Scott Walker Series, #15: Scott Walker- The Drift (2006) MP3 & FLAC

"Has absence ever sounded so eloquent, so sad?"

In the years preceding the release of Tilt  in 1995, the prospect of a new album of original material from Scott Walker seemed remote at best; however, the possibility that he would not only release such an album but that it would also turnout to be an avant-garde masterpiece was unthinkable. He did just this. Eleven years later, Scott Walker somehow managed to top this by releasing a darker, more dissonant, more harrowing, and less structured album equally deserving of being labeled a "masterpiece." Yet, like its predecessor, The Drift is anything but a user-friendly masterpiece, a shiny jewel to gaze upon over and over again; rather, it functions more like a bitter glass of absinthe, tearing down your assumptions and skewing your perceptions as it seduces you into its terrifying arms. As on Tilt, Walker's lyrics are cryptic to say the least, but they always provide a revealing counterpoint to the music, which Walker has described as "blocks of sound."  These "blocks" put each song into a state of constant flux in which moments of melodic stability (and they are just moments) explode into an abyss of dissonance. This makes listening to the album feel a little like riding a huge roller-coaster when you were four years old: horrific and awe-inspiring all at the same time. For example, on "Jolson and Jones," Walker croons over ominous-sounding strings that sound straight out of an old noir film, until oscillating industrial static breaks into the mix, which then gives way to a burst of cacophonous dissonance that even includes a sample of a he-hawing mule; the first time I heard this (wearing headphones), I almost dove for cover (seriously). While The Drift isn't for everyone, what is? Proceed at your own risk, but do proceed. Scott Walker's nightmares will always be worth listening to.

Scott Walker Series, #14: The Walker Brothers- Nite Flights (1978) MP3 & FLAC

"We will be gods on nite flights, with only one promise, only one way to fall."

The album cover of The Walker Brothers' mid-seventies album, No Regrets, paints an apt portrait of the band's direction at the time: Gary and John looking perfectly at home in the era's regalia of bare chests, jean jackets, and sun-bleached smiles, while Scott, tan, shirtless, and holding a beer, looks away with hand held up to block the camera's view as if to say, "I'm only here for the party; I don't want to be held responsible for all this." After two lackluster "comeback" albums, the band was contractually required to deliver a third; however, the record label to which they owed the recording was on the verge of folding, thus creating an artistic "perfect storm" in which Scott Walker's genius was to re-awaken after eight long years of ceaseless slumber. In relation to its two predecessors, Nite Flights (at least Scott's part) is a spectacular artistic whiplash of an album that not only laid the groundwork for Scott Walker's still-continuing intermittent forays into unexplored regions of musical dissonance, but also played a major role in funneling Kraut-Rock and experimental electronic music into the UK music scene, and in the process, heavily influencing the fledgling Post-Punk movement. While Scott only contributes four songs to Nite Flights, they are all stunners, but none more so than "The Electrician." It is clear that Scott had been listening to David Bowie's work with Brian Eno, but he uses this only as a port of entry, after which he takes the song into regions entirely unknown. Grand, epic, lush and terrifying, "The Electrician" is one of the great avant-garde rock songs of the seventies. Unfortunately, (though predictably), the songs written by the other Walker Brothers are utterly forgettable, making the album a strangely conflicted creature indeed, but Scott's contributions are as essential as it gets.

Scott Walker Series, #13: Scott Walker- Tilt (1995) MP3 & FLAC

"The good news you cannot refuse, the bad news is there is no news."

Scott Walker fell silent for 11 years following the release of  Climate of Hunter, and while nothing could have prepared his increasingly cult-sized audience for the singular (and quite challenging) experience of listening to Tilt, in retrospect, it is hard to deny that he had somehow managed to deliver the second masterpiece of his long, circuitous career. Cinematic, nightmarish, lush and caustic all at the same time, the only tether dangled to the listener is Walker's still-peerless baritone, but this is where all recognition ends. Walker recorded the vocal tracks for Tilt in single takes in order to avoid the effects of over-familiarity with the material. Describing his reasoning for this, he has stated, "I'm basically terrified of singing, and I want my own terror to come across on the records." On  Scott 3 and Scott 4, Walker had toyed with actively integrating dissonance into otherwise lush and melodic compositions; however on Tilt, he dives head first into a method of composition that seeks to draw attention to the arbitrary relationship between voice, lyrics, and instrumentation. A perfect example of this is the ironically titled "Patriot (A Single)," which is a mournful, dirge-like song under-girded by monotone strings and stand-up bass until Walker's heart-rending vocals descend from above, delivering the most random, banal lyrics imaginable. To call this disorienting does it no justice. Admittedly, this is not for everyone, but Tilt deserves every bit of its reputation as an avant-garde masterpiece.

Scott Walker Series, #12: Scott Walker- Scott 4 (1969) MP3 & FLAC

"What can it cost to give a boy child back his sight?"

I've always seen Scott Walker as an artist out to deconstruct his own chosen art-form. What I mean by this is that his best work actively seeks to play with, and occasionally undermine, not only the conventions determining what a pop-song can do, but also the conventional attitudes and expectations brought to the listening experience by an audience. While Walker was no stranger to experimenting with the formal structure of a song, Scott 4 marks the place where he began to rethink the aesthetic ambitions of his music. The music he had become identified with through his contributions to The Walker Brothers and his early solo work tended to embrace the romanticized image of a beautiful, world-weary despair; however, by the time of Scott 4, Walker began to introduce dissonance into the musical mix. On songs such as "The Old Man's Back Again," one can hear subtle hints of this in Walker's vocal phrasings, beautiful to be sure, but also refusing to allow the listener to identify completely with the melody. This approach is something Walker would revisit to more startling effect 25 years later with his second masterpiece, Tilt. With Scott 4, Walker tumbled out of the commercial spotlight (although this might have had something to do with originally releasing the album under his given name Noel Scott Engel) and toward his present status as mercurial genius with a cult following; all this aside, it is undeniably the uncompromising masterpiece of his early solo career.

Scott Walker Series, #11: Scott Walker- Pola X (1999) MP3 & FLAC

Seemingly a continuation of the tortured pop-meets-classical minimalism of Scott Walker's Tilt, Pola X is actually a more varied introduction to Walker's late-career journey into avant-garde composition. While there are certainly glimpses of the difficult yet masterful dissonance of  Tilt, there are also several beautifully orchestrated passages that build on some of the themes of the previous album, but do so by taking them in a much more immediately accessible direction. Aside from a brief sample from Tilt's "The Cockfighter" buried in "The Time Is Out of Joint," Walker's iconic voice is silent on Pola X; however, this does not detract from the power of his dark soundscapes. Walker's later work is notoriously difficult to penetrate, and there may be no better place to start than his soundtrack compositions for Pola X.

Scott Walker Series, #9: Scott Walker- Scott 3 (1969) MP3 & FLAC

"She fills the bags 'neath her eyes with the moonbeams and cries 'cause the world's passed her by."

Comprised entirely of original material and a few Brel covers, Scott 3 was a significant step away from the expectations of the mainstream audience Scott Walker had found through his work with The Walker Brothers, and though the album did still manage to garner him a final brush with commercial success, it clearly signaled the more mercurial creative path he would travel for the next 40 years. For many, Scott 3 stands as a flawed masterpiece due to Wally Stott's occasionally saccharin arrangements, which seem, at times, utterly at odds with the brooding existential impressionism of Walker's lyrics, and while there are moments when the arrangements do distract from Walker's performance, overall, they tend to lend the album a sense of irony that serves it well. And then, of course, there is "30th Century Man," a brief, ultra-cool acoustic guitar ditty that leaves one fantasizing about what an entire album of such material from Walker might have sounded like. We can only dream.

Scott Walker Series, #8: Scott Walker- And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball? (2007) MP3 & FLAC

Ever wondered what a Modernist ballet score composed by Scott Walker might sound like? And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball?  was commissioned by London's South Bank Center in the hope of receiving a contemporary dance score, but could they have been prepared for the oblique descent into space-obliterating industrial hums and stark, atonal minimalism that Walker serves up here?  For those brave enough to have plumbed the unfathomable depths of Walker's recent (relatively speaking) Avant-garde work, this will sound like a even more "shaved down" (Walker's words) exercise in deconstructing listener expectations. For the rest, it could be rough-going, but then again, this could be said, to some extent, about all of Walker's best work since  Scott 3. Ultimately, there's just something deliciously ironic about a sparse atonal instrumental piece being penned by the owner of the most impossibly beautiful baritone imaginable.

Scott Walker Series, #7: Scott Walker- Climate of Hunter (1984) MP3 & FLAC

"He arrives from a place with a face of fast sun. Arrives from a space, his refuge overrun."

An oft-overlooked gem in Scott Walker's oeuvre, Climate of Hunter, a difficult and sumptuous paradox of a listening experience, is, in many ways, an extension of where Walker was heading with his shockingly groundbreaking work on the final Walker Brothers re-union album, Nite Flights. Lyrically, Walker has left behind the Brel-influenced existential flâneur narratives of his early solo albums, entering instead a more abstract realm that would give the album a sheen of artistic impenetrability if it wasn't for that familiar, burnished (yet now slightly unhinged) baritone. Musically Climate of Hunter is a strange and heady mix of classical arrangements, Prog-Rock excess, Post-Punk atmospherics, and synth-pop bloat, and yes, it sounds as strange as it reads. This was to be Walker's last album until his unanticipated experimental masterpiece Tilt  12 years later, but the groundwork for his ongoing deconstruction of the relationship between melody and lyric has its roots in this underrated project.

Scott Walker Series, #6: The Walker Brothers- Portrait (1966) MP3 & FLAC

"I don't look for her, I find her in the shadow of my mind. For she's just a girl whose memory will be wiped away with time."

As with all Walker Brothers albums, Portrait, the band's second and most commercially successful long-player, is a mix of jaw-dropping brilliance and WTF moments; however, unlike their other two sixties albums, Take It Easy with the Walker Brothers and  Images, Portrait seems more of a piece because it is consistently dark. Songs such as "In My Room" and "No Sad Songs for Me," both with Scott Walker taking the vocal lead, represent some of their best and most desolate work, and even some of the covers, such as "Hurting Each Other" and "Summertime," hit their mark. Nevertheless, what really makes this an essential listen are the bonus tracks included with this edition, among which are several transcendent moments, such as "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" and "After the Lights Go Out." For those with ears to hear, one of the best albums of the sixties can be found scattered somewhere in these 24 tracks.

Scott Walker Series, #5: Scott Walker- Stretch (1973)/ We Had It All (1974) MP3 & FLAC

"If I find you've been creepin' round my back stairs, sundown, you better take care."

I have to confess that I like these albums more than I want to, especially We Had It All. This was Scott Walker's brief foray in Country music, and though it really has no right to be mentioned in the same breath as his iconic earlier solo work, it does have its perverted attractions. While the earlier album, Stretch, suffers from too much schmaltz, there are some nice moments, including "Someone Who Cared," which finds Walker's baritone positively dripping with despair. Things are a bit more consistent on We Had It All, which seems a little more committed to the Country theme. Walker's baritone adopts a tearful creakiness on songs such as "Black Rose" and "Sundown," which makes them pretty irresistible even though they probably shouldn't be. This period of Walker's career feels like a big "fuck you" to the fans and critics who had rejected the direction he had taken on  Scott 3 and  Scott 4, projects that were comprise primarily of his own compositions. As for proof, look no further than his cover of "Delta Dawn." I wonder if he was able to keep a straight face while singing this chestnut. Anyway, enjoy!

Scott Walker Series, #4: Scott Walker- Scott 2 (1968) MP3 & FLAC

"Cascading tears for every heartbeat, tonight we'll sleep with the girls from the streets."

With Scott 2, Scott Walker reached the peak of his (fleeting) commercial success by essentially repeating the recipe of his solo debut (a mix of originals, Brel interpretations, and cover songs), but doing so to even greater effect the second time around. Walker himself famously called Scott 2 the "work of a lazy, self-indulgent man," but self-penned songs such as "Plastic Palace People" and "The Girls from the Streets" suggest a songwriter who has learned a thing or two from Brel in the sense of crafting distinctive existential odes to the outcast and the marginalized. Walker's bewitching voice is in fine form throughout, and it's interesting to hear how his vocals turn some of the more conventional material inside-out; for example, in the hands of most singers, the album's final song, "Come Next Spring," would run no deeper than syrupy romanticism, but Walker's baritone forces the song into much darker, melancholic waters, peeling away its sentiment to reveal the ambiguity beneath. As with all the "Scott" albums, this deserves a place in any serious music collection.

Scott Walker Series, #3: Scott Walker- 'Til the Band Comes In (1970) MP3 & FLAC

"You've been beyond the boundaries, understood it all, and thought of nothing."

Universally panned at the time of its release, the ensuing 40 years have been somewhat redemptive for 'Til the Band Comes In.  What was once considered a sell out (and what wouldn't after a record like Scott 4?) now sounds like an album that lacks a clear conceptual focus but still manages to contribute a number of worthy additions to the Scott Walker canon. Songs such as "Thanks for Chicago Mr. James," "Jean the Machine," and "Cowbells Shakin'" would have fit seamlessly on one of the iconic earlier albums and deserve much better than the relative obscurity they have been relegated to for much of their existence. Where the album falters, and what has unfairly determined its reputation for many, is the series of covers finishing the album, all dressed in too much "saccharin," and thus quite at odds with the existential darkness of the original material. Nevertheless, this is essential listening for anyone with more than a passing interest in Scott Walker's early solo career.

Scott Walker Series, #2: Scott Walker- Scott (1967) MP3 & FLAC

"The girl across the hall makes love, her thoughts lay cold like shattered stone. Her thighs are full of tales to tell, of all the nights she's known."

I've always gotten a kick out of imagining British teenyboppers in 1967 seizing on this album as the latest fix for their Walker Brothers obsession and playing "Montague Terrace (In Blue)" for the first time (sometimes I include pink record players and slumber parties to further develop this theatrical scene of the absurd). While Images, the final Walker Brothers album of the 60s, occasionally hinted at the direction Scott Walker's solo career would take, nothing could have prepared his listeners for this unprecedented leap into Brel and existentialism backed by Wally Stott's gloomy orchestral arrangements. As such, Scott represents the juncture at which Scott Walker began his metamorphosis from teen idol to cult hero, and while often cited as the least consistent of his initial run of solo albums, this is only relative to the genius that would unfold over the next few years.

Scott Walker Series, #1: The Walker Brothers- Images (1967) MP3 & FLAC

"You had a loveless week, and the world's let you down. But I'll make it up somehow, there are ways Mrs. Brown."

Images would turn out to be The Walker Brothers' final album of the 1960s and bears the unmistakable marks of a band in the process of fragmentation. While John and Scott Walker both contribute some memorable material here, they rarely occupy the same space on the album, instead sounding more preoccupied with their impending solo careers than with anything else. While Scott offers up a glimpse of the greatness to come with songs such as "Orpheus" and "Genevieve," John's mournful "I Can't Let It Happen to You" is probably his finest moment on record. Despite the many high points, you can't have a Walker Brothers album without a generous dose of filler, and Images certainly has its filler. For example, the ill-advised cover of  "Blueberry Hill" is simply cringe-inducing. While not their best album, Images contains some of their most mature, forward-looking work, making it well worth putting up with the clunkers.

The Walker Brothers- "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" Video (1965)

Probably in my top five song-wise. Sublime candy-sweet despair...

One Series Ends; Another Begins (soon)

Hi, just a "heads up" that the next Brian Eno post, #10, will be the last in the series. I still have some Eno stuff that hasn't been posted, so it's certainly not the last we'll see of him on The Killing Moon. Meanwhile, I am busy preparing the next project: Scott Walker: The Series. This will also be 10 posts in length and will include a few recordings that do not seem to be available anywhere in cyberspace in a lossless format- stay tuned!

As with the Eno Series, I will be posting recordings from other artists in between the Scott Walker posts, so don't worry; it won't be all Scott Walker all the time.