It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967-70)

Scott Walker

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 15, 1996)
• Original Release Date: October 15, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Razor & Tie
• ASIN: B000002ZAT
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #252,463 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Scott Walker was born Noel Engel in Ohio more than 50 years ago, moved to England in 1965, and scored a series of pop hits there--initially as a member of the Walker Brothers, a duo in which neither member was named Walker, nor were they siblings. From 1967 onward, he worked solo. Walker charted only once in his homeland, but he connected regularly in England between '65 and '69 with rueful, heavily-orchestrated pop statements that sounded like Engelbert Humperdinck crossed with Louis-Ferdinand Celine. This overview features 17 flamboyant psychodramas. Walker's work faded into the ether for a couple of decades following their release (at least where Americans were concerned), only to catch on with a morose brood that includes Mark Eitzel, Nick Cave, Marc Almond, and Eric Matthews. The likes of "The Old Man's Back (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)" may take some getting used to, but, at a minimum, one must pay heed to a deadpan socialist teen idol who hosted his own variety show. --Steven Stolder

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for Scott Walker, 3 stars for this collection...., October 25, 2000

By	"ntrop" (Foster City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

If you are unfamiliar with Scott Walker, and looking for an introduction to his art, skip this disc and go directly to "Boy Child", a much better collection made up entirely of his own excellent compositions, re-mastered in 24-bit HDCD. That said, no matter what Scott Walker CD you choose, there is little anyone can do to prepare you, but I'll try anyway.

I only recently discovered Scott Walker's music and it has affected me like nothing I have heard in years, and I listen to A LOT of music.

You may be tempted to automatically hit the "eject" button after the first few seconds of the very first song. Resist this impulse! This music requires you to acclimatize to it; the data streaming into your ears simply will not compute at first. You'll try to deny it, to laugh it off. You'll wonder where in the world this music came from, and ponder who the heck it was intended for (certainly not me!). You'll swear you could never possibly actually LIKE this stuff, but you'll keep coming back. Over and over. Scott Walker has you in his grip.

Prepare to do internet searches on Scott Walker to learn more about the originator of this inexplicable music. Prepare to invest in his first 4 CD's (from which this collection is culled), only to realize that there are now newly re-mastered editions available with restored artwork and 24-bit sound. You'll buy those, too, and end up with 2 copies of all of his early albums. Finally, prepare to invest in his more recent works as well (skip Climate of Hunter, and do not listen to Tilt in the dark by yourself). I know all this, because this is exactly what happened to me. And I'm not even mad about it.

Imagine a rock-and-roll Sartre with Sinatra's vocal chops and backing band, singing songs about man's inhumanity to man, all played entirely WITHOUT irony. I couldn't believe it either, until I finally accepted what I was hearing. Scott Walker is clearly a genius, but definitely not a happy man, and alienation is his primary theme.

If this description does not deter you (and it should deter some of you), I urge you to purchase Boy Child (or this disc) and fall in love with the pure unbelievable HUMANITY of Scott Walker's art.

BTW: Keep Scott Walker to yourself; your friends will never, ever understand. It's that special.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars for Scott Walker, 3 stars for this collection...., October 25, 2000

By	"ntrop" (Foster City, CA United States) - See all my reviews

If you are unfamiliar with Scott Walker, and looking for an introduction to his art, skip this disc and go directly to "Boy Child", a much better collection made up entirely of his own excellent compositions, re-mastered in 24-bit HDCD. That said, no matter what Scott Walker CD you choose, there is little anyone can do to prepare you, but I'll try anyway.

I only recently discovered Scott Walker's music and it has affected me like nothing I have heard in years, and I listen to A LOT of music.

You may be tempted to automatically hit the "eject" button after the first few seconds of the very first song. Resist this impulse! This music requires you to acclimatize to it; the data streaming into your ears simply will not compute at first. You'll try to deny it, to laugh it off. You'll wonder where in the world this music came from, and ponder who the heck it was intended for (certainly not me!). You'll swear you could never possibly actually LIKE this stuff, but you'll keep coming back. Over and over. Scott Walker has you in his grip.

Prepare to do internet searches on Scott Walker to learn more about the originator of this inexplicable music. Prepare to invest in his first 4 CD's (from which this collection is culled), only to realize that there are now newly re-mastered editions available with restored artwork and 24-bit sound. You'll buy those, too, and end up with 2 copies of all of his early albums. Finally, prepare to invest in his more recent works as well (skip Climate of Hunter, and do not listen to Tilt in the dark by yourself). I know all this, because this is exactly what happened to me. And I'm not even mad about it.

Imagine a rock-and-roll Sartre with Sinatra's vocal chops and backing band, singing songs about man's inhumanity to man, all played entirely WITHOUT irony. I couldn't believe it either, until I finally accepted what I was hearing. Scott Walker is clearly a genius, but definitely not a happy man, and alienation is his primary theme.

If this description does not deter you (and it should deter some of you), I urge you to purchase Boy Child (or this disc) and fall in love with the pure unbelievable HUMANITY of Scott Walker's art.

BTW: Keep Scott Walker to yourself; your friends will never, ever understand. It's that special.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gateway to the Glories of The Voice., August 14, 1999

By	Edward Dunn (Silicon Valley in California) - See all my reviews

In the absence of the now-deleted "Boy Child"--which covers the same period--this is the place to start for a discovery of the one-and-only Scott Walker. In my early 'teens, I liked some of The Walker Brothers AM radio fare from the mid-'60s, like "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." But, before long, they...and beautiful lead vocalist Scott "Walker" Engel...seemed liked just another forgotten band with a few hit singles. Wrong!! About 10 years ago, thanks to the enduring British reverence for American expatriate Scott Walker, I read about and began to pick up the on the start of the slow and steady series of Scott Walker/The Walker Brothers reissues. I have about 2,500 CDs, arranged haphazardly according to what I listen to most often. My 15 Scott and his Brothers CDs are front and center--ahead of The Beatles, Suede, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, Tim Buckley, and The Divine Comedy...which is pretty good company. First, foremost and eternally...there's that stunning baritone and its heartbreaking vibrato. Is there a better voice in the history of rock? I think not. Then, there's the melancholy--"a deep shade of blue"--that infuses his originals and his covers. His observations on life, love and mortality are astute and his sensibilities are worthy of history's great Romantics. He's the eternal outsider, who sings with an insider's view of heartache. He's one of America's greatest Artists...who lives abroad and is virtually unknown in his homeland. It's our loss, but fortunately he stood in front of any number of microphones and sang--and I mean SANG. So, on that front, we can console ourselves with his recorded legacy...which is a embarassment of riches. To hear him is to love him.