My Seventies Music

Tag: Saxophone Song

  • Gerry Rafferty – “Baker Street” and “Right Down The Line”

    Cover of "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty 1978
    In 1978 Gerry Rafferty wrote or at least released his hit song “Baker Street”, on his album “City To City” and as a single.

    Some time later, can’t remember if it was at the end of that year or on another visit to the UK a few years later when I was living in Germany, I cruised down Baker Street on a National Express bus entering London from the north.

    And about five and a half years ago, shortly after moving to South West Scotland with my family, on a visit to London we walked along Baker Street just before the shops shut looking for an artists supply shop to get something for my daughter.

    I remember that by that time my feet hurt and I did not enjoy the experience.

    In fact, on both occasions I was wondering what was so special about Baker Street to motivate Gerry Rafferty to write a song about it.

    I have in the back of my mind that it had something to do with Sherlock Holmes, but now I have just read that the song relates to the author’s days as a busker on the London Underground.

    Well, actually, watching the video below, turns out I was right about a Sherlock Holmes connection after all – can’t say I remember seeing the Sherlock Holmes Museum though, maybe it wasn’t there yet.

    This video of “Baker Street” is an HD stereo version that shows shots of the street, the museum and the Baker Street tube station:

    “Baker Street” is particularly famous for its saxophone solo, and apparently this had an influence on the use of the saxophone in other music at the time, and even on the sale of saxophones! (Reminds me of the “Saxophone Song” on Kate Bush’s “The Kick Inside” album.)

    Here’s another one from the same album, “Right Down The Line”:

    Gerry Rafferty earlier teamed up with Joe Egan to form Stealers Wheel, producing the well known track (well, to me at least…) “Stuck In The Middle With You”. I’ll save that for another time.

    Meanwhile I might watch the “Baker Street” video again and see if I can spot any more clues…

    Paul

    P.S. Meanwhile Gerry Rafferty died in the first half of 2011. R.I.P. Gerry…

  • Kansas – “Dust In The Wind” and “Carry On Wayward Son”

    “Dust In The Wind” from Kansas features strongly in a short story I once wrote that takes place in a bar in (then West) Berlin, which in turn always reminds me of a Kate Bush song that begins with the line “You’ll find me in a Berlin bar in a corner, brooding” (“Saxophone Song” from her first album “The Kick Inside”.)

    Last time I went back to that bar, some years ago, it had turned into a bright, slightly sterile pizzeria. No atmosphere and certainly no “Dust In The Wind” playing.

    Anyway, back to “Dust In The Wind” itself.

    This is the studio version accompanying what appears to be a privately made music “video” filmed on 8 mm film in 1977 and recently salvaged by the filmmaker’s son:

    A live version of “Dust In The Wind” from 1982:

    And finally “Dust In The Wind” unplugged:

    There have been numerous cover versions of this song, for example by Guns ‘n’ Roses and the Scorpions.

    Meanwhile I just found the band’s other big hit I had forgotten about, “Carry On Wayward Son”, which was the closing song to the 1977 movie “Heroes”, featuring Henry Winkler (“Fonzie” or “The Fonz” from the hit TV series “Happy Days”) and Sally Field (whom I always associate with “Gidget” and “The Flying Nun”, presumably the namesake of New Zealand record company Flying Nun).

    Here’s “Carry On Wayward Son”, live in 1976 (although apparently only the vocals are live and the music is a studio version):

    And this version of “Carry On Wayward Son” seems a lot more recent, the sound of the recording is definitely crisper…

    Just goes to show, you can’t keep a good song down!

    Paul

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