City to City

City to City is a 1978 album and the second studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. It was Rafferty's first solo release in six years—and first release of any kind since 1975—due to his tenure in the band Stealers Wheel and subsequent legal proceedings which prevented Rafferty from releasing any new solo recordings for the next three years. The album was strongly received, peaking at No. 1 in the US and going Platinum,[5] as well as reaching No. 6 in the UK and achieving Gold status. "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Home and Dry" were successfully released as singles.

For the song by Ratt, see Reach for the Sky (Ratt album).

City to City
Studio album by
Gerry Rafferty
Released20 January 1978 (1978-01-20)
Recorded1977, Chipping Norton Recording Studios
GenreRock, folk rock, soft rock
Length51:12
LabelUnited Artists
ProducerHugh Murphy and Gerry Rafferty
Gerry Rafferty chronology
Gerry Rafferty
(1974)		 City to City
(1978)		 Night Owl
(1979)
Singles from City to City
  1. "City to City"
    Released: 1977
  2. "Baker Street"
    Released: 1978
  3. "Right Down the Line"
    Released: 1978
  4. "Home and Dry"
    Released: 1978
  5. "The Ark"
    Released: 1978
  6. "Whatever's Written in Your Heart"
    Released: 1978
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB–[2]
Rolling Stone(not rated)[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

Singles

"Baker Street"
Main article: Baker Street (song)

United Artists wanted to use "City to City" as the lead single from the album, but Rafferty felt that "Baker Street" would be a better choice and eventually the latter song became the first single in most countries. Released on 3 February 1978, "Baker Street" peaked at No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and spent four weeks at No. 1 in Canada. It reached No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100, spending six weeks in this position, and two weeks at No. 1 on the US Cash Box Top 100. The B-side of "Baker Street" was "Big Change in the Weather".

"Right Down the Line"

"Right Down the Line" reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaked for two weeks at number eight on the Cash Box Top 100, and spent four non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart in the US in 1978,[6] the only Rafferty song to reach number one on this chart. Bonnie Raitt covered the song in 2012, including it in her Slipstream album.

"Home and Dry"

"Home and Dry" was the third single from the album in the United States, but did not have a UK release. It peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking a third consecutive Top 40 hit for Rafferty on that chart. It reached No. 23 in Canada.[7] The B-side featured the sixth track from City to City, "Mattie's Rag". It reached No. 26 on the U.S. Easy Listening chart, doing best on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart, where it reached No. 7.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gerry Rafferty.

City to City track listing
No.TitleLength
1."The Ark"5:36
2."Baker Street"6:06
3."Right Down the Line"4:28
4."City to City"4:51
5."Stealin' Time"5:39
6."Mattie's Rag"3:28
7."Whatever's Written in Your Heart"6:30
8."Home and Dry"4:52
9."Island"5:04
10."Waiting for the Day"5:26

Personnel
  • Gerry Rafferty – piano, acoustic guitar, vocals, backing vocals
  • Tommy Eyre – piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, Hammond organ, ARP, keyboards, brass arrangements
  • Jerry Donahue – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, electric guitar on track 1
  • Hugh Burns – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar on tracks 2–5, 8–10
  • Nigel Jenkins – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, electric guitar on tracks 2, 8
  • Andy Fairweather-Low – rhythm guitar, electric guitar on track 10
  • Micky Moody – acoustic guitar on track 5
  • B.J. Cole – steel guitar, dobro on tracks 3–6, 9
  • Gary Taylor – bass guitar, backing vocals on tracks 1–6, 8–10
  • Graham Preskett – fiddle, mandolin, ARP, synthesizer, string machine, string, brass, arrangements on tracks 1–2, 4–6, 8, 10
  • Henry Spinetti – drums on tracks 1–6, 8, 10
  • Glen LeFleur – drums, percussion, tambourine on tracks 1–3, 5, 9–10
  • Barbara Dickson – backing vocals on tracks 1 and 7
  • Raphael Ravenscroft – saxophone on tracks 2 and 9
  • Roger Brown – backing vocals on track 4
  • Vivienne McAuliffe – backing vocals on track 4
  • John McBurnie – backing vocals on track 4
  • Rab Noakes – backing vocals on track 4
  • Paul Jones – harmonica on track 4
  • Hugh Murphy – tambourine on track 4
  • Willy Ray – accordion on tracks 6 and 9
  • Joanna Carlin – backing vocals on track 7

Australian bush band the Bushwackers featured on track 1 "The Ark", playing the introductory piece on fiddle, concertina and bodhran. This piece was also used under the guitar solo in the middle of the song.

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 3
Billboard 200[10] 1
UK Albums Chart[11] 6

Year-end charts
Chart (1978) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[12] 8

Single

Song Chart (1978) Peak
position
"Baker Street" Billboard Easy Listening[13] 4
"Baker Street" Billboard Hot 100[13] 2
"Baker Street" Canada RPM Top Singles 1
"Baker Street" UK Singles Chart[11] 3
"Right Down the Line" Billboard Easy Listening[13] 1
"Right Down the Line" Billboard Hot 100[13] 12
"Right Down the Line" Canada RPM Top Singles 5
"Home and Dry" Billboard Hot 100[13] 28
"Home and Dry" Billboard Easy Listening 26
"Home and Dry" Cash Box Top 100 23
"Home and Dry" Canada RPM Top Singles 23
"Home and Dry" Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[14] 7

Certifications
Organization Level Date
RIAA – US[5] Gold 26 May 1978 (1978-05-26)
BPI – UK[15] Gold 31 May 1978 (1978-05-31)
RIAA – US[5] Platinum 20 June 1978 (1978-06-20)

References
  1. Stone, Doug. City to City at AllMusic
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: R". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 10 March 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. "Rolling Stone review".
  4. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  5. "RIAA Gold and Platinum". Archived from the original on 26 June 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  6. "Right Down The Line — Gerry Rafferty". Last.fm.
  7. "Image : RPM Weekly". 17 July 2013.
  8. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 3 March 1979. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 244. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "allmusic (((City to City > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))". Retrieved 9 July 2007.
  11. "UK Top 40 Hit Database". Archived from the original on 18 July 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  12. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 430. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  13. "allmusic (((City to City > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles)))". Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  14. "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 3 March 1979. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  15. "BPI Certified Awards". Retrieved 9 July 2008.
  • Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
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