Gerry Rafferty paid his dues playing bass in countless rock bands before joining up with fellow Scot Billy Connolly in a mildly successful affair called the Humblebums. When the duo parted, Rafferty recorded his solo LP, Can I Have My Money Back? (This was well over a year ago, before he and Joe Egan formed Stealer's Wheel.)
released in the States, the package conjures up the image of old Gerry nodding over a pint in some seedy pub ("Rafferty's Bar" as suggested in "Mr. Universe"?) somewhere on a misty coast. He leans back, picks up his weathered acoustic and tells the sailors a tale.
Rafferty sings in a thin, nasal stream and sounds like his jockey shorts are too tight. It's a confident but vulnerable delivery that reveals a certain sadness, like the memory of his family being wiped out by the Loch Ness monster, or something like that. It's distinct and memorable music.
Three selections are superb. "Mary Skeffington" (covered effectively by Allan Clarke on his solo LP) is given a gentle, soothing bossa nova-like treatment by two acoustic guitars (the second provided by Rab Noakes). Here, Rafferty's vocal recalls John Lennon, while most of the sides smack of Paul McCartney. Mary's youth has passed and her only recourse is to dream of her former years. It's a bit sad.
"Long Way Round" contains an attractive drop in the melody line that sticks in the brain for days. A contemplative saga, it concerns two brothers, one in disguise, taking the same sea voyage. One is taking the short distance because he knows what he wants. The other, still searching, is taking the "long way round." Musically the cut is distinguished by a simple melodic organ/raunch guitar break a la Procol Harum, and by some joyous Beach Boys-like bop-wee-ooh high vocals.
"To Each and Everyone" is a tender tear-jerking farewell that is molded around a harmonium. A harpsichord is used for color. Gerry's futile relationship with those "living a lie" terminates.
Other songs are interesting in their own way. A blaring brass/organ unison punctuates the throbbing "New Street Blues." "Didn't I," combining the acoustic guitar with a piano, seems like a combination of the early Beatles and the Band. "Mr. Universe" reminds one of the kick-the-sand-right-back-in-their-faces muscle men parody of the Bonzo Dog Band's "Mr. Apollo." It has a nice chorus, but it in no way compares with the Bonzos' masterpiece. Selections like "Can I Have My Money Back?" and "Sign on the Dotted Line" (co-authored with Egan) represent incomplete thoughts.
Rafferty's natural ability for composing good melodies over-shadows his lyrical inconsistencies. He's always produced solid LPs with their share of worthy material. Can I Have My Money Back is no exception. (RS 148)
HAROLD BRONSON
