Gerry was never comfortable in front of an audience. But he should have been, because man did he have the goods. A brilliant musician and songwriter with a smooth voice that has few equals.
I was 12 the first time I heard this song. I still remember it like yesterday. We were on the way to visit my Grand Parents in Mobile. After a 4 hour drive It was late at night and lightly raining. Seeing the water reflected by the windshield, and the wet street. Hearing that sax it was surreal. It set that scene into my memory, and I can't ever hear this song without thinking of a rain soaked street at night.
I was twelve when this hit the airwaves. It immediately takes me back to riding the school bus with this on the radio and all the melancholy awkwardness of those years.
My hometown’s Main Street was “Baker Street”…..we’d cruise up and down in all the muscle cars with cute guys to this song…. falling in and out of love with all the boys with these songs. Life was so simple then. Oh how I miss it 💕💜💕
Fil, I am constantly impressed with the depth of research you do on the history of these musicians. It's one of the big reasons I watch your videos. Not only do we learn about the music, but also about the people who play it. The stories are amazing, and so interesting. Thank you.
The saxophonist thought his performance in the recording was flat?! Talk about being hard on yourself. Baker Street is one of the most beautiful popular recordings I've ever heard and the sax is a big part of that.
I'm with you on that Tracy, the entire City to City album is a masterpiece. Right down the line ranks right up there with baker street. Great stuff, I love it.
This one is part of the playlist of my life. The meaningful memories that some songs provoke as the years go by can be fondly depressing, bitter sweet.
A tortured but brilliant songwriter, musician, vocalist...who never cared for fame. His timeless music and songs such as Baker Street reflects how great he was at his musical craft.
This song is a right of passage for me...... I had just finished my last exam and was driving home from the last day of school at the end of 1978, and this song came on the car radio for the 1st time. All the mixed emotions I felt on that drive home after 13 years of school, just married perfectly with Baker Street. To this day, when I hear the song, I am transformed to a 17 year old who had the world in front of him......
My memories are of a gf i had who would bring over a different friend every so often so i could get it on with them. They were always very cute girls to. Man this song always brings those days right back. Sure wish it would've lasted for eternity.
This is definitely one of the songs of my childhood...and even as a kid, I knew that sax was a whole mood!! To this day, when the song starts with that sax, I get goosebumps.
This song is just fantastic. Gerry's voice has such a wonderful, mellow quality. Although Raphael thought his performance on the recording was flat, I thought that it was perfection. And it's that sax solo that makes me think of someone playing sax on a balcony or something to soar out over a neighborhood.
Wow. Your insight into the full dynamics of the vocals and all the instruments is so impressive and refreshing, especially considering your relatively young age. You, sir, know and appreciate good music. Your knowledge of Gerry Rafferty's musical background is even more impressive. I've spent hours tonight watching people's reaction to this song and yours is, by far, one of the most informative. Kudos to you. You know your stuff.
Gerry Rafferty, Jeff Lynne , and Micheal Buble have the most relax voices so effortless in how they sing Thats why I think they sound so great live Dean Martin old also fitting this category on how effortlessly he sang
Today at an estate sale I bought the LP "The Humblebums" for 75 cents! I had not heard of them and went to You Tube and now see Gerry Rafferty's more famous songs and here was Fil! Another great analysis.
1978, I was living North of London with my family. outside St Albans. This track has magical memories for me because 1979, this expat American was driving down Baker Street, with the windows open on my Daimler, when suddenly this recording came blaring on my car radio. This fabulous song while I was actually on Baker Street. Perfect synchronicity.
Yeah, that lull after the sax break - before the guitar solo, is something I always look forward to... This made me cringe as well ! But I love the song.
I think this is a fantastic live performance. As for the slightly flubbed guitar solo, I get the impression that the guitarist may have been all jacked up and overexcited by the time at the end of the song that his solo arrives.
I was there in 1978 when Baker Street came out. Just amazing. I subsequently bought several of Gerry's albums which did and do not disappoint. Brilliant writer and singer. Very much missed.
Gerry’s voice is so soft and makes you want to listen to every word. Then that sax screams out and the Imperfection works perfectly. I remember this song so well. Great live performance.
Thank you very much for covering Gerry. His songs are a soundtrack from my younger years, and it's almost as if he's been forgotten in this day and age.
Gerry's voice is like laying in warm fresh laundry❤. They played it non stop on the radio. I was 4 when this song came out. The melody always made me feel a little sad. Still loved the song and the memories. Thank you for the details x
Gerry was one of those 'rare' singers that didn't have to engage in a lot of body language or stage antics because he had such a cool unique voice that would hold your attention!
Absolutely one of my favorite songs. Brings tears to my eyes. I'm 70 years old but I was younger then but I never stopped. I was a vocalist and though I loved every part of it, I loved the vocals, the lyrics meant everything to me.
Thank you for covering this. When I was young, I never appreciated this beautiful song. I heard a cover band play this with a harmonica instead of a saxophone and fell in love with the song. It is very deep and I now appreciate the true talent and meaning of this song. I can listen to it over and over🎷🎤🎶 love it ..
Who doesn't like a baritone sax. This is a great song, but made greater by the sax. Gerry's voice is so smooth and seems so easy. Hearing him sing is like a warm hug.
Thank-you for analyzing this song and performance. Have been a Gerry Rafferty fan ever since this song was released. Good job on your research. You covered the highlights. Would be great to hear more of Gerry’s music on this channel.
Gerry Rafferty songs, over the years, have always caused me to relive memories of 1978. Whenever I hear them, I think about business trips that I took through the beautiful Rocky Mountains, in Colorado, during 1978. To this day, I can picture myself, driving through the beautiful Rocky Mountains, with Gerry Rafferty playing in my rental car.
What a wonderful song. Wonderful performance. Totally unique. There is literally nothing else like it. I heard it on the radio back in 1978 and immediately bought the album. Life is analogue and so is all the best music.
Ahhhhh...the summer of '78! City to City, takes me back there to the best summer of my life. Right Down The Line. That was a great summer for music! This sounds so rich on vinyl.....and it spins in my house often, with Running On Empty, Let It Flow, French Kiss....all take me back! Thanks for another great analysis! RIP Gerry....gone too soon. 💔
Tom Monk Yes....indeed, there were and they are still some of my favorites. I continued buying and loving music through the 80's and 90's and then it all seemed to change. That mojo doesn't seem to be there anymore.
@@greenworm7915 I agree. I regularly look for new music. And I by a song here and there. But I listen mostly to music from back in that era. I think digital recording and things like autotune have really screwed up the sound for me.
Tom Monk Yes! Exactly. I would rather have real with some flaws, if it's great music. Tom Petty and the heartbreaker saved me from the disco era (lol) and continued to give us great music. Wanted so badly to catch his final tour but had a divorce hearing when he was close. Then he left us. I did get to catch the Last of the Street Survivors, last summer. Wanted to catch Bob Seger final tour this summer but tickets sold out fast, except for lawn and I can't tolerate the sun. The great ones, well there aren't many left, 😢
Tom Monk I will add.....I was pleasantly surprised with the soundtrack to A Star Is Born.....shockingly surprised. But hey....Lukas Nelson? What a great pick by Bradley Cooper to work on it. And GaGa striped herself down to Stephanie and she blew me away. I like her raw!! I would enjoy more of her without the GaGa persona!! She is talented!
I was 22 years old in 1978 and just out of college, in my first job teaching, 4,000 miles from home in Anchorage, Alaska. Gerry Rafferty was the guy that helped me through that crazy time in my life. Baker's Street spoke to me then and it speaks to me now, 45 years later! What a song. Thanks so much for this, Fil!💜
For those of who lived through this specific time this song is indelibly burned into our minds and memory. You never forget how you felt when you hear this song and I am 64 years old now. I literally instantly start having flashbacks to 77&78 driving home in the rain after my restaurant shift about 1am listening to Rafferty on my cassette car deck. Melancholy remember the girls that dumped me in HS for other guys and remembering how terribly important those feelings felt when such a young man I was. Now 50 years, 1/2 a century later, calloused emotionally by life since, I am jealous of having been able to feel so much when I was that young man. But i am truly lucky to have made it this far. Thanks Gerry Rafferty for your songs that never ever stop giving.
My best friend and I went to London one year. We found ourselves on Baker St. for some reason. We were on our way to the British Museum. I said, we're on Baker St. She said so? I said you know Sherlock Holmes and the song. She asked, what song? You know, winding your way down on Baker Street, light in your head and dead on your feet...This is the street. She was less than enthusiastic.
Thanks, Fil, for the background on Gerry. I did not realize he was part of Steelers Wheel. Baker Street is one of those songs that I have downloaded as a part of my singles collection that I listen to often. Have always loved this song❣️
This was such a huge hit and received so much radio play that I find it difficult to listen to anymore. But I did enjoy seeing it live. Watching a live performance adds so much and makes it interesting again for me. Entertaining analysis as always. Well done Fil.
I think every town in North America has a street called Baker and when I first heard this incredible song I lived in Nelson British Columbia and the main drag there was Baker and it made the song even more personal to me, ah youth sweet memories of them days. Sax does not sound anything less than beautiful. Thanks Fil and have a great week!
I'm pleased that you pointed out the problem with the guitar solo in this one...I couldn't put my finger on it (I am not a musician by any stretch of the imagination), but your analogy of the square peg in the round hole really summed it up nicely in my limited, musical, psyche. Yes, the guitar player sounded like he was trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Thank you, sir - just thank you for pulling that out of my own mind. As always, excellent video, young man.
He wasn’t a great performer but he was a great singer! His vocals more then make up for his stage performances. I like his singing and I don’t care that he didn’t strut around the stage or jump around like a fool. His music is timeless!
Horst Jankowski (Walk in the Black Forest) - who was a close personal friend of Gerry's - always teased him about his lack of stage theatrics, calling him "The most beautiful sounding lamp post"!
I love this tune! What a great late 70's song! I remember listening to this tune when it first came out on the radio, riding the bus on the way to school. I couldn't get it out of my head! Great tune!
City To City was a masterpiece album. The Baker Street guitar solo on the record was absolutely majestic & still stirs my soul to hear it. This live version does indeed sound off with it's imprecise bends & just a tad out of time & lacks the passion that oozed from grooves in the recorded version. Gerry gamely smiles but I'd liked to have heard the after performance banter among the other musicians about the wanker taking the piss out of what had been a great rendition of the song. I liked how Raphael slightly deviated from his recorded sax but that ending guitar solo has to be nailed or else bailed on entirely. It's not an easy passage to capture as the guitar has both a crying & singing quality with rapid sobbing sliding descents bending up to the notes & then execute just the right vibrato on the double stops with the bluesy feeling of a woman walking away forever from her ne'er'-do-well love. It's a poignant & powerful story
Love Gerry Rafferty and Baker Street. Takes me back to my youth when things going well. Love the words and the instrumentals are out of this world. Sad ending for a great musician. RIP Gerry.
I was ten years old when I first heard this song on KZAP. Bought the 45 at Nancy’s Records (Auburn CA) and listened to all summer of ‘78. TY Wings for your videos.
@@SC-jh9qpIn fairness, his guitar had gone massively out of tune- you can hear him trying to tune up before coming in. It didn’t help that the tone was awful as well. Live music, these things happen
The sheer talent from singers, composers, poets, novelists...that all sprang from Ireland is nothing short of astounding. Been a fan G Rafferty since first heard him on radio back in the 70s. Thanks for doing a vid on him
In the early 80's I saw Aretha Franklin live. At one point in her performance her magnificent voice cracked. It was very powerful and very very beautiful. It still gives me chills. That perfect moment would have been lost with autotune.
Some really great beard gamely the drummer Beautiful song. Again thanks for your insightful analysis Fil. As always so much to learn. Really enjoy your smiles when you listen to the music, shows us it's not merely you technical for you - it gives you joy. Thanks
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this sax riff was one of the defining ones of the 1970s, maybe along with "Pick up the Pieces" by Average White Band. Best appreciated when listened to from an AM car radio.
Another great dreamy song. I remember regularly leaving the radio on softly when I went to bed as a teenager, and once hearing this just before I dropped off to sleep. It was the perfect song for that moment.
Amazing song. It either reminds you of yourself or someone you know that kind of is this guy in the song. Couple that with a sax rif that is impossible to get out of your head (in a good way) and you have a timeless classic.
I remember hearing this when I was a kid and thinking how depressing the lyrics were, then I grew up and realized how spot on the lyrics are. Throw in Gerry's vocals and that fantastic sax and you have a masterpiece.
This song defined a generation , it was on the radio non stop when I was growing up in Christchurch NZ love this song so much , Gerry is and was a legend who cant be replaced !!
"Defined a generation"? I beg to differ - it's indeed a great song, but it certainly doesn't define any generation. If anythinng it's more of a song that spans over generations. Right?
Fil, to me the best part of your analysis is your genuine appreciation of artists from when I was kid. Your smile shows your fantastic connection to the music. I remember this music in the truck used to deliver and caring for plants in corporate settings during the summer while I teaching high school History/American Politics high school in Burbank, CA.
I love Baker Street, both the lyrics and the saxophone. Great research as always. Nice history of the band and how he didn't sell out to the system. Thank you.
Hi Fil! Sorry I haven't been around for a while. I stopped getting notifications from your site. Anyhoo, I'm glad to see Rafferty finally getting some play. What a great sound he had. He was a rather reluctant celebrity though.
One of my all-time favorite songs. Just gorgeous ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thanks for another great one Fil. Some wonderful story telling. Compelling and melancholy... The sax line gets me right in heart, every time 🤘🤘🤘
For those of us who were there, this was the sound of 1978. If you want to go back there, this is your time machine.
I was 19 what a great time for music.💛🧡💚💋
kevin r. , I agree
Until November, then it belonged to Rod Stewart, I was there😬
Amanda Cloud snap 19!
happy days 17 year old kid, course thought i was an old know it all lol
Gerry was never comfortable in front of an audience. But he should have been, because man did he have the goods.
A brilliant musician and songwriter with a smooth voice that has few equals.
right on
I was 12 the first time I heard this song. I still remember it like yesterday. We were on the way to visit my Grand Parents in Mobile. After a 4 hour drive It was late at night and lightly raining. Seeing the water reflected by the windshield, and the wet street. Hearing that sax it was surreal. It set that scene into my memory, and I can't ever hear this song without thinking of a rain soaked street at night.
I was a senior in high school in 1978. Reading your comment made me think back. It was Dothan High School also in Alabama.
I was twelve when this hit the airwaves. It immediately takes me back to riding the school bus with this on the radio and all the melancholy awkwardness of those years.
This song is just so great, the sax solo really makes it, and Gerry's voice is so smooth playing against it. Always loved the feeling of the song.
2nd only to Get It Right Next Time :)
It’s a Saxy Valentine’s (a couple weeks late, but those of us old enough to remember this song playing on 8-track move a little slower 😘)
...and the guitar-solo-I everytime wait for it.But in this live-version he didn't find a good,powerful entry.
My hometown’s Main Street was “Baker Street”…..we’d cruise up and down in all the muscle cars with cute guys to this song…. falling in and out of love with all the boys with these songs. Life was so simple then. Oh how I miss it 💕💜💕
Fil, I am constantly impressed with the depth of research you do on the history of these musicians. It's one of the big reasons I watch your videos. Not only do we learn about the music, but also about the people who play it. The stories are amazing, and so interesting. Thank you.
Gerry Rafferty has affected me like no other solo artist. Beyond "Baker Street", so many of his songs are amazing!
The saxophonist thought his performance in the recording was flat?! Talk about being hard on yourself. Baker Street is one of the most beautiful popular recordings I've ever heard and the sax is a big part of that.
No kidding!
Raf's playing on this and the studio original is out of this world.
When I first heard Baker Street I was blown away. I'd never heard anything like it before.
Twas a tad flat, but he gave it welly... one can always do better, but the best you can is good enough x
I'm with you on that Tracy, the entire City to City album is a masterpiece. Right down the line ranks right up there with baker street. Great stuff, I love it.
Actually it was a bit flat and actually that's what gave it a certain mood that pierces the soul!
This one is part of the playlist of my life. The meaningful memories that some songs provoke as the years go by can be fondly depressing, bitter sweet.
SouthernWonder me too, this song brings back not just memories but feelings from the 70s
SouthernWonder well said ☮️
'AMEN to that'. I liked when they used part of this song in the (awesome) movie "Good Will Hunting"!
RIGHT ON!
SouthernWonder indeed it does evoke memories......bitter sweet memories.....
A tortured but brilliant songwriter, musician, vocalist...who never cared for fame. His timeless music and songs such as Baker Street reflects how great he was at his musical craft.
For me everything about Gerry oozes autism ,
Aspergers to be exact ,
his behavior is very recognizable .
This song is a right of passage for me...... I had just finished my last exam and was driving home from the last day of school at the end of 1978, and this song came on the car radio for the 1st time. All the mixed emotions I felt on that drive home after 13 years of school, just married perfectly with Baker Street. To this day, when I hear the song, I am transformed to a 17 year old who had the world in front of him......
Beautiful story. I have exactly the same memories but mine are sad for some reason.
My memories are of a gf i had who would bring over a different friend every so often so i could get it on with them. They were always very cute girls to. Man this song always brings those days right back. Sure wish it would've lasted for eternity.
Outstanding!
I was 17 when this song came out. The lyrics meant very little to me in such carefree years, but time catches us all and they become very meaningful.
You and I were almost the same age and I know exactly what you are saying and agree.
City to City was (and remains) a delightful masterpiece.
...and unfortunately the live guitar solo in this video isn't lol.
@@bradford_shaun_murray Still good!
A Musical Masterpiece It was Back Then In 1978, And Still Today In 2020 . :-)
Yes it is Matt, great music.
@@djs3484 IKR? I just watched the 'Professor of Rock's' take on Jerry's "Baker Street" Masterpiece: "It should have been #1" series
This is definitely one of the songs of my childhood...and even as a kid, I knew that sax was a whole mood!! To this day, when the song starts with that sax, I get goosebumps.
This song is just fantastic. Gerry's voice has such a wonderful, mellow quality. Although Raphael thought his performance on the recording was flat, I thought that it was perfection. And it's that sax solo that makes me think of someone playing sax on a balcony or something to soar out over a neighborhood.
Man, his voice is like butter. Right Down the Line is on my all time favorite songs list.
Wow. Your insight into the full dynamics of the vocals and all the instruments is so impressive and refreshing, especially considering your relatively young age. You, sir, know and appreciate good music. Your knowledge of Gerry Rafferty's musical background is even more impressive. I've spent hours tonight watching people's reaction to this song and yours is, by far, one of the most informative. Kudos to you. You know your stuff.
Thanks!
One of my favorite songs
His vocals are so easy, no straining. A real gift. Sax is awesome.
Gerry Rafferty, Jeff Lynne , and Micheal Buble have the most relax voices so effortless in how they sing Thats why I think they sound so great live Dean Martin old also fitting this category on how effortlessly he sang
This is simply one of the greatest songs of all time. I was 4 years old when this came out. I recall my parents listening to it back in 1978.
This is such a great song. I've always loved it! Awesome choice! 🤘👏♥️
Today at an estate sale I bought the LP "The Humblebums" for 75 cents! I had not heard of them and went to You Tube and now see Gerry Rafferty's more famous songs and here was Fil! Another great analysis.
Raf's playing on this will forever be a landmark in rock history.
So sad to know that both he and Gerry himself are no longer with us.
1978, I was living North of London with my family. outside St Albans. This track has magical memories for me because 1979, this expat American was driving down Baker Street, with the windows open on my Daimler, when suddenly this recording came blaring on my car radio. This fabulous song while I was actually on Baker Street. Perfect synchronicity.
I SO prefer the studio version. Yes, that guitar solo made me wince. This song has such a haunting melody, I could listen to it every day.
Yeah, that lull after the sax break - before the guitar solo, is something I always look forward to... This made me cringe as well ! But I love the song.
I don't think Raphael Ravenscroft was on top of his game on the sax here either.
Well the guitar solo was by Hugh Burns...Julian Littman in the clip is not fit to shine Hughs shoes.
@@regaltip8A Spot on mate. This was a terrible effort.
I think this is a fantastic live performance. As for the slightly flubbed guitar solo, I get the impression that the guitarist may have been all jacked up and overexcited by the time at the end of the song that his solo arrives.
I was there in 1978 when Baker Street came out. Just amazing. I subsequently bought several of Gerry's albums which did and do not disappoint. Brilliant writer and singer. Very much missed.
Gerry’s voice is so soft and makes you want to listen to every word. Then that sax screams out and the Imperfection works perfectly. I remember this song so well. Great live performance.
Thank you very much for covering Gerry. His songs are a soundtrack from my younger years, and it's almost as if he's been forgotten in this day and age.
Maybe the best explanation of what was lost when auto-tune became so prevalent.
Best sax ever...so uplifting and always new. Magical lyrics and the voice is heart breaking and haunting. Thank you
Fil, your smile in these videos brightens my day. Thanks
Was 18 in 1978 and this fabulous tune was blowing up the radio......simply unforgettable, one of my all time favs❤🇺🇸
I was 18 as well. It was a big part of my senior year in high school!
19 for me.
18 for me also, down in South Africa. Cheers to an unforgettable era!
@@edteach3r I was 8 Love this song remember it well
@@daranross2424 Those were the times!
Gerry's voice is like laying in warm fresh laundry❤. They played it non stop on the radio. I was 4 when this song came out. The melody always made me feel a little sad. Still loved the song and the memories.
Thank you for the details x
I remember listening to this in my moms car in 1978. Love it. Thanks Fil!
One of my favorite songs
As a young saxaphone player (many, many years ago), I've always been in awe of this song. The vocals and guitar always got in the way for me...
Gerry was one of those 'rare' singers that didn't have to engage in a lot of body language or stage antics because he had such a cool unique voice that would hold your attention!
I love to see you smile. I am 68 years old and I have learned to notice things in music, it only make music better.
Still to this day, I’ll wake up with this song stick in my head. I was born in 1993, but it’s a true testament just how much this gets played
Absolutely one of my favorite songs. Brings tears to my eyes. I'm 70 years old but I was younger then but I never stopped. I was a vocalist and though I loved every part of it, I loved the vocals, the lyrics meant everything to me.
One of the all time great songs. Brings me back to my youth and the 70s....when life was simpler.
kingb youchoob I remember when this came out in 1978, I was only 18 and loved it. I graduated high school that year.
Thank you for covering this. When I was young, I never appreciated this beautiful song. I heard a cover band play this with a harmonica instead of a saxophone and fell in love with the song. It is very deep and I now appreciate the true talent and meaning of this song. I can listen to it over and over🎷🎤🎶 love it ..
Who doesn't like a baritone sax. This is a great song, but made greater by the sax. Gerry's voice is so smooth and seems so easy. Hearing him sing is like a warm hug.
Alto sax. My fave.
I don't generally like the sax, it screeches too much, but I like it in very rare instances such as this and some others of Gerry's songs.
Alto x
Thank-you for analyzing this song and performance. Have been a Gerry Rafferty fan ever since this song was released. Good job on your research. You covered the highlights. Would be great to hear more of Gerry’s music on this channel.
Gerry Rafferty songs, over the years, have always caused me to relive memories of 1978. Whenever I hear them, I think about business trips that I took through the beautiful Rocky Mountains, in Colorado, during 1978. To this day, I can picture myself, driving through the beautiful Rocky Mountains, with Gerry Rafferty playing in my rental car.
Love this song. It is part of the soundtrack to my best Summers of my life. Thanks for including this.
Gerry’s voice sounds like more than one voice, like two or more people singing! I love it, one of my all time favorites!
Double tracked. Pretty standard.
What a wonderful song. Wonderful performance. Totally unique. There is literally nothing else like it. I heard it on the radio back in 1978 and immediately bought the album. Life is analogue and so is all the best music.
Ahhhhh...the summer of '78! City to City, takes me back there to the best summer of my life. Right Down The Line. That was a great summer for music! This sounds so rich on vinyl.....and it spins in my house often, with Running On Empty, Let It Flow, French Kiss....all take me back! Thanks for another great analysis! RIP Gerry....gone too soon. 💔
There were some tremendous albums and songs out in '77 and '78. Ah, memories....
Tom Monk Yes....indeed, there were and they are still some of my favorites. I continued buying and loving music through the 80's and 90's and then it all seemed to change. That mojo doesn't seem to be there anymore.
@@greenworm7915 I agree. I regularly look for new music. And I by a song here and there. But I listen mostly to music from back in that era. I think digital recording and things like autotune have really screwed up the sound for me.
Tom Monk Yes! Exactly. I would rather have real with some flaws, if it's great music. Tom Petty and the heartbreaker saved me from the disco era (lol) and continued to give us great music. Wanted so badly to catch his final tour but had a divorce hearing when he was close. Then he left us. I did get to catch the Last of the Street Survivors, last summer. Wanted to catch Bob Seger final tour this summer but tickets sold out fast, except for lawn and I can't tolerate the sun. The great ones, well there aren't many left, 😢
Tom Monk I will add.....I was pleasantly surprised with the soundtrack to A Star Is Born.....shockingly surprised. But hey....Lukas Nelson? What a great pick by Bradley Cooper to work on it. And GaGa striped herself down to Stephanie and she blew me away. I like her raw!! I would enjoy more of her without the GaGa persona!! She is talented!
I was 22 years old in 1978 and just out of college, in my first job teaching, 4,000 miles from home in Anchorage, Alaska. Gerry Rafferty was the guy that helped me through that crazy time in my life. Baker's Street spoke to me then and it speaks to me now, 45 years later! What a song. Thanks so much for this, Fil!💜
One of my favorite songs. Thanks Fil.
For those of who lived through this specific time this song is indelibly burned into our minds and memory. You never forget how you felt when you hear this song and I am 64 years old now. I literally instantly start having flashbacks to 77&78 driving home in the rain after my restaurant shift about 1am listening to Rafferty on my cassette car deck. Melancholy remember the girls that dumped me in HS for other guys and remembering how terribly important those feelings felt when such a young man I was. Now 50 years, 1/2 a century later, calloused emotionally by life since, I am jealous of having been able to feel so much when I was that young man. But i am truly lucky to have made it this far. Thanks Gerry Rafferty for your songs that never ever stop giving.
You're videos make me feel young again, and they always make me feel better!! Thanks Fil 👍👍♿♿👍👍🍺🍺😎😎👍♿♿🙏👍👍👍👍 You're the best!!....👍👍😊😎👍👍
One of my favorite songs growing up. Thanks Phil.
He just shouldn't be gone. He had sad life and it's terrible nothing could change it. He made many people's lives so much better. Thank you Gerry.
This takes me back a bit and music from back then is timeless. Thank you Fil.
My best friend and I went to London one year. We found ourselves on Baker St. for some reason. We were on our way to the British Museum. I said, we're on Baker St. She said so? I said you know Sherlock Holmes and the song. She asked, what song? You know, winding your way down on Baker Street, light in your head and dead on your feet...This is the street. She was less than enthusiastic.
Elementary my dear Watson😂😂❤🇺🇸🙋🎶👍👍
RIP Gerry Rafferty We love You and We miss You. and RIP you too Raphael Ravenscroft the man on the saxophone.
Thanks, Fil, for the background on Gerry. I did not realize he was part of Steelers Wheel. Baker Street is one of those songs that I have downloaded as a part of my singles collection that I listen to often. Have always loved this song❣️
This was such a huge hit and received so much radio play that I find it difficult to listen to anymore. But I did enjoy seeing it live. Watching a live performance adds so much and makes it interesting again for me. Entertaining analysis as always. Well done Fil.
I think every town in North America has a street called Baker and when I first heard this incredible song I lived in Nelson British Columbia and the main drag there was Baker and it made the song even more personal to me, ah youth sweet memories of them days. Sax does not sound anything less than beautiful. Thanks Fil and have a great week!
One of my favorite artists!! Thank you for posting.
I'm pleased that you pointed out the problem with the guitar solo in this one...I couldn't put my finger on it (I am not a musician by any stretch of the imagination), but your analogy of the square peg in the round hole really summed it up nicely in my limited, musical, psyche. Yes, the guitar player sounded like he was trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Thank you, sir - just thank you for pulling that out of my own mind.
As always, excellent video, young man.
The sax and the words make this song. I never got tired of hearing it over the years. I was in tenth grade when.this song came out.
Ah yes. The electrifying performance of Gerry Rafferty always cracks me up. Always seems like he'd rather be somewhere else.
Yeah not exactly a charismatic figure out there. But sure could play, despite his being a melancholy man of sorts.
He wasn’t a great performer but he was a great singer! His vocals more then make up for his stage performances.
I like his singing and I don’t care that he didn’t strut around the stage or jump around like a fool. His music is timeless!
@@dynjarren7523 The same as Roy Orbison , though he moved around even less.
Just takes you back. Timeless.
Horst Jankowski (Walk in the Black Forest) - who was a close personal friend of Gerry's - always teased him about his lack of stage theatrics, calling him "The most beautiful sounding lamp post"!
I love this tune! What a great late 70's song! I remember listening to this tune when it first came out on the radio, riding the bus on the way to school. I couldn't get it out of my head! Great tune!
Absolutely love ‘Whatever’s Written in Your Heart’. Give it a listen.
Achingly beautiful. One of the saddest songs out there. Gerry captures the heartache of a breakup perfectly. What might have been!
WOW - you can really see how hard they are working to sound perfect! super concentrated
City To City was a masterpiece album. The Baker Street guitar solo on the record was absolutely majestic & still stirs my soul to hear it. This live version does indeed sound off with it's imprecise bends & just a tad out of time & lacks the passion that oozed from grooves in the recorded version. Gerry gamely smiles but I'd liked to have heard the after performance banter among the other musicians about the wanker taking the piss out of what had been a great rendition of the song. I liked how Raphael slightly deviated from his recorded sax but that ending guitar solo has to be nailed or else bailed on entirely. It's not an easy passage to capture as the guitar has both a crying & singing quality with rapid sobbing sliding descents bending up to the notes & then execute just the right vibrato on the double stops with the bluesy feeling of a woman walking away forever from her ne'er'-do-well love. It's a poignant & powerful story
Thank you so much for honoring such a beautiful song and a great performance.
He does indeed have a silky smooth voice, that man.
Gerry Rafferty great vocals and that sax hooked many of us. I used to dance around with my baby daughter to this and she loved it.
As a multi-instrumentalist, his sax riff, is one of THE most famous in all of rockdom. Gravely tone and solid arrangement, love this stuff.
Gravely spoken, and grimly fiendish, my friend. Or did you mean "gravelly"?
Love Gerry Rafferty and Baker Street. Takes me back to my youth when things going well. Love the words and the instrumentals are out of this world. Sad ending for a great musician. RIP Gerry.
Instantly recognize that iconic sax. Smooth vocals. Nice
I was ten years old when I first heard this song on KZAP. Bought the 45 at Nancy’s Records (Auburn CA) and listened to all summer of ‘78. TY Wings for your videos.
That guitar solo is heart wrenching on the album. That guy quoted it, yet totally blew it.
I agree the studio guitar solo was great but he just didn't do it any justice on stage.
@@SC-jh9qpIn fairness, his guitar had gone massively out of tune- you can hear him trying to tune up before coming in. It didn’t help that the tone was awful as well. Live music, these things happen
The sheer talent from singers, composers, poets, novelists...that all sprang from Ireland is nothing short of astounding. Been a fan G Rafferty since first heard him on radio back in the 70s. Thanks for doing a vid on him
Takes me back to the time...great song!
Such a beautiful song, with that saxophone solo and Gerry's voice, it's perfect in every way.
Great react Fil! Gerry is like a lyrical quaalude. Relaxing...
I love Rafferty!! Thank you for sharing this!
In the early 80's I saw Aretha Franklin live. At one point in her performance her magnificent voice cracked. It was very powerful and very very beautiful. It still gives me chills. That perfect moment would have been lost with autotune.
Man I remember this. 11yrs old here. Love it.
Reminds me of riding around my small town in my mom's Chevy Malibu with the spine snapper seat belts 😄
Some really great beard gamely the drummer
Beautiful song. Again thanks for your insightful analysis Fil. As always so much to learn.
Really enjoy your smiles when you listen to the music, shows us it's not merely you technical for you - it gives you joy. Thanks
Awe. I love this song. ❤️
This is such a book,ark in my life xxxx Thank you !!!!!
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that this sax riff was one of the defining ones of the 1970s, maybe along with "Pick up the Pieces" by Average White Band.
Best appreciated when listened to from an AM car radio.
Or Shotgun with Jr Walker and the All-Stars.
Totally agree!
never seen or heard a live version of this classic . wonderfull
The saxophone was dead on the money or as you might say...spot on.
The torrid saxophone solo was quite exquisite. Nothing dodgy about it.
Hellowow 39 and the highlight of the night.
I don't think it was Raphael's finest performance of it myself.
Another great dreamy song. I remember regularly leaving the radio on softly when I went to bed as a teenager, and once hearing this just before I dropped off to sleep. It was the perfect song for that moment.
Amazing song. It either reminds you of yourself or someone you know that kind of is this guy in the song. Couple that with a sax rif that is impossible to get out of your head (in a good way) and you have a timeless classic.
GREAT SELECTION BAKER STREET, GREAT MUSIC, GREAT 70´S MEMORIES...CONGRATULATIONS FOR YOUR CHANNEL !! GREETINGS FROM MEXICO AMIGO !!
I remember hearing this when I was a kid and thinking how depressing the lyrics were, then I grew up and realized how spot on the lyrics are. Throw in Gerry's vocals and that fantastic sax and you have a masterpiece.
that just hits that feeling down deep that gets uncovered ever so often
I know it's not about Baker Street, London, but I was driving up there one summer day in 1978 when this came on the radio - will never forget it.
@J P It's in Scotland - Glasgow, I believe or Edinburgh.
@J P It is in fact Dundee - easily checked out on Google
This song defined a generation , it was on the radio non stop when I was growing up in Christchurch NZ love this song so much , Gerry is and was a legend who cant be replaced !!
"Defined a generation"? I beg to differ - it's indeed a great song, but it certainly doesn't define any generation. If anythinng it's more of a song that spans over generations. Right?
Fil, to me the best part of your analysis is your genuine appreciation of artists from when I was kid. Your smile shows your fantastic connection to the music.
I remember this music in the truck used to deliver and caring for plants in corporate settings during the summer while I teaching high school History/American Politics high school in Burbank, CA.
I love Baker Street, both the lyrics and the saxophone. Great research as always. Nice history of the band and how he didn't sell out to the system. Thank you.
Hi Fil! Sorry I haven't been around for a while. I stopped getting notifications from your site.
Anyhoo, I'm glad to see Rafferty finally getting some play.
What a great sound he had. He was a rather reluctant celebrity though.
No problem!
One of my all-time favorite songs. Just gorgeous ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thanks for another great one Fil. Some wonderful story telling. Compelling and melancholy... The sax line gets me right in heart, every time 🤘🤘🤘