Rest In Blue CD

The long-awaited, brand new posthumous album by Gerry Rafferty, produced by his daughter Martha Rafferty.

From 2006, Gerry started work on a new album on and off, but sadly passed away in 2011. His daughter, Martha Rafferty, sought to complete a project started by father, culminating in Rest In Blue. Many of the demos left by Gerry included multiple layers of synths, which Martha stripped back to showcase his immense vocal ability. The result is an album brimming with raw emotion, and a quintessential collection of blues, rock, and folk. Some of the demos date back as far as 1970, many of which Rafferty had singled out as potential tracks for his new album.

With elements of the songs written at varying parts of Gerry’s career, the album tackles a variety of topics including, climate change on Sign Of The Times, questioning the legality of war in Lost Highway, and addressing problems with his alcoholism in the emotively honest Still In Denial. As well as many brand-new originals penned by Gerry, 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, an artist Gerry was a big admirer of. The album finishes with a re-record of the Stealers Wheel classic Stuck In The Middle With You recorded back in the 90s, that gives the track a fresh, country-inspired interpretation.

Rest In Blue called upon many musicians that had worked closely with Gerry throughout his career. One of which is guitarist Hugh Burns, who played on a vast amount of Rafferty’s catalogue, 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 many more. Rest In Blue also features Alan Clark, formerly of Dire Straits, on piano and the Hammond organ, alongside many other incredible musicians. Whilst the album features many long-time collaborators, it also features bright, upcoming talent in the form of producer Tambala, who co-produced and mixed the track Slow Down, the album’s first single.

With hits such as Baker Street, Right Down The Line and Night Owl, Gerry Rafferty is one of Scotland’s and the UK’s finest songwriters and musicians in history. 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 with notable syncs in films such as 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 hits such as Right Down The Line and Baker Street, which features the iconic saxophone solo by Raphael Ravenscroft. Rafferty went on to release ten studio albums, solidifying his status one of the finest musicians and songwriters to come out of the UK.