''Snakes and Ladders'' is the fourth album by

Gerry Rafferty Gerald Rafferty (16 April 1947– 4 January 2011) was a Scottish singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the ...

. It was released in 1980, following the success of his previous two albums, ''

City to City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

'' and ''

Night Owl Night Owl may refer to: *An owl *Night owl (person), a person who is most active or creative during the night * ''Night Owl'' (film), a 1993 film by Jeffrey Arsenault *"Night Owl", a ''Bangkok Post'' newspaper column by Bernard Trink * Night Owl ( ...

''. The album charted at No. 15 in the UK but only reached No. 61 in the US, while singles achieved number 54 UK ("Bring It All Home"), and number 67UK / number 54 US ("The Royal Mile"). The album was released on CD in 1998 MI 7 46609-2but deleted soon after that, and it got reissued on CD in August 2012 as a two-CD set with "Sleepwalking." Some of the songs are available on compilation albums. Four of the songs, "The Garden of England", "I Was a Boy Scout", "Welcome to Hollywood" and "Bring It All Home" were recorded at

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Beatle ...

's AIR studio in

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

. All the songs were original Rafferty compositions, though one – "Johnny's Song" – was a remake of a song which had been previously released by his former band

Stealers Wheel Stealers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock/rock music, rock band formed in 1972 in Paisley (Scotland), Paisley, Scotland, by former school friends Joe Egan (musician), Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Their best-known hit is "Stuck in the Middle with ...

, and another – "Didn't I" – was a remake of a song from Rafferty's 1971 album ''

Can I Have My Money Back? ''Can I Have My Money Back?'' is the first solo album by Gerry Rafferty. The distinctive cover design was by John Patrick Byrne and was the start of a long working relationship between Rafferty and the playwright. The LP was well received, but ...

''.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Gerry Rafferty #"The Royal Mile" – 3:48 #"I Was a Boy Scout" – 4:15 #"Welcome to Hollywood" – 5:17 #"Wastin' Away" – 3:29 #"Look at the Moon" – 2:18 #"Bring It All Home" – 4:40 #"The Garden of England" – 4:08 #"Johnny's Song" – 3:25 #"Didn't I" – 4:14 #"Syncopatin Sandy" – 4:24 #"Café Le Cabotin" – 4:51 #"Don't Close the Door" – 3:45

Charts

Album

Certifications

Personnel

* Gerry Rafferty – vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 2, 3, 9, 11), backing vocals (9) * Ian Lynn – keyboards (1, 5, 8, 10, 11), synthesizers (3, 7) * Billy Livsey – acoustic piano (2, 3, 6),

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

(3), mystery voice (3),

Polymoog The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time. Histor ...

(6), keyboards (7), pianica (11) *

Pete Wingfield William Peter Wingfield (born 7 May 1948) is an English record producer, Keyboardist, keyboard player, songwriter, singer, and music journalism, music journalist. Career Whilst at Sussex University, Wingfield and three other students formed ...

–

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(2, 6, 12), acoustic piano (12) *

Bryn Haworth Bryn Haworth (born 29 July 1948) is a British Christian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pioneer of Jesus music in mainstream rock. Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, he has released some twenty-two albums and several singles since the ...

–

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

(2, 12) *

Jerry Donahue Jerry Donahue (born September 24, 1946, Manhattan, New York City) is an American guitarist and producer primarily known for his work in the British folk rock scene as a member of Fotheringay and Fairport Convention as well as being a member of ...

– lead guitar (3), guitar swells (3), other guitars (4, 6, 8, 9, 11) * Richard Brunton – guitars (3, 6, 7, 11), electric guitars (12) *

Mo Foster Michael Ralph "Mo" Foster (22 December 1944 – 3 July 2023) was an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster toured, recorded, and p ...

– bass (1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12) *

Pete Zorn Pete Zorn (29 May 1950 – 19 April 2016) was an American multi-instrumentalist who was a longstanding member of Richard Thompson's backing band. He was also a member of Steeleye Span, The Albion Band, and Driver 67. Career As a member of Th ...

– bass (4, 8, 9, 10) *

Liam Genockey Liam Genockey (born 12 August 1948) is an Irish musician, who is the drummer with British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Biography Genockey was born in Dublin, Ireland. During the 1960s he lived in Plymouth, Devon, U.K, playing in local semi ...

– drums (1–4, 6–12) *

Frank Ricotti Frank E. Ricotti (born 31 January 1949) is an English jazz vibraphonist and percussionist. Early life and education Frank E. Ricotti was born in St Pancras, London, England; his father was a drummer. Bill Ashton, founder of the National ...

– percussion (1, 3, 4, 8, 11),

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s (2), tambourine (9), woodblocks (10) * Richard Harvey –

penny whistle The tin whistle, also known as the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, a class of instrument which also includes the recorder and Native American flute. A tin whistle player is called a whistl ...

(1) *

Raphael Ravenscroft Raphael Ravenscroft (4 June 1954 – 19 October 2014) was a British musician, composer and author. He is best known for playing the saxophone riff on Gerry Rafferty's 1978 song "Baker Street". Early life Ravenscroft was born in the distri ...

– saxophone (3, 6) * Chris Mercer – brass arrangements (2) *

Wil Malone Wil Malone (born Peter Wilson, 29 July 1942, Hornsey, North London) is a British music producer and arranger, who has worked with artists including The Who, Rick Wakeman, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Todd Rundgren, The Verve, Massive Attack, Dep ...

– string arrangements (5, 7, 10), clarinet arrangements (10) *

Gavyn Wright Gavyn Wright is a British violinist and orchestra leader with the London Session Orchestra and Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He is best known for his orchestral arrangements on pop productions (including Elton John, Simply Red, Bush, Mecano, ...

– string leader (5, 7, 10) *

Betsy Cook Betsy Cook is an American-born singer, songwriter and musician. Since the late 1970s, she has worked mainly in the United Kingdom and collaborated with various British artists such as Gerry Rafferty, Ray Jackson, Lindisfarne, George Michael, Pa ...

– backing vocals (9) * The Baron de Bon Bon – intro (11)

Production

* Gerry Rafferty – producer * Hugh Murphy – producer * Barry Hammond – recording (1, 4, 5, 8–12), overdubbing (2, 3, 6, 7) *

Stephen Lipson Stephen J. Lipson is an English record producer, audio engineer, guitarist and songwriter. As a record producer, he has worked with many artists including Annie Lennox, Propaganda, Act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Simple Minds, Will Young, Geri ...

– recording (2, 3, 6, 7) * John Patrick Byrne – cover * Michael Gray – inner sleeve photography, inner sleeve concept, management

References

External links

* Gerry Rafferty albums 1980 albums United Artists Records albums Albums recorded at AIR Studios {{1980s-rock-album-stub