Four of the songs, "The Garden of England", "I was a Boy Scout", "Welcome to Hollywood" and "Bring it all Home" were recorded at Beatles producer George Martin's AIR studio in Montserrat.
All the songs were original Rafferty compositions, though one – "Johnny's Song" – was a remake of a song which had been previously released by his former band Stealers Wheel, and another – "Didn't I" – was a remake of a song from Rafferty's 1971 album Can I Have My Money Back?.
Two years after the release of Night Owl, Gerry Rafferty presented his fans with Snakes & Ladders, and although some of his former album's charm and lyrical appeal manages to resurface, the whole of the album comes up short.
The memorable melodies, moving allegories, or genuine lyrical warmth that was put into past efforts arise in a couple of tracks, like in the beauty of "Bring It All Home" or in the mystique of "Look at the Moon."
It's not that Rafferty's writing is weaker or has been restrained, it's the fact that he fails to present enough passion from an instrumental standpoint throughout the entire album, and to a lesser extent a vocal one, to establish the same type of emotion or atmosphere as he did with City to City or Night Owl.
"Royal Mile" was released as a single in the U.K., but only climbed as high as number 67 there and number 54 in the U.S.
The album went to number 15 in Britain, but Rafferty showed signs of relinquishing his genuine style ever so slightly, and 1982's Sleepwalking disappointingly confirmed this.
Even though his exterior talents had dwindled only slightly, the intangible qualities that made Rafferty such a compelling artist seemed to be left behind in the past decade.
Side A
A1. The Royal Mile - 3:51
A2. I Was A Boy Scout - 4:13
A3. Welcome To Hollywood - 5:17
A4. Wastin’ Away - 3:36
A5. Look At The Moon - 2:20
A6. Bring It All Home - 4:39
Side B
B1. The Garden Of England - 4:07
B2. Johnny’s Song - 3:23
B3. Didn’t I - 4:13
B4. Syncopatin’ Sandy - 4:23
B5. Cafe Le Cabotin - 4:53
B6. Don’t Close The Door - 3:45
Personnel
- Gerry Rafferty – vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
- Mo Foster, Pete Zorn – bass guitar
- Ian Lynn – keyboards
- Jerry Donahue, Richard Brunton – guitar
- Richard Harvey – synthesiser, penny whistle
- Bryn Haworth – guitar, slide guitar
- Mel Collins – saxophone
- Betsy Cook – backing vocals
- Liam Genockey – drums
- Billy Livsey – piano, melodica, keyboards
- Raphael Ravenscroft – saxophone
- Frank Ricotti – percussion, congas, tambourine
- Pete Wingfield – piano, Hammond organ
- Billy Wingfield – piano, synthesiser
- Technical
- Barry Hammond, Stephen Lipson – engineer
- John Patrick Byrne – cover
- Michael Gray – photography, management
Notes
Release: 1980
Format: LP
Genre: Pop
Label: United Artists Records
Catalog# 1A 062-82883
Prijs: €10,00
Vinyl: Very Good
Cover: Very Good
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