Snakes and Ladders | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 11 April 1980 [1] | |||
Studio | Chipping Norton Recording Studios (Oxon, England); AIR Studios (Montserrat). | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 48:44 | |||
Label | United Artists | |||
Producer | Gerry Rafferty, Hugh Murphy | |||
Gerry Rafferty chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Smash Hits | 8½/10 [3] |
Snakes and Ladders is the fourth album by Gerry Rafferty. It was released in 1980, following the success of his previous two albums, City to City and Night Owl . The album charted at No. 15 in the UK but only reached No. 61 in the US, while singles achieved #54UK ("Bring It All Home"), and #67UK / #54US ("The Royal Mile"). The album was released on CD in 1998 [EMI 7 46609-2] but deleted soon after that, and it got reissued on CD in August 2012 as a 2-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 producer George Martin's AIR studio in Montserrat. 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, and another – "Didn't I" – was a remake of a song from Rafferty's 1971 album Can I Have My Money Back? .
All tracks composed by Gerry Rafferty
Album
Chart (1980) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [4] | 31 |
Germany [5] | 34 |
Netherlands [6] | 17 |
United Kingdom [7] | 15 |
United States [8] | 61 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [9] | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Stealers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in 1972 in Paisley, Scotland, by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Their best-known hit is "Stuck in the Middle with You". The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed briefly in 2008.
Gerald Rafferty 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 late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line", and "Night Owl".
Behind the Eyes is the twelfth studio album by Christian music and pop music singer Amy Grant, released in 1997.
"Baker Street" is a single by the Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, released in February 1978. It won the 1979 Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically and reached the top three in the UK, US and elsewhere. The song is known for its saxophone riff, written by Rafferty and performed by Raphael Ravenscroft.
Give My Regards to Broad Street is the fifth solo studio album by Paul McCartney and the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The album reached number 1 on the UK chart. The lead single, "No More Lonely Nights", was BAFTA and Golden Globe Award nominated. It was also to be his final album to be released under Columbia Records, which had been his US label for over five years.
Deltics is the second studio album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. It was released in 1979 on Magnet Records. The album is named after the East Coast rail network's Deltic-class locomotives that were used in the 1960s and 1970s. The album is Rea's first album to chart on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at number fifty-four. The single "Diamonds" peaked at number 44 on both the UK Singles Chart, and Billboard Hot 100, where it charted for eight weeks. The B-side of this single, "Cleveland Calling", was not included on the CD reissue of the album. The album producer Gus Dudgeon had made several early albums with Elton John.
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City to City is the second solo studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, released on 20 January 1978 by United Artists Records. 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 well received, peaking at No. 1 in the US and going Platinum, as well as reaching No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart and achieving Gold status. "Baker Street", "Right Down the Line" and "Home and Dry" were hits on the American charts.
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Night Owl is the third studio album by Scottish musician Gerry Rafferty. 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.
North and South is the sixth studio album by Gerry Rafferty. It was Rafferty's first studio album in six years and reunited him with producer Hugh Murphy. The album was released as an LP and CD in 1988. One of the singles was "Shipyard Town", also released on several compilation albums.
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 performed poorly in charts and sales, in part because Rafferty had just left a well known band, The Humblebums. The album also saw Joe Egan come on board, and the pair formed Stealers Wheel shortly afterwards.
On a Wing & a Prayer is the seventh studio album by Gerry Rafferty. The album includes three tracks co-written with Rafferty’s brother Jim, also a singer-songwriter, who had been signed to Decca Records in the 1970s. The music was heavily influenced by Rafferty's divorce from his wife Carla Ventilla in 1990. They were married for 20 years.
Sleepwalking is the fifth studio album by Scottish rock singer Gerry Rafferty, released in September 1982. It is the follow-up to the 1980 album Snakes and Ladders. It would be Rafferty's last studio album for Liberty/United Artists, and his last for six years.
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