A Stranger in My Own Back Yard

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

A Stranger in My Own Back Yard · After the funk-flavoured predecessor I'm a Writer, Not a Fighter, Gilbert O'Sullivan returned on his fourth album to the style of his first two records. He wrote the songs in early 1974 during two months in a small fishing village in Portugal. Gordon Mills produced again and Johnnie Spence made the arrangements. For the first time he did not record at Audio International Studios in London, but at two American studios, in New York and Los Angeles.

A Woman's Place became the only single. Some saw the lyrics as sexist, and the song received little airplay. My Father, I Wonder Would You Mind and Always Somebody are sparse: just O'Sullivan at the piano, with a single horn solo in My Father. The record was released in October 1974 in an elaborate sleeve resembling a bound book and reached number 9 on the British albums chart. It was his last top 10 album.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Number 41:25Apple Music ↗
2. 2A Woman's Place3:17Apple Music ↗
3. 3No More2:26Apple Music ↗
4. 4It's so Easy to Be Sad4:42Apple Music ↗
5. 5My Father2:43Apple Music ↗
6. 6The Marriage Machine3:28Apple Music ↗
7. 7If You Ever2:33Apple Music ↗
8. 8The Thing Is4:01Apple Music ↗
9. 9Just Like Me3:04Apple Music ↗
10. 10Victor E2:46Apple Music ↗
11. 11I Wonder Would You Mind2:19Apple Music ↗
12. 1215 Times2:21Apple Music ↗
13. 13Nothing to Do About Much3:27Apple Music ↗
14. 14Can't Get You to Love Me2:25Apple Music ↗
15. 15Always Somebody0:53Apple Music ↗
16. 16Happiness Is Me and You3:11Apple Music ↗
17. 17Breakfast Dinner and Tea2:07Apple Music ↗
18. 18Too Bad3:13Apple Music ↗
19. 19To Cut a Long Story Short2:46Apple Music ↗
20. 20You Are You3:20Apple Music ↗
21. 21Tell Me Why2:58Apple Music ↗
22. 22That's a Fact2:39Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗