THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Gerry Rafferty’s posthumous release Rest In Blue is his 11th solo studio album. Rafferty had been working on the project off and on since 2006, but sadly passed away in 2011, leaving his daughter Martha Rafferty to complete the project.
Many of the demos left by Rafferty included multiple layers of synths, which Martha stripped back to showcase his vocal abilities. The result is an album brimming with raw emotion, and a quintessential collection of blues, rock, and folk. Some of the demos Rafferty had singled out as potential tracks for his new album date back as far as 1970.
With songs written at varying parts of Rafferty’s career, the album tackles a variety of topics including climate change on Sign Of The Times, the legality of war in Lost Highway, and alcoholism in the emotively honest Still In Denial. Aong with the new originals, the album features popular traditional folk songs such as Wild Mountain Thyme and Dirty Old Town. It also features a cover of Richard & Linda Thompson’s It’s Just The Motion. The album finishes with a re-record of the Stealers Wheel classic Stuck In The Middle With You cut back in the ’90s, giving the track a fresh, country-inspired interpretation.
Rest In Blue includes many musicians that had worked closely with Rafferty throughout his career. One is guitarist Hugh Burns, who played on a vast amount of Rafferty’s catalog, including the powerful guitar solo on Baker Street. Renowned vocalist Katie Kissoon performed backing vocals on many of the tracks, having previously worked with the likes of Eric Clapton, Roger Waters, George Michael and more. Rest In Blue also features Alan Clark, formerly of Dire Straits, on piano and organ. While the album features many long-time collaborators, it also features bright, upcoming talent in the form of producer Tambala, who co-produced and mixed Slow Down, the album’s first single.
With hits such as Baker Street, Right Down The Line and Night Owl, Rafferty is one of Scotland’s finest songwriters and musicians. He first found success as part of the band The Humblebums, which included beloved comedian, actor and musician Billy Connolly. Rafferty went on to form Stealers Wheel with old school friend Joe Egan, who produced a number of successful albums alongside the rock classic Stuck In The Middle With You, a track which has transcended generations thanks to films such as Quentin Tarantino’s Resevoir Dogs, and is still widely popular to this day. Following his departure from Stealers Wheel, Rafferty relaunched his solo career in 1978 with the album City To City, including Right Down The Line and Baker Street, featuring the iconic saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft. Rafferty went on to release 10 studio albums, solidifying his status one of the finest musicians and songwriters to come out of the U.K.”
