Customer Reviews

Sings Jacques Brel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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).

Walker does immense justice to these songs of heartbreak and weariness, capturing the European flavour with arrangements that almost never sound dated and a singing voice that's gone amazingly overlooked...there's humour in abundance - some songs seem ideal for the Broadway musical - but when he's down, he's DOWN. Some of the most moving stuff I've heard in a long time.

After reading all the comments, I thought I'd add some, taking the other comments into consideration. I think the point about translations is well taken, but (since I do understand French), many of these songs could not be translated more closely to the French for an English speaking audience without, in some cases, a lot of confusion.
Some topics of the original songs would baffle or simply seem odd for English speaking audiences - best example is "We're Not Alone", (not on this album, but in the musical) which is, in the original French, basically a wino giving moral support and a pep talk to another wino by encouraging him with images of eating French fries and visiting whores. "Marathon" is about dancing Flemish and their lives. Hmmmm... I think it loses something in the translation. One of the few Brel songs that is virtually identical in English as in French (not on this recording, nor in the musical), is what I believe to be one of the most universally despised songs of all times: Seasons in the Sun. It is as annoying in French as it is in English. For those who do not speak French, don't believe that all of Brel's lyrics are transcendent. Some were definitely not.
I agree that some of the translations are a little bland, but you have to take into consideration the melody and rhythm changes in substituting English for French, the fluidity of French compared to the often more percussive sound of English, "oublie" vs "forget" for example, and just the obscurity of some of the original imagery. "If You Go Away" is simply "Don't leave me" in French, followed by a rather complex series of lyrics about forgetting all there is to forget of things that have come to pass and includes some images about kings and queens and covering your body in gold (yikes!), which I think would sound horribly corny and pretentious in English. By the way, "If You Go Away" was translated by Rod McCuen, not Shuman and Blau. It's a song that, in its simple manner, it does capture the plaintive, hopeless, desperate essence of the original. Maybe better translations could be made, but this is what we're stuck with. Some bad, some good.
The great exception to the translation problem is "Next", which I think is not only a great translation, but Scott Walker's version is the best I have heard - serious and powerful, not sardonic and self mocking as it's usually performed in the musical. And his "Jackie" has a humor to it without the silliness of the "Alive and Well..." original cast recording (which I think is pretty awful compared to other live performances of the musical that I have seen).
I've listened to all of the Brel songs on this recording, by Brel, and in some cases, a few different arrangements of those. Brel's recordings of his songs are more intimate and minimally orchestrated, more in keeping with a French cabaret style. I love them, partly because of their simplicity, but also the melodies and imagery. But, it doesn't necessarily follow that to LOVE Brel, one must reject anything other than that the "Real Thing".
As far as the arrangements on this recording, OK - they're not cabaret. It doesn't mean that the songs do not translate, musically, to more fully orchestrated pieces. It just moves some of these songs, as did the musical, into a different genre. I think the music is strong enough to survive the shift; more brittle songs could not handle this full orchestration.
I've been a fan of Scott Walker for almost his entire career. His voice can be subtle and huge at the same time and he has control that is absent in most contemporary singers. His recordings of Brel required a fairly radical move on the part of someone, who was, up to that point, mainly a pop singer. This compilation reflects a move away from the pop genre, but not yet the leap that he's now made. I'm just glad that his Brel works introduced me (at a relatively young age - 13 or 14) to an entire world of music that I would have not likely had access without his recordings.

This is what crooning should be. Admittedly, the urge to delve into hyperbole is quite strong, however with such an exceptional selection fo songs, I find it entirely appropriate. Anyone who can listen to this albulm unmoved is made of sterner stuff than I am. Some of the most engaging lyrics I've ever encountered, thanks to Jacky. Could I speak in a hundred tongues, could an endless host of verbiage attempt to ensare the aesthetic pleasure derived from this work, they would fall far short. There, I'm done with the hyperbole.

I do have to disagree with other reviewers who praise Mr. Walkers performance of Brels work. If you listen to the original french versions you can see how close Shuman and Blau came in the seventies to Brels intention when they created their NYC review. Walkers voice carries none of the passion and level of expression that Brel demands. Way too soft with no edge, and those ghastly orchestral arrangements! Merde! Brel is theater, Brel is cabaret, not this musak. Credit for trying, but none for the result.

Scott Walker leaves his unique crooning mark on the works of Brel. He is singular in his choice of material to cover, and his choice here earmarks a respect for his elders.Most of the material has a french, morose feel . Walker's baritone takes us into the surly streets of European colour. Scott's moody singular deep voice has a primal quality that stretches to be older and wiser than the years when this LP was cut.An iconoclast of the rock/POP world his fans search with him in his eratic search for his soul. A must for his fans.

Let me start by saying that Scott Walker hands down is the most emotional singer the world has ever known. He also happens to be one of the deepest thinkers on our planet, his emotions run towards the dark (he moved to England after touring and finding it depressing and gloomy), so Jacques Brel is a natural fit for Mr. Walker. The words written by Brel cover such fascinating subject matter. Never boring, my friends always freak when they hear this playing, and never have I heard anything bad said while they are listening. Thank God there are artists such as Scott to keep music from the mundane.

The many available interpretations of Jacques Brel's oeuvre certainly allow for argument as to their relative merits (I myself prefer David Bowie's version of "My Death" to the one on this album); but from an objective standpoint there's no denying that SCOTT WALKER SINGS JACQUES BREL is a strong and tasteful attempt to inject a bit of mass-market appeal into the work of a particularly difficult and esoteric songsmith. Walker sings beautifully as always, and as in his own compositions manages to find enough ironic counterpoint in the material to offset and thus redeem the sometimes bombastic arrangements behind him. That's hardly surprising, since these cuts are in fact taken from the singer's first three solo albums; nevertheless, assembled in one place they constitute a worthy and cohesive tribute to one modern musical original from another.