Scott 2

After departing from the Walker Brothers in the ‘60s, Scott Walker went on to a solo career that was as original as any pop musician from any era. His love for Jacques Brel is evident with three covers of his work, including Walker’s first Top 20 U.K. hit, “Jackie.” Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Windows of the World” features a perfect orchestration that allows Walker to sing in his finest crooning voice. Tim Hardin’s “Black Sheep Boy” keeps the passionate orchestration and adds delicate fingerpicked guitar. Walker’s own writing fits in perfectly. The six-minute epic “Plastic Palace People” (with a brilliant double-tracked vocal tucked inside) and the more modest “The Girls From The Streets” play out like free-spirited French films where Walker spends a bit more time examining the downsides than the usual paramour. “The Bridge” is an entrancing tale of time marching on. “The Amorous Humphrey Plugg” is a humorous tune of immense braggadocio. Walker blurs the line between the showman and the defiant songwriter who knows more about his subjects than he lets on.

This box set collects remastered versions of Scott Walker's first five solo albums. For those who know Walker's music through his avant-garde material from the last 20 years, these highly arranged and orchestrated pop records seems to come from another world. But the dark and strange themes were already there.

Scott Walker - Scott 2 review: Slick and debonair- The king of Baroque is back again.