Scott Walker
Posted by: Brian OReilly on 13 June 2002
WHAT is the story with this guy ? I know very little about him apart from his well known work with The Walker Brothers. So his solo work is more the same ?
Er, no, not quite. The voice is still the voice from "the sun ain't gonna shine anymore..." but the lyrics are now:
"..the fat, bloated man who lives upstairs"
or
"...there's a sailor who eats only fish heads and tails..".
His vocal delivery is also strange. It's still very "lounge", but there's an edge to it, a somebody on the edge type er, edge.
After hearing a radio documentary about this guy I bought his first solo recording, 'Scott 1'.
This also contains songs from Kurt Weil and Jaques Brel. There is some weird stuff on there. It's the most interesting music that I've heard for a long time.
I intend to slowly work my way through this guy's recordings, can I expect more of the same ?
I have a nagging feeling that everybody knows about Scott Walker except for me..........
Brian OReilly
Posted on: 13 June 2002 by Michael Dale
Hi Brian,
The early solo stuff is really fabulous, and the arranging is breath-taking, thanks to Wally Stott and Peter Knight. There is a good compilation called Boychild, which contains Scott's best stuff from 67-70. Also Julian Cope who was (but isn't now) a big fan, put together a great compilation in the 80's called Fire Escape In The Sky (The God Like Genius Of Scott Walker). It has almost the same tracks as Boychild, but is very rare.
Also worth checking out is Tilt which was recorded and released in the early 90's. The voice is still as dark and powerful, and it's a better album than the disturbing Climate Of Hunter, which features Mark Knopfler and Billy Ocean (I know, doesn't sound too promising does it).
I was in a band a few years ago who were looking for a string arranger, and we decided we wanted Wally Stott for the job, simply because we adored Scott Walker. Unfortunately for us, Wally had undergone a sex change and become Angela. Angela didn't like doing string arrangements. Probably for the best. The say you should never meet your heros!
As far as I know, all the Scott stuff is now re-released on CD.
Best wishes,
Mick
Posted on: 13 June 2002 by David Dever
...is one of those records that I wish I'd had owned had I been a hi-fi salesman in the Eighties, would have set the Level 42 crowd right.
Tilt, on the other hand, is an amazing record which (from a strict testing standpoint) will pop a midrange driver just like that. It's a Peter Walsh production, great session guys, etc.
...opera for a clientele raised on David Bowie. His Sixties records (solo and Walker Brothers) are a lot more influential than meets the eye. A much cooler Ohio ex-pat than Chrissie Hynde.
Dave Dever
P.S. Mick, thanks for the Wally Stott anecdote-the strings on those records are amazing.
Posted on: 13 June 2002 by Brian OReilly
Thanks guys,
that's a particularly interesting post Mick. I don't know what makes me more nervous, the idea of Billy Ocean or "Angela".......
I am a bit wary of compilations if I can get the same recordings on the original albums.
I was planning to buy/listen to each album in sequence - ie Scott 2, Scott 3 etc. but I do like the sound of "Tilt".
David Dever said
..opera for a clientele raised on David Bowie. His Sixties records (solo and Walker Brothers) are a lot more influential than meets the eye.
I was shocked when I first heard the solo stuff on the radio. You hear immediately where Bowie, Iva Davies, Marc Almond etc took their sound from.
The plot thinnens.....
Brian OReilly
Posted on: 13 June 2002 by Steve Catterall
I would also recommend that you get the Walker Brothers album 'Nite Filghts', which was released in 1978 ... but is very much a Scott Walker album.
Very influenced by Bowie/Iggy/Eno berlin period. The first 4 songs "Niteflights," "The Electrician," "Shut Out," and "Fat Mama Kick" are pretty much Scott on his own and are fabulous ... easily on a par with anything else that he's done.
The other 2 'brothers' contribute a few songs on the other side of the album, and even these are pretty good.
Posted on: 13 June 2002 by Michael Dale
I'd totally forgotten about Nite Flights. I heard a couple of tracks ages ago on a Scott special and tried to track the album down. It was deleted at that time though. I'll have a look on amazon and try and order it.
Cheers,
Mick.
Posted on: 13 June 2002 by Tony L
quote:
I intend to slowly work my way through this guy's recordings, can I expect more of the same ?
Just buy the first four - they have all recently been nicely remastered on CD, and are available at mid price. Great albums all of 'em. Job done.
Tony.
Posted on: 13 June 2002 by JWinston
Really, really good stuff. Albums 1,2,3 & 4 are all well worth having.
TILT (1995) is phenomenal, and it actually came out on vinyl in 1997 on an American label called Drag City. I rarely buy repeats of things I already have, this was an exception, and worthwhile.
Anyone heard the new bowie yet - heathen? I gave it a quickie listen yesterday in-store, seemed promising.
John
