Song Bell Bottom Bliss: “Baker Street” by Gerry Rafferty
posted by on July 31 at 15:17 PM
Yes, I’ve harshed on the saxophone before. That’s because nobody does it like this anymore. If you’re gonna put a saxophone into your rock song, go all the way, Gerry Rafferty-style. Velveeta, baby—enough cheese can make anything tasty.
This is simply one of the most memorable sax melodies in pop. And holy cowbell, there’s a ripping guitar solo in the middle! Where’d that come from? Baker Street? Yes!
Prior to going solo, Scottish-born Raffety was in Stealers Wheels and wrote and performed the song “Stuck in the Middle With You.” K-Billy’s super songs of the ’70s continue!
Where is Baker Street? Why is it so down and out? Detroit? The East End of London? Wherever—things aren’t looking so bright there, though they sound pretty swinging.
Mark, my last roommate in San Franciso, was British. His old roommate in London was Martha Rafferty, Gerry’s daughter. Mark says she lives in Sacramento now.
Also, the one and only Jason Forrest—who does hyperactive mega-pop mashups far more tunefully than Girl Talk—slices this sax part into his big-blasting “Skyrocket Saturday” from the album Shamelessly Exciting. No YouTube, unfortch, but if you can, find the song. It’s fucking awesome.
and what about Garth Hudson on It Makes No Difference - a beautiful soprano solo - here's the link:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=l8Imny1vcdA
great call, dc. my morning jacket has been covering "makes no difference" on their last few tours, sans sax. its good, but needs sax.
Where is Baker Street?
I'm living on it, in strip-malled-out Costa Mesa, CA. That song makes a lot of sense if you drive on this shit.
Also, you may want to correct “Stunk in the Middle With You.” Although your version has more funk...
i was in kenya about six, seven years ago. the song i heard most often was baker street. i was there for about a month and i swear i heard it every day. i heard it in nairobi, i heard it in mombassa. i heard it on safari on the mara. i heard two seperate bands play it in two seperate bars. i heard a band play it except they used a keyboard synth for the sax part. and not a good keyboard neither but one of them kind you get up in toy 'r' us. the onliest other song i heard more than twice was madonna's version of american pie.
in kenya ..in africa..
i also visited an old folks home and met a guy, surviving member of the mau mau uprising, and he collected tapes of american country music..like ernest tubb and red sorvine. but that's another story
Jonathan, I love that you're talking about stuff like Exile's "Kiss You All Over" and Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" -- but the 90's are over. You don't have to take the "it's flashy and in the past therefore it's CHEESE" angle on stuff like this EVERY TIME.
matthew @6--i havent taken the cheese route every single time. some of these songs have a higher cheese quotient than others, exile and gerry rafferty both being close to overload. some of this music is far grittier and less cheesy.
cheese is like porn: im not sure what its defining characteristic is, but i know it when i hear it. and a lot of times i like it.
Great song on a great album,, including the cover art. Seems like everyone had it. Wish someone was making albums like that nowadays.
as regards the real baker street: it is very VERY posh. madonna lives in the neighborhood, and flats go for a million dollars and up. it helps to be a bazillionaire if you wanna live there. maybe it was different in the 1970s. or maybe there is a baker street in glasgow (gerry is scottish). and he was once one half of the humblebums, a folk duo (other half was billy connolly) before he joined stealer's wheel. can we have 'stuck in the middle with you' on a future bell bottom bliss?
anyway, i love love LOVE the song!
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