Night Owl is the third studio album by Scottish musician Gerry Rafferty.[2] It was released a year after Rafferty's Platinum-selling album City to City. While not quite performing as well as its predecessor, Night Owl still managed enough sales to achieve platinum status in Canada, gold in the United Kingdom, and gold status in the U.S. The title song reached No. 5 on the UK charts. The album made the UK Top 10.
| Night Owl | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1979 | |||
| Recorded | 1978–1979 | |||
| Studio | Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Lansdowne Recording Studios | |||
| Genre | Pop rock[1] | |||
| Length | 54:42 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Producer | Hugh Murphy, Gerry Rafferty | |||
| Gerry Rafferty chronology | ||||
| ||||
The album was recorded at Chipping Norton Recording Studios, Chipping Norton, England.
"Take the Money and Run" appears on the 1980 release Free Fall as "Take the Money."
Re-releases
editOn 30 January 2007 Collectables Records released City To City and Night Owl as a two-disc set.[citation needed]
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [3] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide | [4] |
| Smash Hits | 7/10[5] |
The Los Angeles Times called the songs "concise, wry tales of love and ambition, inventively arranged and sung in a dry whine that carries just the right amount of detachment."[1]
Track listing
editAll tracks are written by Gerry Rafferty
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Days Gone Down (Still Got the Light in Your Eyes)" | 6:31 |
| 2. | "Night Owl" | 6:11 |
| 3. | "The Way That You Do It" | 5:08 |
| 4. | "Why Won't You Talk to Me?" | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Get It Right Next Time" | 4:42 |
| 6. | "Take the Money and Run" | 5:49 |
| 7. | "Family Tree" | 5:58 |
| 8. | "Already Gone" | 4:54 |
| 9. | "The Tourist" | 4:14 |
| 10. | "It's Gonna Be a Long Night" | 4:22 |
Personnel
edit- Gerry Rafferty – vocals, acoustic piano (2, 9) Polymoog (2), acoustic guitar (3–8, 10), string arrangements
- Graham Preskett – acoustic piano (1, 4, 10), electric piano (2), string synthesizer (2), keyboards (6, 7), fiddles (6, 7), mandolin (10), string arrangements, string scoring and conductor
- Pete Wingfield – organ (1, 2, 3)
- Tommy Eyre – acoustic piano (3), electric piano (5), synthesizers (5)
- John Kirkpatrick – accordion (4, 6, 7)
- Richard Brunton – electric guitar (1, 3, 6, 7), lap steel guitar (1, 4, 10), acoustic guitar (3, 4, 7–10), guitar solo (7), guitars (10)
- Hugh Burns – electric guitar (1, 4), rhythm guitar (1, 9), guitar solo (1, 9), guitars (2, 5)
- Richard Thompson –mandolin (4), electric guitars (7, 8)
- Mo Foster – bass (1, 2, 4, 6–10)
- Gary Taylor – bass (3, 5)
- Liam Genockey – drums
- Frank Ricotti – percussion (1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 9)
- Raphael Ravenscroft – Lyricon (2), saxophone (5, 6, 9, 10)
- Richard Harvey – penny whistle (6), pipe organ (7), recorders (7), synthesizers (8, 9)
- Gavyn Wright – string leader
- Betsy Cook – backing vocals (1, 3)
- Barbara Dickson – backing vocals (1, 3, 7)
- Linda Thompson – backing vocals (1, 3)
Production
edit- Gerry Rafferty – producer
- Hugh Murphy – producer
- Barry Hammond – engineer (1, 2, 4, 6–10)
- Nick Patrick – engineer (3, 5)
- John Patrick Byrne – front cover painting
- Robert Ellis – photography
Charts
editAlbum
| Chart (1979) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] | 18 |
| Germany[7] | 18 |
| Netherlands[8] | 8 |
| United Kingdom[9] | 9 |
| US Billboard Pop Albums | 29 |
Single
| Year | Song | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | "Night Owl" | UK Top 40 | 5 |
| 1979 | "Night Owl" | Ireland | 5 |
| 1979 | "Days Gone Down (Still Got the Light in Your Eyes)" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 17 |
| 1979 | "Days Gone Down (Still Got the Light in Your Eyes)" | Canada RPM Adult Contemporary[10] | 8 |
| 1979 | "Days Gone Down (Still Got the Light in Your Eyes)" | Canada RPM Top Singles[11] | 19 |
| 1979 | "Days Gone Down (Still Got the Light in Your Eyes)" | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 17 |
| 1979 | "Get It Right Next Time" | U.S. Billboard Pop Singles | 21 |
| 1979 | "Get It Right Next Time" | U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 15 |
| 1979 | "Get It Right Next Time" | UK Top 40 | 30 |
| 1979 | "Get It Right Next Time" | Ireland | 2 |
| 1979 | "Get It Right Next Time" | Canada RPM Top Singles[12] | 52 |
Certifications
edit| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[13] | Gold | 100,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
References
edit- ^ a b Pond, Steve (15 July 1979). "Wry Tales of Love". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 97.
- ^ "Gerry Rafferty Biography by Timothy Monger". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "Night Owl Review by Mike DeGagne". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1996. p. 643.
- ^ Starr, Red. "Albums". Smash Hits (28 June – 11 July 1979): 25.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Album charts".
- ^ "Album charts".
- ^ "Album charts".
- ^ RPM Adult Contemporary, 11 August 1979
- ^ RPM Top Singles, 4 August 1979
- ^ RPM Top Singles, 17 November 1979
- ^ "British album certifications – Gerry Rafferty – Night Owl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
External links
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