Search - Stealers Wheel :: Stuck in the Middle

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right

Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 12/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It may have taken a decade for Gerry Rafferty to come to terms with his past (his classic "Baker Street" was about meeting Joe Egan several years post-Wheel breakdown), but "The Best Of Stealers Wheel" will rekindle the flame for anyone who puzzled over originally hearing "Stuck In The Middle With You." Thanks to some more obsessive fans (Quentin Tarrentino has used both "Stuck" and "Star" in his movies), Stealers Wheel has held on to their cult audience. This "Best Of" is the definitive collection, being the first to include "Stuck In The Middle With You," "Star" and "Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine," Stealers Wheel's three charting American Singles.



The US got tricked by the Wheel back in 1973. A single with a lyric that sounded torn from Bob Dylan's back pages and harmonies that mirrored CSN&Y climbed into the Top Ten. "Stuck In The Middle With You" was an immediate classic, and the brains behind Stealers Wheel suddenly found themselves turned into overnight success stories. Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan had been kicking about England for several years (Rafferty had cut a solo album and recorded with folk rockers the Humblebums before forming Stealers Wheel), and the group had already been signed, broken up and reformed before the first album came out.



That debut, a delicious mix of English folk harmony and Beatlesque pop, contained several great songs. These included "You Put Something Better Inside Of Me" and "I Get By." Produced by the legendary Lieber/Stoller team (writers and producers for the likes of Elvis Presley, Ben E King and The Coasters), the album had a clean and uncanny sense of craft. Unfortunately, Rafferty and Egan were a volatile pair. They had broken up again before starting the second album, then reformed and promptly fired the then current Wheel line-up to proceed as a Steely Dan like studio entity, recording "Ferguslie Park" with session hands.



Another pair of minor hits came off that album, the deceptively disillusioned "Star" and the more optimistic "Everyone's Agreed That Everything Will Turn Out Fine," and the FM radio staple "Good Businessman." But the tension between the two escalated. It led to a terrific and unheralded third album, "Right Or Wrong," before the duo splintered for good. That swan song yielded a couple great tunes here, in particular the title track and "Benediction," as well as the music hall sound of "Found My Way To You."



Also worth noting, both the debut and "Ferguslie Park" are back in print, on CD for the first time."

More than a One Hit Wonder

Andrew Muhl | Lewisville, Texas United States | 12/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Compiled from their three albums of the early 70's, this actually turned out to be quite a fine piece of pop music. I purchased this CD based on my appreciation for "Stuck in the Middle with You" but soon found that it turned out to be one of the weaker numbers on the compilation. Complete with slide guitar, harmonica, violins, jangly piano, this is certainly a band that has the rock-country-folk sound down to a science. Virtually every song is a winner. Some of the standouts, in my opinion, include "This Morning", "Star", "Steamboat Row" and "Go As You Please". It's mellow, but also includes a couple tunes that can get you up and dancing. Gerry Rafferty has never really broken through as a big talent and it's a bit curious as to why he hasn't. Certain alt-country bands of the 90's sound quite a bit derivative. It's easy now to see where some of their influences have come from. If you're a fan of Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo, or Slobberbone, you might want to give this disc a spin."

Classic first rate band!!

aski@ | MA | 10/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Stealers wheel" may not be a name recognised by the general public..but if given a listen-there are some clear cut gems here! 'stuck in the middle' is the hit of this cd-but its just the beginning of a great polished sound! other highlites include-'star', right or wrong', walltz,stealin', steamboat row, ect..this band also featured the talents of GERRY RAFFERTY(who later on recorded "baker street' and right down the line. AMAZING harmonies, musicianship and craft(joe eagan) and other quality musicians."