A Stranger In My Own Backyard - GILBERT O'SULLIVAN***

Number 4/A Woman's Place/No More/Its So Easy To Be Sad/My Father/The Marriage Machine/If You Ever/The Thing Is/Just Like Me/Victor E/I Wonder Would You Mind/15 Times/Nothing To Do About Much/Tried To Get You To Love Me/Always Somebody

A Stranger In My Own Backyard was the weakest of singer songwriter Gilbert O’Sullivan’s albums, containing no hits. The provocative A Woman’s Place rightly drew the ire of feminists when released as a single. (UK:9)

“Pleasant on the whole, but too many forgettable tracks drift by. A Woman's Place is a reactionary disgrace. If You Ever and a few others are worth persevering for.”

“Gilbert went to the States to record this album but forgot to pack some decent songs.”

“This album is full of witty, carefully-crafted songs and very successfully blends his very British dancehall sensibility with a smooth West Coast feel.”

“This is one of my favourite Gilbert O'Sullivan albums. Every song is not just original but a beautifully crafted masterpiece. The arrangements of all the songs are highly sophisticated and multi-faceted.”

“A striking feature of this album is the childlike sense of humour and the warmly nostalgic melodies - the opening song Number 4 and Victor E are reminiscent of Sesame Street and other songs share the same childhood theme.”

“The patchiest of O'Sullivan's early albums, Stranger occasionally finds its footing and delivers a witty and well-crafted song or two. It's So Easy to Be Sad merges traditional British dancehall gallop and American West Coast smoothness to great effect, and contains some of the best examples of well-planned lyrical phrasing he ever put on record. My Father more closely follows the established template of his earlier outings, with its single piano and woozy horn providing just the right atmosphere for a tipsy ode to dear old dad.”

“O'Sullivan's songwriting often has the uncanny ability to illuminate and find humour in the everyday trials of common folk.”