Whereas
Take It Easy.. was relative cheerful and uptempo, on Portrait and
Images the basic concept has been turned upside down. This means that
there are now only a couple of uptempo songs per album and the rest
is ballads or at least very peaceful and slow songs. Both albums are
really good and even though Portrait was more successful back then, I
personally prefer Images.
After
the debut album and number one hits Make It Easy on Yourself and The
Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore, the Walkers were household names in
the UK. They were on top of their fame even though they never had
another number one hit single again. Their music was becoming even
bigger and more dramatic than before. There was also an increasing
number of songs that were very intimate or jazzy. In my opinion, some
of the most quiet numbers weren't able to capture their best
qualities. Still, the Walkers obviously didn't lack ambition rendering songs like Just for a Thrill, Old Folks and Once upon a
Summertime.
The
Walker Brothers were at their most glorious when performing dramatic, grandiose songs that had almost a gothic quality to them. When I say ”The Walker
Brothers” it is in fact often more like ”Scott, big choir and big
orchestra”. John got more room on these albums and sang really well
but he was obviously destined to remain in Scott's shadow all the
way. Not only was Scott the most celebrated Walker brother, he was
also beginning to show major signs of great songwriting skill. He
wrote or co-write and sang on such amazing classics as Archangel, Deadlier Than
the Male, Orpheus, and Genevieve. Scott wrote both very dramatic and
gentle songs – it can be said that most of his material from this
period is, in fact, focused on exploring the opposites. In addition to Orpheus and Genevieve, some of his
more gentle songs included I Can See It Now, Experience, and Mrs.
Murphy, the latter of which was released as a solo single.
Some of
the best ”quiet and intimate” songs on Portrait and Images
include No Sad Songs for Me, I Will Wait for You, I Can't Let It
Happen to You (written by John, presented with an atypical arrangement
including organ and no strings), as well as Where's the Girl, a song
that once again captivated the amazing emotional quality of Scott's
voice. And of course, there is a stunning version of Summertime, with
a great jazz sax solo and all. Curtis Mayfield's gospel People Get
Ready is also really fantastic whereas Living Above Your Head almost sounds out of place with a
sunshine pop choir singing ”ba bop bop baa”. Still, it is really catchy, just like Walking in the Rain, a song made famous by the Ronettes.
There
were indeed so many great songs that I am finding it difficult to mention
all of them without sounding like a list. The main reason why I
prefer Images is probably that it is a bit more lively as a
whole. There is, for example, Everything Under the Sun, a midtempo happyish song that has a lot of kick and the kind of
uplifting quality that is present in many of my favorite Walker
Brothers songs. It Makes No Difference at All is also one of my most
cherished favorites: a hearbreaking ballad with Scott singing in the
lowest range of his voice. Just Say Goodbye is a somewhat similar
experience, but it has an even more fantastic and subtle soundscape
outside the massive chorus.
It goes without saying that the Walker Brothers were definitely not just any ”boy band”
of the 60s!
Check out some music:
