Sings Jacques Brel [Import]

Scott Walker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 17, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 1981
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Fontana Int'l
• ASIN: B0000075YF
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,766 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Majestic Sails of Oblivion, September 28, 2000

By 

patrice - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sings Jacques Brel (Audio CD)

I fear, despite the five stars, that the previous reviews don't quite do justice to this stunning album. Jacques Brel was one of the greatest songwriters of the century, tackling subjects that even Dylan rarely visited. And Walker is, with his superb croon, undoubtedly the best Brel interpreter (sorry Terry Jacks). The arrangements here are also first rate, the haunting merry-go-round piano of "Sons of" for instance is what "goth" should aspire to. This is black turtleneck existentialism at its best, with the shimmering melancholy of "My Death" and "Funeral Tango", and the heart rending "If You Go Away". To further your enjoyment relish the irony that Scott Walker was a teeny pop idol at the time of the release of these songs, and one can only imagine the reaction of his young fans to songs like "Next" about losing one's virginity to a whore...

It should be noted that that "Sings Jacques Brel" takes all of the covers of Brel tunes from Scott's first three solo albums, and it could be argued the songs are best heard in the context of those excellent albums (weakened only by a few dud covers). Also I should mention that this cd is only thirty minutes long (surely there are some demos or unreleased Scott Walker material to tack on?), though the sheer quality of the material won't leave you feeling cheated.

If this whets your Brel hunger, as it did mine, there is also the excellent Marc Almond cd "Jacques" (covering some of the same tracks as Scott) and the famous soundtrack to "Jacques Brel is alive and well and living in Paris" which has slightly more show tuney versions of Brel's material, though it is the only place I know to hear English versions of much of Brel's work.

If you aren't willing to shell out for Scott Walker's first three cd's, and really you should, this is an essential purchase.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars By Far The Best English Interpretation of Brel, December 11, 2003

By 

Robert J. Morris (Macungie, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sings Jacques Brel (Audio CD)

Jacques Brel felt life more intensely than the oh so sensitive children of the 60's that he predated by about a decade. And he spoke what he saw and felt in the modern world better than any of them ever has. It is our bad luck that we speak English and he told his stories in French. As a young man I understood enough French to appreciate Brel's albums, then I saw "Alive and Well . . ." and decided the French were right, English speakers would never fully know Brel.

Well they were wrong. Scott Walker - a mini pop-icon in the sixties (Walker Brothers) - fell in love with Brel's work and dedicated himself to expressing Brel in English. He succeeded. The songs on this album were culled off three previous Scott Walker albums and put together here for English speaking Brel fans. It all works wonderfully. Walker has an outstanding voice, and he has a clear understanding of what Brel has to say - the combination leaves you enjoying both the philosophy and the music, a neat trick when you think about it.

Brel was a philosopher of the people so there is something for everybody here. Which songs become your favorites will depend on who you are. But Brel felt what you feel more strongly, and therefore you'll learn something in the listening. Give this album a shot.

By the way, if you want more Brel save yourself some time and skip the "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" album. After hearing Walker's interpretations that album falls flat, a victim of its own Broadwayness. Now that you know some of the tunes you might enjoy hearing Brel in French, or give a shot to another English singer trying Brel. It's a shame that Scott Walker didn't publish more of this music; there's still time Scott.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Voice of the last century?, April 9, 2005

By 

David Foley (Dublin, Ireland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sings Jacques Brel (Audio CD)

The voice of Scott Walker has got to be the voice of the last century. His timbre is so rich and powerful that it is difficult to understand how anyone else could interpret Jacques Brel so well.

There are only two singers I know who have equalled Scott's interpretations. Firstly, the Irish singer Jack L (Jack Lukeman) who has a deep full-bodied voice and covers a number of Brel's songs (try his album "Wax"). His other albums are sensational as well. Talking of sensational, the second singer is Alex Harvey does an incredible rendition of "Next" (on the album of the same name).