Now
I will write some kind of small review-presentations of all these
Scott Walker albums. They were released in 1967–1969 and show
Scott's fantastic development as a songwriter, poet, and why not as a
singer. The first solo album, Scott, was released in 1967 while the
Walker Brothers were still around.
It
is clear as day that Scott truly spread his wings on the solo albums,
right from the start. However, at this point Scott was still mostly
singing other people's songs. There are contemporary songs (for
example a gorgeous version of Angelica), film music (You're Gonna
Hear from Me – showing Scott's crooner side), original
compositions, and Jacques Brel songs.
The
original material is of course among the most interesting material
here. Montague Terrace (In Blue) is a fantastically uplifting
composition with a sensational arrangement. Everything on Scott's
albums 1–4 is, in fact, incredibly well arranged, thanks to Wally
Stott (a.k.a. Angela Morley) who arranged quite a few of these songs.
Other original Engel (Walker) compositions include Such a Small Love,
a song that features a very typical eerie mood that Scott likes, and
Always Coming Back to You, a dreamy song with a hint of desperation.
Looking
at the Jacques Brel songs Scott eagerly chose to record in English,
the songs actually reveal surprisingly lot of Scott's dark inner
world. I think it says a lot that the first song on his first solo
album is about a sadomasochistic relationship (Mathilde). Later, there is
another Brel song about his own death (My Death)... And it doesn't get much lighter with Amsterdam at the end of the album.
It
seems that Scott selected the cover songs carefully to fit the mood
he wanted to pursue. That mood could be described to be generally
melancholic, or perhaps it is a question of balance between the
beautifully melancholic and the almost scaringly dark songs... Still,
it confuses me to hear him obviously being on top of the world
singing all of this music – even happy?
You
see, Scott Walker doesn't seem to be too fond of his own voice. Or
maybe he is, but according to what he has said in interviews, he
never listens to his own music again after it is finished. On his
more recent albums he uses a higher vocal register in order to
prevent the listener from getting too comfortable while listening to
his singing. All of this sounds strange, but serves some kind of
purpose to Scott.
That
is enough for now. We will soon return to the mystery of Scott Walker
and listen to some Scott 2...
As
usual, some song picks for you (YouTube):
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