Sun Ain't Gonna Shine: The Very Best of [Import]

Scott Walker | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 8, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Universal UK
• ASIN: B000F9RL3U
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,331 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore (The Walker Brothers)

2. Make It Easy On Yourself (The Walker Brothers)

3. No Regrets (The Walker Brothers)

4. Joanna (Scott Walker)

5. My Ship Is Coming In (The Walker Brothers)

6. Lights Of Cincinatti (Scott Walker)

7. Montague Terrace (In Blue) (Scott Walker)

8. Another Tear Falls (The Walker Brothers)

9. Boy Child (Scott Walker)

10. Jackie (Scott Walker)

11. Walking In The Rain (The Walker Brothers)

12. Stay With Me Baby (The Walker Brothers)

13. If You Go Away (Scott Walker)

14. First Love Never Dies (The Walker Brothers)

15. Love Her (The Walker Brothers)

16. (Baby) You Don't Have To Tell Me (The Walker Brothers)

17. Deadlier Than The Male (The Walker Brothers)

18. We're All Alone (The Walker Brothers)

19. Stand By Me (The Walker Brothers)

20. Impossible Dream (Scott Walker)

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

UK only 21-track Best of Collection. For a time in the mid-1960s, The Walker Brothers were one of the biggest acts in the UK with a run of five top five hits in quick succession. The Walker Brothers and Scott Walker are cited as great influences on artists from David Bowie to Nick Cave and The Divine Comedy to Franz Ferdinand. This album collects together the biggest singles and favourite tracks from both The Walker Brothers and Scott Walker's solo repertoire. Universal. 2006.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best work, but utterly fascinating nonetheless, May 12, 2006

By 

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sun Ain't Gonna Shine: The Very Best of (Audio CD)

Scott Walker just may be the oddest, hardest-to-peg figure in the history of rock. His career is utterly schizophrenic, split between the pop crooner of the late sixties and the avant-garde, experimentalist of the nineties and beyond. One bit of lore repeated about him is that he was a major influence on David Bowie's singing style, and it is true that Walker will frequently recall David Bowie--albeit a more vocally gifted Bowie. Comparison is also often made to Bryan Ferry and Nick Cave. There is a similar theatricality in Anthony Johnson and the Johsons. Still, whatever comparisons with other performers, there is a massive difference between Walker's earlier and later work. Someone acquainted with TILT might be horrified listening to these songs. Someone who mainly knows Walker from his sixties work could well have a cardiac arrest listening to TILT.

If you had to describe Walker to someone who had never heard him, you might say that in the sixties he was trying to sings stuff very much like what Nick Cave would be singing in the eighties and nineties, while in the nineties he was singing something that Nick Cave might be singing in 2025. At the same time, he definitely is a throw back. His love of Jacques Brel is well known, and there are few singers in the history of rock who has a voice more suited for caberet. His voice was dramatic in the way that both Tim Buckley and his son Jeff were, though he was and is more polished either (though he lacks their absolutely astonishing range). At other times he recalls Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.

Still, there is a certain theatricality that Walker was clearly always drawn to. This is found in all of the cuts found here, whether with the Walker Brothers or in the solo cuts. I don't know if Scott Walker had a brother, but if he did he didn't perform as one of the Walker Brothers. This is just one of the host of contradictions that surrounds Walker. Just as the fact that while Walker is American, he has never enjoyed much success here, but was a huge success in Britain. This collection contains many of the Walker Brothers biggest sixties hits. There is a big difference between this collection and the much better BOY CHILD: THE BEST OF SCOTT WALKER 1967-70. The latter emphasized Walker's original compositions and demonstrate his marvelous if quirky gifts as a songwriter. This collection features comparatively few of his own compositions, but instead primarily songs by others he performed, such as Burt Bacharach and Jacques Brel.

If these songs don't reveal Walker's gifts as a song writer, they do put his voice on fine display. Some of these songs I could have donen without. Is this really made a better album by his doing "The Impossible Dream?" On the other hand, his version of Jacque Brel's "If You Go Away" is as lovely as anyone's. The biggest hits on the CD are unquestionably "Make It Easy On Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." But those are hardly the only great cuts on the disc. Not everything is a gem, but there is still more than enough to justify the cost of the album.

I would, however, urge a prospective listener to try the BOY CHILD anthology before this one. This one has the hits, but I think BOY CHILD collects more interesting music. The truly adventurous should try TILT, which is easily one of the bleakest albums ever recorded.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great collection...., May 13, 2011

By 

Michael R. Delfin "Mike Delfin" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sun Ain't Gonna Shine: The Very Best of (Audio CD)

It is a very good collection. This one has Joanna on it which was featured in the movie Love Actually. The only reason not for the five star is the quality is good not excellent.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Walker Brothers CD, June 6, 2011

By 

Gail Gray Habig "Music Lover" (NY State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sun Ain't Gonna Shine: The Very Best of (Audio CD)

Thank you so very much for such a nicely kept CD Album... It's perfect, and songs I have never heard are a great addition... Thank you so very much..Absolutely love all of these songs and "VERY GLAD" I purchased this CD ... Thank You So Very Much for such a well kept CD ...