Gerry Rafferty

In the same year that City to City was released, Visa Records released the self-titled Gerry Rafferty album, a 15-track compendium of Humblebum tunes which appeared on 1969's The New Humblebums and 1970's Open Up the Door. Spotlighting Rafferty's early songwriting prowess, fans who are more familiar with tracks such as "Baker Street," "Right Down the Line," and "Get It Right Next Time," from his more successful solo career, will enjoy his discerning folk-pop sound that drifts through songs like the Beatlesque "My Singing Bird," "Her Father Didn't Like Me Anyway," and "Patrick." The spirited "Steamboat Row" is a definite precursor to future efforts like Stealers Wheel' "Stuck in the Middle With You" and his own "The Girls Got No Confidence," proving that his talent isn't purely engulfed in heartfelt ballads and twilight pieces. If anything, the songs that make up Gerry Rafferty illustrates his ability for combining pleasant melodies and earnest moods before his work was embedded in a commercial late-'70s sound. While the material that he produced at the end of the decade brought him more success, there's an ample amount of modesty and genuine simplicity in his early music that is often just as effectual, which is why the tracks that appear on Gerry Rafferty should eventually be discovered by longtime fans, if they haven't heard them already. ~ Mike DeGagne, All Music Guide