Customer Reviews

Scott 4

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Walker inhabits a capricious realm in popular music. The unfortunate fact remains that he is little known in the United States and his music never seems to be mentioned by connoiseurs of "easy listening" or pop critics with wide readership. . . but upon consideration you can almost understand why. This realm is capricious because his passion balances on the knife edge of ardor and sensitivity and over-the-top cliched shmaltz. But he wins and does not let the cliches outflank him.

Walker's music is frequently fervid and ardorous (if not always in style and presentation, certainly in substance). Take "The Seventh Seal" for example. The driving rhythm and the slightly "Mexican" horns make the track seem almost cartoonish at first. Is this the work of a lounge singer? Well, no. No it is not. The lyrics of the song consider the famous chess game between the knight and "Death" in Ingmar Bergman's film of the same name. Why would Walker place so formidable a theme within these lyrical and odd melodious confines? I can't answer that question but I would contend that he is trying to make you listen harder, even trick you. I find that this song, with each listening, bores a hole larger and larger in me and the melody and imagery are rather dogged.

But if I need a break from this blitzkrieg I can turn my attention to "Hero of the War" or "The Old Man's Back Again," two tracks that are as close to rock as he ever came on his solo recordings of the period. But wait! What's this? "It's a shame how you almost died of pain when he was born/too bad you didn't have your husband right beside you through it all/ Ring the bell when you get hungry or you fall" (Hero of the War). I was struck by the lyric in the same song, "It's the emptiness of heroes like your son." Was this an attack on the parapalegic medal-bedecked veteran he sings of, or a recognition that this young man of high purpose was stripped of his vitality and integrity by a conflict as destructive and inconclusive as World War I? Hard to say. But this young man is abandoned and people are more interested in looking at him in his wheel chair and admire the medals he won than in associating with him. Even the girl next door doesn't come to see him but, Walker tells us, "Once you couldn't keep that whore from hanging round."

Do you see what I am getting at? The candor in these songs belies their winsomeness or their dulcet mantle. Walker is stabbing at you with razor-point acuity in his observations of the lives of people you may or may not have ever met. This work is his finest because it does not cease to look long and hard at each of its subjects throughout the entire ten track cycle. And the best part is, every song is his own.

Five stars. And worthy of each of them.

This album is just sweeping! From romantic country ballads to epic Ennio Moricone jams, this has it all. This was Scott's first album of all original material and it's easily his best. "Old Man's Back Again" and "The Seventh Seal" are just knockout works of passionate drama; nothing in excess, just great, creative musicianship. "Duchess" and "Rhymes Of Goodbyes" are such gorgeous slices of gospel country...Scott at his most soulful. "Angels Of Ashes" has to have the most beautiful lyrics ever writtern, while "Boy Child" has to have the most beaitufl strings ever arranged for a pop song. This is Walker showing off. All in all, a total classic.

Scott's voice has to be one of the most beautiful sounds in the universe. A voice touched by the gods for our aesthetic pleasure...a pop Jussi Bjoerling...on top of which is his amazing songwriting talent.

This is a great CD...it stands somewhat halfway between the top 40 music of the early Walker Brothers recordings, and his most recent work, the unclassifiable, magnificent "Tilt".
Favorites include the marvelous "The Seventh Seal" with its Spanish flavored brass arrangement, the powerful "The Old Man's Back Again" which is one of the 3 songs he ends with some terrific scat singing, and "Hero of the War" with its Bo Diddley rhythm.

This CD was a surprise gift, for which I'm most grateful, and one that will bring beauty into my life for the rest of my days.

Scott Walker's only fully self-penned album 'Scott 4' not only captures a stunning voice at its peak but a rare and special songwriting talent. The album begins with 'The Seventh Seal' a song directly inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film of the same name. Driving rhythms combine with Walker's eerie and inspiring imagery to dramatic effect. The album builds with 'On your own again' one of his best and most moving ballads and follows into 'Hero of the war' a beutifully observed account of a soldier's homecoming and peaks with the wonderfully funky 'The old man's back again'. This album is an education in popular music, A genius' masterpiece.

This is another great album by Scott Walker (following Scott 1, 2, and 3), and an extremely rewarding listen. This is the most accessible of the four self-titled albums, and is arguably the best. The songs are all self composed and lack the over-the-top arrangements that were characteristic of his other albums, but they are all excellent compositions, perhaps more succinct than on prior albums. The best songs are "The Seventh Seal" and "The Old Man's Back Again", both with ghostly choirs; and "Duchess" and "On Your Own Again", both beautiful ballads. This album also contains "Get Behind Me", which I believe is the only Scott Walker song (from the 60's) that features distorted guitars. This album is highly recommended for any music lovers.

If you don't own any Scott Walker's albums yet - you should, you know.What he does on this LP is simply beyond any rational explanation...well how could anyone alive record a song as beautiful as On Your Own Again or The World's Strongest Man?
Yes, there are people who don't like Scott Walker but what are their hearts must be like?
This is an album to die for! Buy it now and thank me later.

Why are so few people familiar with the genius that is Scott Walker! This was his first entirely self-penned record and the lyrics are fascinating, covering subjects such as the neo-Stalinist regime in the USSR and Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal", and the music is intoxicatingly beautiful. "Angels of Ashes" and "Boy Child" must be the two most gorgeous songs I have ever heard.

I can't remember quite how I first heard of Scott Walker, but on the merit of lots of great reviews I picked up this, his fourth solo album. After numerous listens, I feel like I've got a good feel for what most people think is his masterpiece and I can definitely recommend it. Probably my biggest comment on Scott 4 is that it's unlike pretty much all other pop rock that was made by young people in the 60's and 70's. Although it clearly has roots in adult contemporary of the time, no one else but Walker seemed interested in combining lush orchestral, pop/jazz elements with the topical and difficult lyrical themes brought to the forefront of the music scene during the era. It might not be what you're expecting from a late-60's pop effort, but Scott 4 is a great record and worth the praise it's received.

The centerpiece of Walker's work is, most definitely, his voice. At times operatic, at other times verging on schmaltzy, he's certainly got an expressive and beautiful baritone. Backing his vibrato-rich crooning is a slinky orchestra, some subtly fingerpicked acoustic guitar, and sometimes more rock-oriented instrumentation. What sets Walker apart from the lounge music genre that he seems to be falling into are his lyrics--he contemplates death in the dramatic "The Seventh Seal," the ridiculousness of war in the bitterly ironic "Hero of the War," and Communism in "The Old Man's Back Again." When you fully grasp what Walker is trying to accomplish with his synthesis of pop music and dark themes, it becomes apparent that Scott 4 is a pretty unique entry into the music world of the late 60's.

Although much of the album is downbeat and atmospheric ("Boy Child," "Angels of Ashes"), it definitely has its rocking moments--"Get Behind Me" is great, and Walker's scat is a priceless summation of the entire project--so seemingly out of place, yet so perfect. I can't wait to check out some more of Scott's earlier work, as well as his more experimental recent work--I've heard great things. As for now, though, I can recommend Scott 4 to anyone who's interested in great, obscure records with excellent lyrics. Just keep an open mind about the seemingly un-hip style of the music, and it'll pay off.

Though Scott Walker has some great tunes scattered across his Walker Brothers and first three solo albums this record is by far his best and most consistent. Stripped of the overwrought orchestral and almost easy listening of his prior incarnations and covers- these originals which include more simplified acoustic guitar driven tunes really showcase Scott walkers booming voice and dark but honest lyrics. I admire almost all of his stuff but this is the one that is great throughout and is a sixties masterpiece as far as im concerned. Buy this before anything else- and revel in its genius! The balance is just right and the result is perfect. A little country some Baroque pop a touch of Morricone and that bottomless voice = a must own cd.

Scott 4 is the fourth solo album of the artistically ambitious musician Scott Walker (a.k.a. Engel). Scott composed all the pieces in this album. Many people consider this album as the best of his 4 solo albums from the last half of the 1960s. I am not a music expert, but I feel that Scott experimented with the formal structure of some of his musical pieces in this album. What I want to say here is this: he seems to have flaunted the dissonance between his sounds and his words in some of his musical pieces in this album, such as The Seventh Seal and The Old Man's Back Again; it is as if he wanted to see which elements would win out of this disquiet mixture -- the form or the content? It is also possible that Scott wanted to point out the fact that the beautiful music often anaesthetized the horror and tragedy of our reality (his lyrics) through the beauty of its form (his voice and score). Scott's "recent" albums Tilt and Drift support this interpretation. In any case, I very much appreciate the ambiguity and puzzle of this album. I highly recommend this album to anybody who appreciates music that is not only enchanting but also thought provoking.