Scott 2

Am I glad I listened to this, yes. Do I think everybody needs to hear this before they die, not a chance. This was quite an enjoyable listen for the most part. I really liked the first few songs which started off the album on a good note, but it started going downhill after that. This album would have been better as an instrumental I think, because what the hell is Scott Walker singing about, some of these lyrics are terrible and his excessive vibrato is driving me up the wall. The music behind the annoying singing is really great, it nearly feels nostalgic but not quite, don’t know what that’s about. I really do love it though, some would call it elevator music but I think I just like that sort of thing. I think the best song is probably Black Sheep Boy. It’s such a nice song, if it happened to come on at some point I wouldn’t turn it off, I would leave it on and enjoy it. That goes for a good few of the other songs too. The only part that I can’t get behind is Scott himself, his singing just really bothers me.

OMG! What a pretentious album - what the hell was he thinking in 1968 that anyone would want to listen to this? He should have stayed with his brother...

Well it’s at least better than the garbage that was Scott 4… but it’s still not remotely close to good. Definitely doesn’t need to be on this list.

I don’t really like the crooner sound. Reminds me of the sleazy parts of Vegas.

Very 60s sound, nothing remarkable

Ok

scott walker is dope. the walker brothers are dope. “jackie” is dope. i think i like scott 3 the most of the scotts tho. didn’t make the cut here apparently. love his voice.

I don’t know enough about the late 60s music scene to know if this was considered weird at the time, but given Scott Walker’s wholesale departure into extremely peculiar music in his later career it’s hard not to hear a touch of the bizarre through this, despite being ostensibly quite schmaltzy pop. Absurdist vaudeville crooning? Haunted baroque pop? Anyway I love it, but it’s definitely not something I can stomach all the time!

Quite good and mysterious Some I don't like though Great singing 3

5/10… chamber pop / *1968

Sounded quiet and nice

Was not a big fan of this one. The music style was not for me and neither were the slurs. I understand it’s a different time but…

Tää oli sellanen albumi, joka alko vahvasti, kunnes tajusin, että tää on samaa biisiä koko levy. Isoin fiilis oli, että tää oli työmiehen Frank Sinatra. Moni biisi olis ollu paljon parempi ilman lyriikoita tai laulua ylipäätään.

Tuli ihan puskista miten paljon tykkäsin tästä levystä! Tosi hieno orkestraatiota, hauskan veikeitä biisejä ja muutenkin mukava meininki levyn läpi. En jälleen kerran keskittyny kauheena lyriikkaan, mut esim. The Girls and the Dogs hyppäs esiin hieman muita erikoisempana tarinana :DD overall kuitenkin tykkäsin kovasti!

"Authentic queers and phony virgins" - avausraitana räväkkä käännöshitti. Aika suoraviivainen versiointi Jacques Brelin alkuperäisestä ranskankielisestä levytyksestä, mut tykkäsin vähän enemmän Scottin sovituksesta. Ylipäänsä levyllä upeat orkesterisovitukset ja herkullisen mahtipontista musikaalifiilistä. Pidin. Next!

Äh, tää oli jotenkin liian teatraalinen mun makuun ja liikaa kaikkea, vaikka lienee musiikillisesti aivan tasokasta. Aivan hirmu häiritsevä toi Plastic Palace Peoplen kilikello-efekti, olin just ulkosalla kävelemässä ja varma, että kohta vihainen pyöräilijä kiilaa mut ojaan.

Interesting. Content didn’t match the sound. I was fairly bored throughout.

What is he talking about. Why did he say that in “Next” Joking aside, I like the sounds of instruments, and his voice isn't the worst, but it’s also not the greatest I’ve heard. Another dude singing about sleeping with women I’m noticing. He’s a bit annoying, but there’s something slightly comforting about his music. I liked “Wait Until Dark” Alright so, originally this was a 2/5, for that line in “Next”, and then it was brought up to a 3/5, but then it was brought back down with “The Girls and The Dogs”. This dude had to have had a terrible breakup, god damn.

I don't have any interest in crooners. I don't even like Sinatra's music, so why would I like sleazy Temu.com Sinatra?

This is very British (derogatory)

This is halfway between pop music and broadway. I’m sure this appeals to a very specific British audience of a very short age range but I cannot fathom what they feel from it. It’s over performed, if you can say such a thing, and it’s over the top without being fun or crazy. He’s got a good voice anyway.

что ето за шляпа уолкер

Having only about 80 albums left until I finish, it's really hard for me to care that much about ones like this that really didn't stand out at all. This is the kind of album where if I got it much earlier on, I would probably have given it a 4/5 just on pure enjoyment. But I've heard it all man, and there are so many albums out there that sound just like this one. It's perfectly fine, on enjoyment alone I don't like this any less than I would have a couple of years ago, but I'm just so numb to this kind of music that I can't help but criticise it for being so unmemorable, even if it is still a good album other than that.

Hard to know how to rate this one. It seems like Walker had a wild and varied musical career, and I'd like to know how this album fits into his overall arc. Will I do a deep dive into his output? Mayyyyyyybe, but for now I have to evaluate this album on its own. Jacques Brel, some Sinatra, some strings, some 1968-edgelord talk in a pleasant baritone. Weird, but I like it.

A raunchy Tom Jones, crooning the bawdy ballads

Feels so grandiose. I love the big band sound and classic vocals.

Kinda like demented show tunes. Transgressive for the time period. Doesn't necessarily hold up.

intresting

the voice and music are great but the lyrics are batshit insane

My life is like a movie

Weird and cheesy. He has a nice voice, but the theatrics are a bit over-the-top for me.

Yeah, no. Jacques Brel covers are a red flag.

Seriously??? The worst.

Makes me appreciate Neil Diamond.

Počinje Jackie. Kontam da li je moguće da sam nekad negdje čula ovu pjesmu. Kad znam verziju Secret Chiefs 3. Nisam je čula godinama. Dobar podsjetnik. Veoma zabavna i energična pjesma, definitivno vrhunac albuma i u ovoj verziji. Inače zvuči kao da bi volio biti operni pjevač ili raditi filmske soundtracke ali nije tog kapaciteta pa je sebi našao alternativu. Alternativa dobija tri zvjezdice od mene, isključivo zbog Jackieeee.

The soviet band Kino but american

Really the thing of note here is Scott's voice like always, it's not the strongest collection of songs unlike the two records that came to follow this one, "Jackie" notwithstanding.

"Scott 2: The Return of Stiff". This album got old fast. Scott Walker is just another crooner who didn't make it as a solo act.

This is a profoundly weird album. The songs sound like a mix between lounge act and musical theater at times, the singer occasionally sounds like Neil Diamond, or maybe a cheesier, lamer older brother. The lyrics swing can at times sound like Weird Al, other times like a corny parody on Youtube. Overall, I didn't hate it...but I don't really like it either. It's fascinating and horrifying. I can't tell if the whole album is parodying something, or if this whole thing was sincere and to be taken at face value.

Musically, I quite enjoy the sweeping orchestral score but I don't like his proto-Richard Cheese voice! It find it bereft of emotion; he's performing these songs in every sense of the word! It's a shame as otherwise i'd have been on board with this

Not what I expected, old school crooning

This was a weird one! I wanted to enjoy it but some of the songs were definitely questionable.

If you've already had a few drinks and couldn't care less about listening to a really good impressionist sing a grand opera... in an empty hall. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Jackie - Black Sheep Boy

Oula la voix est tres unique. Tres distincte. Il articule vraiment bien. J'aime bien l'orchestre de la 2e chanson : best of both worlds. J'ai l'impression qu'il faut ecouter cette chanson dans un champs de blé. Bon en general c'est ok. Ca ne me touche pas particulierement. J'ai l'impression que c'est une selection des meilleures albums faite par 50 hommes blancs. Donc bon, je n'arrive pas a relate. Tres theatral. Ca fait tres comedie musical. Bon conclusion : j'aime pas trop. Comme le dit si bien le titre d'une de ces chansons : Next .

Je vais péter mon crâne c'est des reprises de Jacques Brel. C'est littéralement le même air et les paroles traduites en anglais. (pour 3 chansons). Donc en gros ça vaut 30% de Jacques Brel. Jacque Brel : 5/5 Scott 2/5. Après avoir fait ma recherche bibliographique je découvre que l'Jacquo aimait bien les reprises de Scott. Je remonte ma note. Scott 3/5. En plus ses compositions perso sont vraiment agréables et orginales. Crois en toi Scottie, t'iras loin ! Arrête de copier Jacques.

weird and bad but also weirdly good

nice voice!

I wanted to enjoy this. Truly. For, the instrumental arrangements are something I would typically enjoy. Walker hits his notes, but the problem is that the vocal melody feels completely disconnected from the instrumentals resulting in songs that feel disjointed. The lyrics range from weak to eye-rolling bad. Any Tom Jones, Matt Munro, or Neil Diamond album is better than this stuff. This whole schtick sounds like a terrible Saturday Night Live comedy skit.

No doubt it's a product of it's time, it sounded very dated listening to it today. I'll give it some credit as I don't think there has been another album on this list that sounds quite like this. It wasn't bad by any means. I was reading the wikipedia page about this album and it mentioned a Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) reference, and it suddenly dawned on me that he had basically copied this bloke's complete act. I did make it all the way through so it gets 2 stars!

Jackie's got great lyrics (I did not see "stupid-ass way" coming from a 1968 muzak album). 2.5.

The opening song "Jackie" is triumphant, glorious, illogical bliss. I want to ride across Spain on horseback with this man. "The Amorous Humphrey Plugg" deserves to have its own TV show. The other songs didn't quite live up to the glory of the first few. But I would still like to see a recut version of The Princess Bride with this album as the soundtrack.

75

The first track ("Jackie") kicked in and I thought this might actually be quite a fun album. The energy was really infectious and I enjoyed the orchestral sound. Unfortunately the album took a pretty major downturn after that. The vocals are consistently good but not really my thing, there's something about Scott's voice that grates with me. I didn't particularly like the musical theatre sound, at least not when it's one voice with zero variation throughout, and although the instrumental backing was good, the vocals were pretty constant. Reasonably interesting but not something I want to listen to more of.

I was initially unsure why this had such low reviews. The soaring strings and thrumming brass made me think otherwise. I was leaning towards a 3 until the overly misogynistic lyrics broke into my conscious. Really brash and harmful generalisations that only perpetuated the views we see today

meh

4/10 - It trailed off really fast. The “women are the problem” and “she is such a tease” genre of music is one of my least eras/genres. The best song was also a cover/adaptation which never helps the score.

Pretty standard crooning, nothing very special. 4/10

Scott has a good voice, but overall the album was fairly forgettable and did not leave much impact on me. He kinda sounded like Frank Sinatra at times. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Very… theatrical?

I don't even know how to describe this - I like it but I don't really understand why. It shouldn't appeal to me but it does?

We have Tom Jones at home

This was just kind of ok. Not really for me. Also, obligatory fuck Phil Spector. 1/5

Sounds completely dated, and a little creepy.

No. 432/1001 Jackie 3/5 Best Of Both Worlds 3/5 Black Sheep Boy 4/5 The Amorous Humphry Plugg 3/5 Next 3/5 The Girls From The Streets 3/5 Plastic Palace People 2/5 Wait Until Dark 3/5 The Girls And The Dogs 3/5 Windows Of The World 3/5 The Bridge 4/5 Come Next Spring 3/5 Average: 3,08 He has an impressive voice. Other than that I’m not the buiggest fan of the music he makes.

not my kind of music

I think my parents had this album. I think this is lame as hell and wonder why this is one I had to listen to.

this seems ahead of its time and its lyrics were very good

god i love cheesy 60's music

Pfff not a huge fan. Also Jackie is Brel's

Люблю голос Скотта. На этом альбоме меня больше всего цепляют меланхоличные баллады – исполнение на всех уровнях замечательное

There were some interesting ideas in here, like Plastic Palace People, but overall the tone was way too theatrical for me

4/10

Classic voice

God that first song was absolutely fucking awful. I found old Scott a lot more tolerable when everything was slowed down instead of him singing at a coked up spoken word pace. At best it was boring and inoffensive and at worst it was actively assaulting my ears.

One more vocal vibrato Scott I dare you

Achei o álbum meio monótono, realmente não é um álbum para mim.

Scott 2... more like, he's "Scott 2" realize just how lazy and uninspiring of an album name that is? For something so whimsical and over-the-top, "Scott 2" does nothing to help set the tone for the listener. I honestly enjoyed this -- neither loved nor hated it, it's something unique and different. Aggressively pompous, borderline experimental (the kind of stuff I signed up for this project to open my eyes and ears to) but I can't help but knock off off a star solely for the insultingly lazy album name.

Mid

Very different from most other albums on this list. It's of course a very theatrical style - something that wouldn't look out of place in a dark opera / musical. The first song reminded me of Sunset Boulevard's title track. It's not bad! I can't grade it under three stars. There's actual, idk, musicality in the arrangements; he's actually singing and singing well. Might not be something that I'll revisit but at least I'll be able to die having listened to it.

That was interesting. It was like listening to a less square Sinatra. 4 stars.

Scott Walker was born with the wrong last name, because dude was running while most other musicians in the 60s were walking.

Scott Walker is certainly a good singer. Although not by far compared to Jacques Brel; the comparison make sense since he covered several of his songs. If you like these kind of songs the album is quite nice. The songs are good, the singing is good. But still it lacks for me something, which makes it special. Scott Walkers singing is simply so "American-like", so many which sing in this fashion. That doesn't make him bad/worse but not great.

Nope, not for me, bye

Much like his debut, Scott's second album is a mix of pop standards, Jacques Brel translations, and Scott originals, but all three elements are sharper, showcasing how Scott was honing his craft even further. The sardonic Casanova Brel number "Jackie" opens the record with great aplomb, and later we get "Next"'s story of government-mandated de-flowering of army recruits. Of the originals, "Plastic Palace People" is the clear standout, with its surreal tale of Billy and haunting use of vocal effects. Not present on the album is another original, the uncanny Blue-Eyed Soul of "The Plague", released as the B-side to "Jackie". The standards are usually the least regarded part of Scott's output, but I do have a soft spot for "Best of Both Worlds". In the context of Scott being essentially a teen idol, it's should be nothing short of out there to hear him sing about stuff like prostitution or disease. Amazing album through and through, with pristine arrangements and impeccable performances. Key tracks: Jackie Best of Both Worlds The Amorous Humphrey Plugg Next The Girls from the Streets Plastic Palace People The Bridge

Yeah this isn't for me, I've gotten some real rough draws lately just really bad stuff.

Qué fue esto jaja Una especie de comedia musical hecha album. Todo muy actuado. Me pareció muy llamativo todo. Pero no me agradó tanto. 4/10

2/5

“why does this sound like a films score…oh he composed a lot of film scores.”

I think this music made me feel the way that Kori feels after he listens to country music

I was glad when this was done

This gave me stank face, but like bad stank face, as if someone just let a nasty fart rip right beside me. Except instead of a fart, its Scott Walker singing to me like he's in some sort of theatrical experience. Then he decided to get wierd with it in Plastic Palace People, and thats when I knew this album really stunk to high heaven. I would have given it a 1, but his voice isn't bad half the time, and the music is ok, just directionless, as is the rest of this album. Sometimes I really do think the author of this list needed to fluff the list up a bit cause he couldn't think of anything else, so he added a little bit of this and a little bit of that. So here we are listening to a little bit of that, which is Scott fuckin 2.

Anglicized French pop? Not my cup of café. I can barely appreciate it as an album from a mile away (or should I say kilometer). I hope Scott 3 is delayed as long as GTA VI (I've actually listened to Scott 4 and it's better, but mid). Nice voice. Nice instruments. Bad album. Maybe if I heard one song, by itself, I wouldn't dislike it as much. But together, it's just annoying. Won't be listening again! Also, I think Scott has a problem with women...

Surprisingly good. Reminded me a bit of Roger Whittaker. Fell off towards the end

Very melodramatic. Funny in parts too which im not sure was the intention. The magical plastic palace people leaps off the page here but there is a lot to digest

Fantastiskt album! Aldrig lyssnat igenom ett av hans album. Wow! Älskar Plastic palace people!

Hello gang (Hugo och kanske Oscar). Det här var inte mitt favoritalbum. Det var väl trevligt liksom, men inte riktigt min stil. Det var aldrig särskilt bra i min mening. Jag kan förstå charmen med albumet men behöver i allmänhet mer rytm, melodier och bättre sång för att det ska charma mig. Samtidigt är det långt ifrån det värsta jag vet. Jag ger det 6/10!

Hej alla följare till denna dagliga* recension. Dagens album var Scott 2 av Scott Walker. Jag förväntade mig inte hur storslaget detta album skulle vara, med orkester och allt. Det som imponerar är alla spår av senare artister man hör i musiken, det finns tydliga kopplingar till David Bowie. Något annat som jag ändå uppskattar med albumet är låttexterna, dem pratar om förvånansvärt svåra ämnen, som prostitution, missbruk, isolation oh existentiell ångest. Tyvärr är detta inget album som fastnar särskilt hårt hos mig, som sagt känns det som att mycket av musikvärlden har inspireras av detta album, och enligt mig har dessa också gjort ett bättre försök på den här stilen. Min favorit låtar är nog Windows of the world och The bridge. Jag ger ändå detta album en 6.5/10!

2.1 2x early part sounds like Sinatra imitation (maybe a cover?), but I didn't really like it.

Sounds kind of timeless to me. I wouldn't know if this was something new or classic by the time it came out, but it sounds nice and he has a good voice.

This stressed me out. Might be irrational but I strongly disliked this.