| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.4/10[3] |
Scott was the début solo album by Scott Walker, originally released in the United Kingdom on Philips Records in 1967. The album received both strong commercial success as well as critical praise, hitting No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart.
This album, alongside Scott 2, features Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" recording technique.
Overview
Scott was released only six months after Walker's third album with The Walker Brothers, Images. Its mixture of Walker's original compositions and selection of cover versions established Walker as a more serious and sombre artist; gone were the Beat group and Blue-eyed soul material of his former group. The choice of material generally fell into four main categories: his own work ("Montague Terrace (In Blue)", "Such a Small Love", "Always Coming Back to You"), contemporary covers ("The Lady Came from Baltimore", "Angelica"), movie songs ("You're Gonna Hear From Me", "Through a Long and Sleepless Night") and significantly, English-translated versions of the songs of the Belgian singer and songwriter Jacques Brel ("Mathilde", "My Death", "Amsterdam"). Brel was a major influence on Walker's own compositions, and Walker included three of his songs on each of his next two solo albums, Scott 2 and Scott 3. Walker described Brel without qualification as 'the most significant singer-songwriter in the world'.[4] The real coup for Walker was his luck in acquiring and recording the new Mort Shuman-translated versions of Brel's material before anyone else.
Since the album's release, three complete outtakes, likely recorded during the Scott album sessions, have circulated in bootlegged form. These are "Free Again" (Basile/Canfora/Colby/Jourdan), "I Get Along Without You Very Well" (Hoagy Carmichael) and "I Think I'm Getting Over You" (Roger Cook/Roger Greenaway), the latter of which was recorded for potential single release.[5]
Release and reception
The album was released by Philips Records in September 1967 in the UK. It reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for seventeen weeks.[6] It was released the following year in the US on Smash Records under the title Aloner.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mathilde" | Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest, Mort Shuman | 2:39 |
| 2. | "Montague Terrace (In Blue)" | Noel Scott Engel | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Angelica" | Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann | 4:02 |
| 4. | "The Lady Came from Baltimore" | Tim Hardin | 1:59 |
| 5. | "When Joanna Loved Me" | Jack Segal, Robert Wells | 3:08 |
| 6. | "My Death" | Brel, Shuman | 4:57 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "The Big Hurt" | Wayne Shanklin | 2:26 |
| 8. | "Such a Small Love" | Engel | 4:55 |
| 9. | "You're Gonna Hear From Me" | André Previn, Dory Previn | 2:53 |
| 10. | "Through a Long and Sleepless Night" | Mack Gordon, Alfred Newman | 4:12 |
| 11. | "Always Coming Back to You" | Engel | 2:41 |
| 12. | "Amsterdam" | Brel, Shuman | 3:04 |
Personnel
- Scott Walker – vocals
- Wally Stott – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 1,2,5,7 & 8)
- Reg Guest – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 3,4,6 & 11)
- Peter Knight – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 9 & 10)
- Peter Olliff – engineer
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 1967 | Philips | LP | 844 202 BY |
| United Kingdom | September 1967[1] | Philips | LP (Stereo) | SBL 7816 |
| UK | September 1967[1] | Philips | LP (Mono) | BL 7816 |
| United States | 1968 | Smash | LP (Title: Aloner) | 27099 |
| UK | March 16, 1992[1] | Fontana | CD | 510 879-2 |
| UK | June 5, 2000[1] | Fontana | HDCD | 510 879-2 |
| US | February 15, 2008[7] | 4 Men With Beards | LP | 4M149 |
Charts
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[6] | 3 |
References
- ^ a b c d e "Release: Scott – MusicBrainz". Retrieved 2018-02-12.
- ^ Unterberger, Richie. Review: Scott. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2010-08-10.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Williams, Lewis (2006). Scott Walker – The Rhymes of Goodbye (1st ed.). London: Plexus. p. 61. ISBN 0-85965-395-1.
- ^ Williams, Lewis (2006). Scott Walker – The Rhymes of Goodbye (1st ed.). London: Plexus. p. 185. ISBN 0-85965-395-1.
- ^ a b "The Official Charts Company – Scott Walker". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
- ^ "VinylFanatics.com Vinyl Records, Vinyl Record Reviews, News, Forum Vinyl reviews Audiophile vinyl The best site for vinyl records – UPDATE : Vinyl Lovers – New record label?". 2010 VinylFanatics.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-11.