Night Owl – GERRY RAFFERTY****

Days Gone Down/Night Owl/The Way That You Do It/Why Won't You Talk To Me/Get It Right Next Time/Take The Money & Run/Family Tree/Already Gone/The Tourist/It's Gonna Be A Long Night

Night Owl was the follow up album from Scottish soft-rock singer songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Thanks to the title track No. 5 hit single he was able to maintain his high profile, but before long he would soon begin to fade. (US:29 UK:9)

“The pastel and maroon hues of the sleeve art adequately serve the songs reflective, downbeat and introspective nature.”

“The album starts brightly with Days Gone Down with its affirming lyric, soothing melody and strong chorus before the title track gives us an insight into the writer's growing drink problem. Warm and insidious as the melody is, Night Owl is a very unflattering self-portrait of the artist. Lush and melodic the music may be but listen closely and you'll hear a man struggling with his inner demons. Every song has a strong melody although Rafferty's propensity to overdo tends to homogenise and indeed blanch the songs of emotion.”

“This album is OK, but somewhat disappointing after City To City. Get It Right Next Time is a fantastic, but nearly forgotten minor hit from the album. There are some other good songs, especially The Way That You Do It. The first half of the album is stronger, while the second half gets less significant and a bit more boring.”

“All these years later, this album still stands up well. There aren't as many stand-out gems as City To City, Rafferty's pinnacle, but Night Owl Is consistently good. After many listens, I enjoy it as much as ever. Rafferty's voice is sweet and smooth and the production quality is excellent.”

“Punk and new wave were on the advent while progressive rock and classic rock were waning, and disco was dying an unnatural death of defiant struggle. Rock had fragmented into so many sub-genres when along came Gerry Rafferty. The Scottish born folky whose music often has a Celtic resonance hidden just beneath the surface.”

“Every bit as richly produced and played as City To City and even if it sometimes is a little too slick and overplayed its still packed with some amazing songwriting.”