Another sad loss to music is the passing of Gerry Rafferty, a consistently excellent singer/songwriter. Sad news, but probably not surprising given Gerry Rafferty's alcohol problems, poor health and odd disappearances over the last few years. Something that did (pleasantly) surprise was the release of the newish GR album Life Goes On in 2009.

I was first drawn to Rafferty's music by the astounding Ravenscroft sax riff on Baker Street (fun, but challenging to play) - a great introduction to a strong catalogue. While I love the City to City and Night Owl period, my personal favourite Rafferty album remains the forgotten Sleepwalking from 1982 (thanks, as usual to Billy Pinnell's Album Show on EON-FM for alerting me to it at the time). The back catalogue needs proper attention and rerelease, both his solo and bandwork.

A full obituary appears in today's Age.

Labels: music