Gerry Rafferty

★★★★ Rest In Blue PLG UK. CD/DL

Posthumous release of the Baker Street man’s final studio album. Like Etta James, like Chet Baker, Gerry Rafferty had a voice that caressed the ear, every errant frequency EQ’d out by God. As his sometime Humblebums bandmate Billy Connolly has noted, moreover, Rafferty sounds better than ever on Rest In Blue, a work in progress from 2006 until his death in 2011. With timeserved collaborators including guitarist Hugh Burns on hand, Rafferty’s daughter Martha now brings her father’s vision to harbour, a version of Wild Mountain Thyme that would bring tears to a glass eye and a stately cover of Richard And Linda Thompson’s It’s Just The Motion augmenting classy Rafferty originals such as You Are All I Want and Slow Down (wherein producer Tambala’s approach makes subtle nods to Baker Street). There’s a telling look in the mirror too, Still In Denial and Full Moon acknowledging Rafferty’s battle with alcoholism.