Liner notes from the Japanese release Best Hits & Rarities CD

Alone Again (Naturally) "Alone Again" is not only Gilbert’s most popular song but also a standard from 1970's. It is very popular especially in the USA and Japan. In America, this song received (BMI) Broadcast Music Inc’s Four Million Air Award. (for broadcasts over four million times.) Let me discuss the song’s chart history. On the Billboard chart, it appeared at number 88 on June 17th, 1972. The next week, 59 then 34, 20,8, 3, and it topped the chart on July 29th. "Brandy" by Looking Glass had topped the chart for four weeks but "Alone Again" spent six weeks at Number one. In the year-end chart for 1972 it was number two. In Cash Box, it was number one for three weeks and four weeks at number one in Record World. Asked about this song, Gilbert often says it’s just another song. One of the reasons is that the most important charts for him is not US but the UK charts. "Alone Again" peaked at Number Three in the UK while "Clair" and "Get Down" were Number Ones. In 1990's, "Alone Again" was requested each time Gilbert came to Japan. However, that sort of thing never happens in the UK. This shows how much "Alone Again" is appreciated in Japan. The story of "Alone Again" is pure fiction and Gilbert recorded it in one three-hour session along with "Out Of The Question" and "Save It." Guitarist Big Jim Sullivan played the acoustic solo. Gilbert liked "Out Of The Question" but Gordon decided to issue "Alone Again" as the next single. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards. Finally, Gilbert is a master of the play-on-words. The word "present" has two meanings. That is, one meaning "a gift" and the other prefers to "time" (Past, Present, future). This may be the reason why the 1991 version was called "Alone Again Present". This version was not for sale and only available to those who bought the five remastered CDs in 1993. The song was recorded in Japan’s Studio Key Stone in 1991 and it receives its official release on this compilation. In the 1970's, "gay" was another word for happy, but the word refers to homosexuals these days. This is probably why Gilbert left it out (I was cheerful, bright and Gay) on this recording and in his performances in 1991 and 1992. Before MAM Debut Gilbert O’Sullivan's real name is Raymond Edward O'Sullivan. He was born in Waterford, Ireland on December 1, 1946 the second of six children. His family moved to Swindon, England because, at the time, the job market was better there. He liked listening to music and while at Art College, he played drums in a band which covered the latest songs. The Beatles appearance had an enormous effect on him. He retired the drums and began to play the piano because he wanted to write his own songs. He sent his demo tapes to some record companies, but there were no replies. So he moved to London at the end of 1966. He got a chance at a recording contract while he was at his part time job. "Disappear" was his very first record in 1967. It was recorded in his garden shed and the string quartet was overdubbed later. This song has never been released in Japan, although it was well known among his ardent fans. "What Can I Do" was released in 1968, but it flopped. He changed record companies and released "Mr. Moody’s Garden" in 1969. However, he was disappointed knowing he could not record his song, as he liked. One of the famous record producers then was Gordon Mills. He was managing Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdinck. He became interested in Gilbert’s music and as soon as he built MAM [Management Agency and Music], he invited Gilbert to his own company. Gilbert debuted on the MAM label with "Nothing Rhymed" in October 1970. 1970's "Nothing Rhymed", on which Jimmy Page played acoustic guitar, climbed to No. 8 in England. The next single, "Underneath The Blanket Go" peaked at No. 40. "We Will" made it to No.16. This version was remixed by Gus Dudgeon in 2002, and is released for the first time in Japan. His first album Himself was released in October 1971. His next single "No Matter How I Try" was released in November. However, "Alone Again (Naturally)" which was released in February 1972 changed his destiny. This was a huge hit and the reason why his next single "Ooh Wakka Do Wakka Day" was never released that summer in Japan and only released as a b-side in the US. "Clair" was his first UK Number One single. It reached Number 2 in the US. His second album Back To Front also topped the UK chart and stayed for 64 weeks. "Get Down" was released in March 1973. It also got to Number One in the UK and Number 7 in the States. However, in Germany it topped the chart for ten weeks. The lyrics appear to be about his dog. However, it’s about a woman whom he wants to be aloof with. "Ooh Baby" reached No. 18 on the Black Music Chart and his third album; I'm A Writer Not A Fighter reached Number 2 in the UK. "Why Oh Why. Oh Why" was also released in 1973, and it reached UK Number 6 and was also very popular in Japan. At the start of 1974, Gilbert spent most of his time in Portugal and wrote many songs for his upcoming album and recorded them in New York and Los Angeles. His fourth album A Stranger In My Own Back Yard was released in 1974. Numerous artists including drummer, Harvey Mason participated in the recording. One of the singles released in 1975 was "You Never Listen To Reason." This is the first world-wide release of this song on CD. Gilbert continued working and recording songs but was not satisfied. He wanted to record with other record producers. He mentioned this to Gordon who now lived in California. Gordon refused. So if Gilbert wanted to record, he would have to travel to the US. Gilbert asked that Gordon return to England and produce his album since he wouldn’t allow Gilbert to work with another producer. Gordon never returned to England. Very frustrated, Gilbert came back to England and self-produced his next work, which was SouthPaw, released in 1977. "Tomorrow Today" is one of the album tracks. Angered over the producer issue, Gilbert stopped the American release of this album. In spite of his many fans, Gilbert’s singles no longer charted in the US. This finally led up to the court case between Gilbert and MAM. 1980's Gilbert negotiated a new recording contract with CBS Records and Gus Dudgeon produced his next album Off Centre which was released in 1980. This was the first time that the same musicians were used on every track. "What’s In A Kiss" was released prior to the album and it reached No. 19 on the UK Chart. It was also a huge hit in Spain and in Latin America. Working with yet another producer, he recorded his next album Life & Rhymes with Graham Gouldman of 10cc fame. It was released in October of 1982. The second single from the album was "Bear With Me." He appeared on various radio shows to promote life & Rhymes and said his next work would be just vocals and piano because his 1977 tour was done this way and he enjoyed it very much. This idea became The Little Album (By Larry in the UK) recorded in 1985. He moved to Jersey after that to bring up his daughters in a good environment. On Jersey he could still listen to BBC Radio, which was essential. Frobisher Drive was released in 1987 in Germany. It was intended as a worldwide release but TELDEC was bought by another record company. Gilbert secured the rights to the album, changed a few songs, the title and released it as In the Key Of G. "If I Start With The Chorus" is one of the album tracks from Frobisher Drive which was never released in Japan. Through the 1980’s Gilbert recorded four albums but he seemed to have disappeared from the music scene. By Larry was never released in Japan, Life & Rhymes was not released and In The Key G was delayed. Consequently, Off Centre was the only original album released in 1980’s in Japan. However, his music was never forgotten. Two best of albums were released in 1986 and 1988 in Japan. In 1986, "Alone Again (Naturally)" was used as the theme song for a Japanese animated film. 1990's In The Key Of G was released in April 1990. It was new material for the first time in Japan after a nine-year hiatus. Although the fans were delighted to listen to new Gilbert material, the album did not sell well. A b-side from one of singles is "In A Nutshell", which was recorded in Dublin in May 1984. This was released for the first time in Japan this past February on The Other Sides of Gilbert O’Sullivan. There are many other good songs, which were used as single b-sides. In the 1991, Gilbert's career in Japan takes off. Gilbert and Japanese Artist Takao Kisugi collaborated on a few songs and the album Sounds Of The Loop was released in November 1991. Gilbert also visited Japan to promote the new album for the first time. He returned the following year for a series of first-ever concerts. Rare Tracks was a Japanese only release which included unreleased versions and rare songs. In May, "Tomorrow Today" was used a TV drama theme and became a monster hit. His Best Of album was also released in August. In November, "Alone Again" was used for a TV commercial and Life & Rhymes and The Little Album were released on compact disc for the first time. In 1993, Gilbert returns to Japan to perform once again in concert. These shows were filmed and a VHS tape and CD were released. In England, Sound Of The Loop was finally released. "Are You Happy" is one of the album tracks which is different than the Japanese version. Gilbert’s popularity grew again and he was asked for a new song for a TV commercial and "Anytime" was released in September 1993. During his stay in Japan, he said that he was planning a musical-type album like South Pacific or Oklahoma and Every Song Has Its Play was released in the UK in May 1995 and one month later in Japan. Gilbert returned to Japan to promote the new work and another best of compilation was released. "Dear Dream" was a single from this album in the UK and I think the most popular track on the album is "I’ve Never been Short of a Smile." It’s a masterpiece in which you can enjoy his lyrical style and craft for melodies. During his stay in Japan, he mentioned that his next album would be a "Rock" one. This became Singer Sowing Machine released in January 1997. The album was recorded in his new home studio. He returned twice to Japan in 1997 once in January to promote the new CD and in December for a series of concerts. Looking back to 1990, Gilbert released studio three albums; Sounds of the Loop, Every Song Has Its Play and Singer Sowing Machine. However, there were many other releases including his first five MAM albums, Rare Tracks, Live In Japan, Off Centre, Life and Rhymes and The Little Album. "Tomorrow Today" and "Anytime" were released as singles. Gilbert visited Japan several times and it seemed that he had a come back compared to the 1980s. Furthermore, three different Best Of compilations were released in Japan: 1992, 1995 and 1998. It only proves how popular his songs are in Japan! 2000-2004 In June 2000, Irlish was released in Japan and Gilbert returned to perform in concert in October of that year. In 2001, Gilbert recorded another song for a Japanese TV commercial; "Taking A Chance On Love." Another Best Of package was released in May. In 2003, Piano Foreplay was released in Japan. "Make My Day" was used for another TV commercial. The album was released last autumn in England. It includes "What’s It All Supposed To Mean" which is a different version than the Japanese one. The promotional film for this song is also included on this album. The Other Sides of Gilbert O’Sullivan was release in February of this year and this Best Hits album, which is different from all the other best of compilations so far because the songs are listed chronologically and span his entire career, was released in June. In England, his first-ever Berry Vest of greatest hits package was released in March and made the UK chart. Victor Entertainment released Best Hits & Rarities [VICP -62766] in Japan on June 16th 2004. *Special thanks to my Friend Isao! He translated the booklet into English. I've changed just a few words!