graham Preskett – fiddles 1 4 6 10, string arrangements 2 6 8, string machine 5 6, brass arrangements 6, mandolin 1
Additional personnel
- Jerry Donahue – guitar 1
- Glen LeFleur – tambourine 1 5, percussion 2 3 10, drums 9
- Barbara Dickson – backing vocals 1 7
- Nigel Jenkins – guitar 2 8
- Raphael Ravenscroft – saxophone 2 9
- Brian Cole – steel guitar 3 4 5 9, dobro 6
- Roger Brown – backing vocals 4
- Vivian McAuliff – backing vocals 4
- John McBurnie – backing vocals 4
- Rab Noakes – backing vocals 4
- Paul Jones – harmonica 4
- Hugh Murphy – tambourine 4
- Micky Moody – acoustic guitar 5
- Willy Ray – accordion 6 9
- Joanna Carlin – backing vocals 7
- Andy Fairweather-Low – rhythm guitar 10
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Billboard 200 | 1 [8] |
| 1978 | UK Albums Chart | 6 [9] |
Single
| Year | Song | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Baker Street" | Billboard Easy Listening | 4 [10] |
| 1978 | "Baker Street" | Billboard Hot 100 | 2 [10] |
| 1978 | "Baker Street" | UK Singles Chart | 3 [9] |
| 1978 | "Right Down the Line" | Billboard Easy Listening | 1 [10] |
| 1978 | "Right Down the Line" | Billboard Hot 100 | 12 [10] |
| 1978 | "Home and Dry" | Billboard Hot 100 | 28 [10] |
Certifications
| Organization | Level | Date |
|---|---|---|
| RIAA – U.S. | Gold | 26 May 1978 [4] |
| BPI – UK | Gold | 31 May 1978 [11] |
| RIAA – U.S. | Platinum | 20 June 1978 [4] |
References
- ↑ Stone, Doug. City to City at AllMusic
- ↑ Robert Christgau review
- ↑ Rolling Stone review
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "RIAA Gold and Platinum". Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Gerry-Rafferty-City-To-City/master/272477
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Gerry-Rafferty-The-Ark/master/281305
- ↑ http://www.discogs.com/Gerry-Rafferty-Whatevers-Written-In-Your-Heart/release/2100125
- ↑ "allmusic (((City to City > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))". Retrieved 2007-07-09.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 "allmusic (((City to City > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)))". Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ↑ "BPI Certified Awards". Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
External links
- City to City at Discogs (list of releases)
| Preceded by Saturday Night Fever (soundtrack) by Various artists |
Billboard 200 number-one album 8–14 July 1978 |
Succeeded by Some Girls by The Rolling Stones |
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