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SCOTT
WALKER
SCOTT 4
For a
man who has a collection of rum coves as diverse as Jarvis
Cocker, Marc Almond, Damon Albarn, Jake Shillingford, Julian
Cope, David Bowie and Jonathan King(!), admiring his 'God-like
genius', Scott Walker may actually be doomed in the history
books of pop as being only remembered for singing 'Make it
easy on yourself' and 'The sun ain't gonna shine anymore',
with the Walker Brothers. Two superb songs admittedly, but
merely a sliver of the aural fondling obtainable from the
majestic celebration of the darker side of life that lies
within Walker's greatest work.
 "Scott
4" followed, surprisingly, "Scott 3" which for this review
is the really, really dark night of the soul album. Oh, and
before I really get going, it has to be noted that our Scott,
for all his genius had a bit of a problem with innovative
LP titles. He released 4 albums between 1967 and 1969, all
numbered numerically - you see that way it makes them easier
to remember when you're popping down the record shop for a
healthy dose of lush orchestrated despair - until that is,
his fifth album "Till the band comes in", which wasn't a patch
on its predecessors and so obviously didn't deserve to be
called "Scott 5".
As anyone
who knows anything of the Scott Walker story can testify,
"Scott 4" totally bombed when it was released, and didn't
even chart. Only 12 months previously, "Scott 2", with sleevenotes
by Jonathan King (everybody makes mistakes), had gone to number
one. The failure of "Scott 4" may have been partly due to
it been released under Scott's real name, Noel Scott Engel,
and also possibly because it was as depressing as Man City's
away form, but don't let that put you off.
Released
on Fontana in 1969 "Scott 4" is just 32 minutes long and sneaks
ahead of the superb trio of albums released before it simply
by virtue of it being the only one to feature solely Walker/Engel
compositions. As to the album itself: try and imagine a frighteningly
handsome Frank Sinatra singing in a warmly seductive but unsettling
croon/baritone. Songs concerning death (The seventh seal);
totalitarianism (The old man's back again); the loss of love
(On your own again); the pointless waste and destruction of
war (Hero of the war); and personal weakness (The world's
strongest man). Add a few more tracks about death and various
other cheery topics and you're halfway to understanding the
score. It is perhaps in the track "Boy Child" that the combination
of world weariness and Walker's disturbed innocence persona
best cuts through. The initially MOR/Easy Listening preconceptions
of the music put you off your guard whilst the words gobble
you up and kick start the dark recesses of your mind. This
is true un-easy listening.
My own
favourite is 'The seventh seal', Walker nicks the plot, lock,
stock and barrel of the film of the same name by that Swedish
master of mirth Ingmar Bergman, which was mercilessly satirised
by 'Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey'. The flamenco guitar opening
combined with a lone trumpet, the bizzarely funky bass-line
and what appears to sound like a massed choir of monks as
a chorus must melt you into submission, and then there's The
Voice. On this form Scott Walker could have sung an editorial
from the Financial Times and made it seem like the most poignant,
heart-rending moment in life.
As for
Scott since 1969, well it's been a rather strange path, a
handful of more but increasingly patchy solo albums; a curious
1970's Walker Brothers reunion which at least resulted in
his excellent 'Nite Flights' material, which is sadly deleted
and a disastrous and final (?) public appearance in Birmingham
in 1978; low-key alcohol problems; hermit-like obscurity living
in London; and a continuing and growing deity-like worship
from admirers in his adopted country. But despite any such
feelings of unacknowledged genius, Walker himself has, ahem,
no regrets, and "Scott 4" gets better with each play.
Records
this good must shame anyone who hears them into taking a long
hard look at their record collection and comparing what can
compete with Walker at his best.
If you would like to send your
comments, ratings on any the above albums please email me
soulboy_69@yahoo.com.
Page last up dated: 15th March 1999
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