Gerry Rafferty - Rest In Blue (2021)

Ten years after Gerry Rafferty's death from alcoholism-induced liver failure, Rest in Blue is being released as a sort of "what-if?" vision of his final album. Culled from demo tapes Rafferty had pulled from his archives for consideration on the follow-up to 2009's Life Goes On, the songs on Rest in Blue were actually written across several decades of his career. His daughter took those tapes and oversaw a remixing project in an effort to deliver what could have (should have?) been his next album had he not died. To be clear: this is not a misguided attempt to modernize or reinterpret Rafferty's work; instead, the material is surprisingly and thankfully consistent, both within the context of the album as well as within Rafferty's career. It's important to not read too much narratively into the curation here, as these tracks represent more than 40 years of Rafferty's songcraft, the equivalent of an author pulling out boxes of old notebooks before beginning a new novel. So, it's best to approach Rest In Blue as a halted work-in-progress, rather than a fully formed album finally seeing the light of day. However, it must be said, starting off a posthumous album with a song about the very thing that killed the artist is … a move. "Still in Denial," is a rough-edged, bluesy rocker that kicks off the album with a dose of infectious high energy; it's also about helplessly struggling with alcoholism, so the song tinged with the slightly bitter weariness Rafferty was known for. That approach persists throughout most of Rest In Blue, which is undercut with the folksy touches that are at the root of Rafferty's songwriting, but presented with more of a live, rockist vibe than the smooth melancholy of his best known stuff; this is definitely not soft rock. Cuts like "Sign of the Times" are brimming with energy (albeit one shot through with lyrical cynicism bemoaning the befouling of the planet) and even occasionally ("Slow Down") have a gleeful sense of optimism. And while Rafferty's voice is notably wobbly on "I Still Love You"—a beautiful number crafted with gentle guitar lines and his trademark multi tracked harmonies—it's quite strong elsewhere, like on the muscular, bluesy rocker "Keeper of My Soul" and a redux of "Stuck in the Middle with You." These two cuts close out the album, and while the loose rendition of "Stuck" may strike one as a little weird and unnecessary, it definitely fits with the organic and open mood of these 14 tracks.

TRACKLIST

1. Still in Denial (3:02)
2. Full Moon (5:26)
3. Sign of the Times (3:31)
4. You Are All I Want (4:44)
5. I Still Love You (4:07)
6. Wild Mountain Thyme (4:51)
7. Slow Down (4:53)
8. It’s Just the Motion (5:47)
9. Look at Me Now (5:20)
10. Dirty Old Town (5:35)
11. Lost Highway (4:38)
12. Keeper of My Soul (4:00)
13. Precious Memories (3:56)
14. Stuck in the Middle with You (3:36)