Talk:Gerry Rafferty/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: The wub (talk · contribs) 15:31, 14 March 2021 (UTC)

My first review. Getting some help with this from users attending m:Meetup/London/167. the wub "?!" 15:31, 14 March 2021 (UTC)

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

1. Is it well written?

   A. The prose is clear and concise, and the spelling and grammar are correct:

   Prose is generally good, spelling and grammar are fine. Picked up a few minor style issues, but didn't complete reviewing because of sourcing issues.

   • "He joined the folk-pop group The Humblebums, (of which Billy Connolly was a member), in 1969." this feels clumsy, could be reworded
   • Under "Early years" repetition of "son" in quick succession
   • Under "Musical career" probably shouldn't include both However, and But in the same sentence/quote
   • "In 1972, having gained some airplay from his Signpost recording "Make You, Break You" - what is "Signpost" here?
   • "Rafferty and Ventilla divorced in 1990" - same phrase mentioned twice (in Personal life section, and in alcoholism subsection)

   B. It complies with the manual of style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation:

   Lead section is too short. Some concerns about division into sections e.g. "The Humblebums/Stealers Wheel" talks about solo work quite extensively so should probably be renamed or split.

2. Is it verifiable with no original research?

   A. It contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline:

   Thanks Femkemilene for spot checking these. Overall it appears many sources are not supporting the claims:

   I've not been able to access all sources. Of the sources I did check, the majority missed some information. Could you address those and also double check other sources you do have access to?

   • FN1: doesn't mention Irish, nor Catholic, nor 1947
   • FN10; ideally, the YouTube video should be linked, as I'm not sure there is enough information to find it. The quote from the video doesn't mention Berlin, but German.
   • FN20: http://www.redstone-tech.com/gerry_bsb/melody_maker_1979.htm: is that a reliable source? The source doesn't mention the albums, so possible WP:OR
   • FN5 doesn't mention 1980
   • FN39: generally unreliable source; is there a better one?
   • FN41 doesn't mention The Barbara Dickson Collection
   • FN49 doesn't support the first sentence of the paragraph I think: Rafferty maintained his enthusiasm for this new approach to recording for the next three years
   • FN50 does not have any information about Gerry Rafferty
   • FN13 doesn't support that Gerry died january 2011, nor that his death rekindled interest
   • FN55; generally unreliable source. It doesn't mention Night Owl, nor One Drink down
   • Ideally, more of the sourcing would be secondary. The article leans a bit too heavily on interviews with people that are closely related to the subject.

   Also many unsourced sentences. Thanks Rodw and Joseph2302 for examples:

   • In the mid 1960s Rafferty earned money, for a time, busking on the London Underground. In 1966, Rafferty and Egan were members of the band The Fifth Column. The group released the single "Benjamin Day"/"There's Nobody Here" (Columbia 8068), but it was not a commercial success.
   • Ravenscroft, a session musician, was in the studio to record a brief soprano saxophone part and suggested that he record the now famous break using the alto saxophone he had in his car.
   • Ravenscroft went on to play on Rafferty's next two albums.
   • Rafferty sang the Mark Knopfler-penned song "The Way It Always Starts" (1983) on the soundtrack of the film Local Hero.
   • His next album, Night Owl, also did well. Guitarist Richard Thompson helped by performing on the track "Take The Money and Run", and the title track was a UK No. 5 hit in 1979. "Days Gone Down" reached No. 17 in the US. The follow-up single "Get It Right Next Time" made the UK and US Top 40.
   • Rafferty sang the Mark Knopfler-penned song "The Way It Always Starts" (1983) on the soundtrack of the film Local Hero.
   • Rafferty and Ventilla divorced in 1990. (& sentence before)
   • and marked the end of a creative partnership that had lasted almost 30 years.
   • Only a handful of tracks were ever released, however, and the website eventually closed down without any explanation.
   • In September 2011, EMI issued a remastered collector's edition of City to City featuring previously unheard demo versions of "Baker Street", "Mattie's Rag", "City to City", and other tracks from the album.

   B. All in-line citations are from reliable sources, including those for direct quotations, statistics, published opinion, counter-intuitive or controversial statements that are challenged or likely to be challenged, and contentious material relating to living persons—science-based articles should follow the scientific citation guidelines:

   See above

   C. It contains no original research:

   D. It contains no copyright violations nor plagiarism:

   Earwig turns up high similarity with [1] but it seems likely that was taken from this article. Didn't dig into history closely to check given the other issues.

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. It addresses the main aspects of the topic:

   Yes, appears to be comprehensive

   B. It stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style):

   Some minor concern about the amount of space dedicated to the Baker Street sax solo in section "City to City / Night Owl", but it is the most famous part of his most famous work. Probably just needs some tweaking to have it fit better within the section, rather than any major cuts.

4. Is it neutral?

   It represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each:

   Looks generally okay, but didn't review very closely given the sourcing issues

5. Is it stable?

   It does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute:

6. Is it illustrated, if possible, by images?

   A. Images are tagged with their copyright status, and valid fair use rationales are provided for non-free content:

   Checked all images in the article, looked good. Was not able to find any missing free images.

   B. Images are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions:

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail:

   Article is well-written, but needs a fair bit of work on referencing.