Album Of The Day

Well now I know who Nick Cave’s muse was.

Not good

It's a bit samey but I'm a sucker for that shit

After two albums from him on this list, I've heard all I ever want to hear from him. Just don't understand the appeal. The Jacques Briel songs are kind of interesting (the man had a thing for asses apparently). But Walker's voice is so off-putting to me, so ridiculously over the top, that it triggers a negative visceral reaction in me. There are a couple of more subdued, folky songs--the cover of the Tim Hardin song is good--but this one is tanked by his voice and show-offy croonerisms.

This guy's story confuses me. Apparently he went from teen pop idol to avant garde artist, fair enough, but this is only his second album, so this was him as the teenybopper sensation? The kids were listening to The Amorous Humphrey Plugg in 1968? Kind of badass actually. Anyway, enjoyed this more than Scott 4, maybe just because I knew what to expect and in a better mood. Lyrics are weird and fun to read, Jacques Brel was a bit of a freak. But overall still feels more like an artifact than something with continued relevance to me.

If Scott 2 has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Scott 2 has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Scott 2 has only one fan then that is me. If Scott 2 has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Scott 2, then I am against the world.

what a miserable experience

Weird, cool to know that this was just one guy, but I won't be going back.

Collection of B side songs sung by a singer who wanted to be Engelbert Humperdinck when he grew up. Are we being pranked by the curator of 1001 Albums ? 1.7/10

This guy is a fucking freak…but at least his album name already suggests the number of stars this one deserves, makes it easy. I’m also 100% convinced that Nick Cave idolizes this man.

Borderline 2

This one jumps right into your face, and then glides you along a pretty fun bombastic journey for those fans of the crooner genre. It feels almost like a caricature, but hell, I had enough fun listening to it.

Think Tom Jones or a more real, slightly raunchy Neil Diamond. It’s part lounge, part vocal jazz, part crooner. The thing that makes it interesting is that there are no punches pulled for 1968. I’m actually surprised he got away with some of the things he said. Nothing crazy of course, but certainly more mature than you would expect to hear.

This is a joke, right? There's no way 2 albums by this wanna-be Vegas lounge act could be essential listening.

This was something I’d never heard of before and I was totally into it! It’s like a ‘real’ singer going strange.

Trying to figure out why Scott 2 and 4 are here. Like, why those two? What about Scott or Scott 3? A lot to think about...

This is the weirdest album I'm giving 3 stars to

Scott Walker had one (and only one) song that I ever liked. It is not on this album.

Dude's got 2 albums on this list! The cover of Black Sheep Boy is good.

There were some songs I really loved from this album, but I know this isn’t an album I’d fully revisit. I know there are songs I’d listen to again, but when I really thought of it, I couldn’t justify the album enough personally for me to listen through it again. But still, great fun! Opening with “Jackie” took me by surprise while doing the dishes lol.

This isn't music

Nah

music is love

Music for theatre kids who have listened to Pulp.

Scott Walker is the fucking man, man.

A little insensitive, a little pervy. Feels like a social time capsule from a Tom Jones knock-off. Gorgeous music section backing an odd choice of songs. Now, how does this dude have two albums on the list but no Mel Torme, Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Bobby Darin, formerly mentioned Tom Jones, or even Tony Bennett? Full of holes, blind spots, and excessive entries by singled out artists, this list is quite painful at times. One star out of protest.

In several places this sounds like Neil Diamond and Frank Sinatra had a baby. Different for sure, but I won’t revisit this…

I’m all for dramatic, theatrical and over the top, but this was simply hilarious. Which I imagine was not the intent. I couldn’t get the image out of my head of Ron Burgundy sitting behind board in the studio control room nodding his head back n forth with approval. Perhaps Scott should’ve stopped at 1.

It sounded like not-as-good Neil Diamond to me. Also, you know when you’re walking around your house and just singing random stuff rather than talking and it annoys your wife and kids. It also kind of sound like that. A most solid 2.0

Not my style and way over the top…but I kinda liked it. Enough for a low 3 rating. 2.75/5

Bam bam bam bam (mmm chromatic [kinda])

No thanks

Vet inte riktigt vad jag tycker om detta. Storband/orkester och baryton, men på det stora hela ganska platt och tråkigt.

This was kind of weird. Didn't care for it, but definitely something I've never encountered.

not my vibe

Here’s the thing I understand this is musically mids. But I think that’s the point. Basically I don’t see this as an album I see it as a Steve Martin sad romantic comedy sound track. And with that lens I think it’s perfect. I found myself chuckling at the lyrics several times. Had no idea who this guy was and I’m glad I do now. And I’ve noticed three stars for me goes either way, if I like something I didn’t think I would then it’s three stars. If I disliked something I thought I’d be more into it’s three stars

Disney music. Great voice and not terrible that’s it.

Turn it off!!!! No offense.

This was so bad it made me upset

This does not belong on this list imo. Nice enough songs i guess but very boring.

Enjoyed

lounge - see "My second album" from STP's purple

I've been on a bit of a roll with a bunch of really great albums the last few days. Having done this for awhile now, I knew it couldn't last, and today it came crashing down. I had never heard of Scott Walker, so I had no idea what to expect. This album was a mix of what sounded like really bad showtunes combined with a really bad take of Sinatra crooner songs with a really bad take of a Neil Diamond song thrown in. As soon as the first song came on, I knew this wasn't going to be my thing, which is fine - not every album will be. But I'm struggling to find any reason why this album is one I have to listen to before I die. I thought maybe I wasn't hearing the lyrics well enough and that there was something there, so I even turned on the lyrics option on Spotify and watched some of them. That actually made it worse. Some of the most random and bizarre lyrics ever. On top of it all, only a couple of the songs were originals - the rest were covers. Really, really weird covers. I feel like that alone should disqualify an album from being on this list. If I had to find something positive to say, it would be that the guy's voice is pretty good. But that's 43 minutes of my life I'll never get back. P.S. In reading other reviews, this is one of two albums by Scott Walker on this list. So I have another one to look forward to at some point.

Eww no.

didnt hate this but dont know what mood i'd be in to ever listen to it again. Wonder if Geordie Greep or the Foxygen folks like this guy a lot

Straight Bowie? I guess?

Average.

That was really awful.

So fabulously epic. So fabulously odd. Songs that sound every bit the lost soundtrack to a 60s film about subjects like the singers first case of gonorrhoea. It’s brilliant. You must listen.

Smörigt och störigt, vissa av låtarna låter som avfärdade bondlåtar

En egen känsla, men inte särskilt bra för det.

Bra röst!

Om inte annat en väldigt pampig inledning.

It grew on me. Very avante-garde

Klingt an sich gut, aber hooked mich nicht so

Interresant. Avansert smørsang.

I just can't listen to this. Made it to the 4th song.

i enjoyed the first half of the album but it dropped off for me at the end there 2.5

Звучит красиво как по музыке, так и по вокалу, но на этом всё. Не вызывает никаких эмоций. Даже каких-то треков выделить не могу.

Ну неплохо. Музыкально скучно, но весёлый текст и приятное звучание подкупает. Топ-1 хита не определил для себя. Топ-2 - Next

Old style crooning with sometimes odd lyrics through a wall of sound filter. No Thanks

Weird and sometimes wrong...but something about this is very intriguing.

I don't think I was picking up what this was putting down. Enjoyable enough to listen to (his voice is fine and I appreciate how orchestral it is), but I was confused the whole time. Maybe I'd try again another day but probably not on purpose.

Strange stuff. Full orchestra but crazy lyrics on most tracks. Lyrics are my favorite, not too much a fan of the melodies.

lush but fuckin weird

The Good: Sophomore album! The Bad: Figuring out that Scott 2, refers to him also singing songs… The Ugly: Album name = artist name… It wasn’t till the third listen that I read the wiki page… at which point the proverbial penny dropped. I had had this feeling that Scott was trying to emulate Jacques on this album… to find that it is Scott singing part of Jacques oeuvre. For me, listening to this album was lovely… yet, somehow, I was not able to brush the feeling that this album is the soundtrack that a psycho killer uses while heading out finding prey… So, consider me out hunting… 5*

Beautiful Orchestration

This was not a great album; forgettable for the most part. The stand out track is the first track Jackie; this track is from a French singer, with whom later Scott would cover more songs of his. What's more interesting is Scott Walker and his unique lyrics and songs, especially after he came back in the 80s and 90s. I won't delve into that here but it makes you wonder at what point he decided to take that somewhat darker turn in his lyrics. That is more worth investigating either ahead of or in lieu of this album.

Some of the grandiose love songs were great but others are flops

This album was so bizarre, with the most antiquated, racist, homophobic and misogynistic lyrics I’ve come across.

This was so difficult to listen to. I bet he was so annoying in middle school. I guess adult theater kids were the same in the 60s as they are now.

Jackie is amazing. I can’t think of another song that hits the same spot for me. I love this. Scott Walker is so fun. 4.5/5

This was definitely interesting, I loved "Come Next Spring", but it was not enough to make it to the replay list

I actually reviewed Scott Walker 4 before I reviewed this one. I gave that a favorable four star review because I thought it was a fine example of the baroque genre. However, the songs on this album are just corny or bad. Two stars only

too sweeping and dramatic but i think that’s more personal taste than anything

Pure schmaltz. The only thing innovative about this is that people don’t realize this is just like everything else like this. He was right: the sun ain’t going to shine anymore.

This album grated on me a lot. It was a mix of orchestral rock/pop and the vocals were just in a style I really can’t abide. It might have been a good album but it riled me up too much to enjoy it and I really found it all samey- just not a fan, sorry Scott.

Scott 2, like his 4th album, was certainly interesting. It had a pretty decent mix of covers and some originals (though the covers did take center stage). The music here honestly feels like a mix of Frank Sinatra and Leonard Cohen in a lot of ways being the former in music and the latter in vocals. I will still say that the music is as solid as ever being a slightly less jazzy Frank Sinatra like i stated. I will still say that the lyrics are absolutely insane here especially in the song Next. And the funny thing is, it is partly Walker's fault and the fault of some of the other writers because a lot of the songs were written by very different people. Nevertheless, it's still a solid album but i definitely prefer Scott 4. Best Song: Come Next Spring Worst Song: Next

6/10 No es malo pero meh, no me convencio en ningún momento pero tampoco me disgusto

Not much to say, I dont like his style and his voice and how he sings. Its not for me. All the songs sounds the exact same.

Scott Walker possessed one of the most distinctive and resonant baritone voices in 1960s popular music - it really was quite wonderful. Building on the template established by his debut, "Scott" (1967), "Scott 2" blends lavish orchestral pop arrangements with dark, literary lyrical themes, combining his own original compositions with interpretations of songs by Jacques Brel, Tim Hardin, and Burt Bacharach. The album captures the beginning of his major artistic transition, balancing the commercial demands of late-1960s light entertainment with an increasingly idiosyncratic vision. The real standouts lie in Walker's self-penned material - such as 'Plastic Palace People', 'The Amorous Humphrey Plugg', and 'The Girls from the Streets' - alongside his committed, theatrical interpretations of Brel. Looking at contemporary ratings for this album, it often receives surprisingly low scores, which feels like a miss. Because these big-budget string arrangements and grand crooning were the dominant sound of 1960s radio and television, it is easy on a first listen to write the record off as merely old-fashioned or conventional. However, the true brilliance of "Scott 2" lies in the jarring contrast between those polished, sweeping orchestrations and the dark, sordid lyrical themes underneath. The strings fit the traditional pop aesthetic of the era, but Walker's lyrics subvert it entirely, smuggling themes of obsession, isolation, and vice into mainstream pop packaging. That subversive edge echoed across generations - you can hear Walker's DNA in the music of David Bowie, Thom Yorke, Alex Turner, and most prominently in the work of Nick Cave and Jarvis Cocker. While I personally have a slight preference for his debut and would highly recommend his standalone "Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel" compilation as an essential companion - "Scott 2" remains a compelling, highly effective record. Four stars. Side one 1 "Jackie" (5/5) 2 "Best of Both Worlds" (3/5) 3 "Black Sheep Boy" (4/5) 4 "The Amorous Humphrey Plugg" (5/5) 5 "Next" (5/5) 6 "The Girls from the Streets" (5/5) Side two 1 "Plastic Palace People" (5/5) 2 "Wait Until Dark" (4/5) 3 "The Girls and the Dogs" (4/5) 4 "Windows of the World" (4/5) 5 "The Bridge" (4/5) 6 "Come Next Spring" (3/5) Total - 51 Average - 4.3 390/1001 206/390 albums reviewed were new to me.

This was a weird one. Almost like something from broadway? Funny, surprising lyrics for the time

Enjoyed. Nothing amazing, but would like to hear again.

Unbearable shit

Got a bit distracted while this was on. Didn't much care. It's a Scott '2' right enough.

Scott 2 and Scott 4 made the list - I don't want to think about how bad Scott and Scott 3 must be.

I qas going to make a joke about "Haven't listened to Scott 1 so I don't get it" but that was actually the album before and the album after is Scott 3, so it's too real

Every song sounds like a James Bond theme song reject. I love the weirdness. Over the top enunciation. Could be turned into a musical? Of course he covered Jacques Brel.

4/10

My thoughts for Scott 2 are similar to Scott 4...great vocalist, but not an album I would likely listen to again.

Nah, this was catchy at times but I struggled to stay interested.

Show performer vibes, like a Neil Diamond or William Shatner. The music is theatrical, folksy, dramatic and resonating. The vocals are deep and harmonic. All of it pairs very nicely together. This genre isn't something I usually listen to, but it has its place in music.

Artsy, haunting, and really strange throughout.

Holy melodramatic! You know, Jacques Brel was a tough listen, but at least it was in French. Here, we unfortunately have to comprehend as well. Damn this guy's vibrato sucks. Lame album title, by the way. You're no Zeppelin. Lame album cover, by the way. You're no Elvis.

How is this rated only 2.63 stars?! Scott 2 is a beautiful album and anyone who doesn’t like it on the first listen should listen to it over and over again until they appreciate the true beauty of Scott Walker.

The classic troubadour album. I love it

This is kinda like a lounge singer vibe. Big band behind him.

This started off at a 2, but then when 'Next' came on it really got grating. I had to grit my teeth through the rest of it. This is absolute shite

Tror kanskje ikke barokkpop er helt min greie. Denne er i hvertfall mye mer interessant enn The Devine Comedy.

Litt for intetsigende. De fleste låtene er sterke nok, men lite minneverdige. Og tekstene er stort sett narsissistiske.

This wasn't the worst, but the lyrics were awful.

This album is fairly boring. I don't know why I had to listen to this.

I guess he has a decent voice. Was there a time when stuff like this sounded fresh and new? I suppose there was. But it’s not now.

I want to like Scott Walker more than I actually do. Some songs are decent on Scott 4 but this didn’t work for me.

Holy cow. Those lyrics.

Boggles the mind why this is a must hear album

I'd rather listen to Barry Manilow.

i miss jacques brel

Uhhhh... What?

Strange theatrical , but not bad , deep voice avant garde style

Irritatingly pompous and unnecessarily grand. Walker uses every trick in the book to elicit SOME emotion in his listener, but all he mamages to elicit in me is… a 43 minute long expression of cringe.

Not the best out of the scott trilogy, but there is not a Bad one Either

this was a weird one. very dramatic.

When Monty Python used to dress up like old British ladies? This is the music those birds would listen to.

Не знаю хто це. Послухаємо) Ну таке) На трієчку)

His voice, tone and words strangely irritate me.

PRE-LISTENING: Never heard of this, or him. When I first saw the artist, I thought "The guy from Fast & Furious?" Having read the description, I'm chalking this one up to "You Must Hear This Before You Die Because Rob Dimery is British." LISTENING: First song ("Jackie"): LOL, what? This is ridiculous. I definitely did not need to hear this before I die. Two songs in, the only question is between 1 or 2 stars... Four songs in, it's 1 star. Absolutely. Song 5 ("Next"): Seriously. WTF. This is dreadful. I may need to go back and listen to some of my other 1-star albums to verify, but this may be my LEAST-favorite album so far. Kudos to Walker for not actually WRITING any of this drek, I suppose? Reading the other 1-star reviews on this site is pretty entertaining. Highly recommend.

This is like the shit your nan puts on when you visit except "WOAH, HE CUSS TOO????"

All the cool gen z British indie bands heard this (and all his stuff) and are trying their best to reheat Scott's nachos

3. Fine if this is your thing

This was just weird. It felt like off-brand, less talented Neil Diamond lol. I did not enjoy this. It wasn't unlistenable, but it definitely wasn't good. His voice was too operatic. Actual rating...1.5 Liked Songs: "Jackie" , "The Amorous Humphrey Plugg" , "Wait Until Dark" , "Come Next Spring"

Broadway style but with enough Jacques Brel to make it interesting.

Great vocalist and love the cinematic vibe. Sounds like I was listening to a Broadway musical. Not something I’d reach for though.

trilha sonora de filme hehehe

Huh. Interesting sound, like folks but with more mindful/creative lyrics

This is like a bad movie soundtrack.

Ось з кого Алекс Тьорнер понарізав фішечок) Хороший альбом. Вокал у Скотта, звичайно, дуже гарний, голос розкішний. Є естрадний пафос типовий, тут і поп-каверів вистачає, але Уокеру вдається додати якийсь неочікуваний для мене, трохи тривожний настрій.

Скотт Уокер це унікальний музикант, бо мало в кого у творчості можна почути таку неймовірну дистанцію між раннім та пізнім матеріалом. Але навіть у ранньому, навіть у цьому альбомі каверів періодично є щось таке ледве вловиме, певний НЕРВ чи якась така некомфортна атмосфера - щось, що вказує на той авангардний матеріал, який Скотт почне робити пізніше.

wowwwww, he sounds a little like bowie, or maybe bowie sounds like him, this is a masterpiece, i always feel like i live way way back listening to his music.

Cute cute in a stupid ass way. Pretty much sums it up. The lyrics are interesting. The delivery style wears thin.

Sounds like Broadway. Shouldn't be on this list!

I always seen to get something out of Billy gibbons playing

This sounds like a soundtrack for a bad musical. Or maybe a bad copy of a Bond film. Too much orchestration and too theatrical for me.

I'll say it again - a man so influential that he's convinced many of us to never listen to one of his albums ever again. What a talent. 2/5

I don't like musical theatre because the people I've met who do all suck, but I'm really having a lot of fun with this lil pervert

Kinda freaky

meh

what a cool guy

This album is, in a word, bombastic. From the moment the needle drops, I found myself swept up in a lush, cinematic wall of sound that feels like a cross between a lost 1960s James Bond soundtrack and an overly dramatic Las Vegas floor show. Walker has an incredible voice, but it’s honestly wild how he pairs these lush orchestral arrangements with such bizarre lyrics. He’s singing about everything from sailors and STDs to weird loners, all delivered with the straight face of a classic crooner. It’s this strange, slightly uncomfortable mix of high-end pop and totally sleazy storytelling. I get why people either love or hate this. Sometimes the theatricality and the dated lyrics make it feel like cheesy musical theater, but you have to respect how bold and weird he’s being.

Loved the instrumentation on this, felt like listening to a movie soundtrack. However, the grAaAaAaAaAnd vocals got a bit annoying after a while. Some songs were pretty misogynistic, too. Favorite Track: Jackie

First listen

A little avant garde and fun, but not for me.

Een Engelstalige poging tot wat we in Nederland het 'luisterlied' noemen, dus de nadruk op de tekst, de uitvoering en begeleiding zijn daaraan dienend. In het Nederlands iets wat ik erg goed kan hebben, van Herman van Veen tot (bijvoorbeeld) Martine Bijl. Maar bij Scott is het allemaal teveel over de top, van dik hout zaagt men planken bij Scott thuis. Alles is ontzettend gedragen en opgezwollen, hoor mij eens verantwoord en diep bezig zijn. Dan vind ook ik er niet veel aan. Een paar covers van Brel (Jacky, Les filles et les chiens) helpen dan ook niet meer, al geven die de zaak tenminste nog wat pit. Next (Au suivant) hoorden we eerder bij Alex Harvey en zijn sensationele band en die versie vond ik een stuk leuker en krachtiger. En waarom zou je niet gewoon het origineel luisteren, trouwens. Op den duur wordt het met al het gegalm en alle strijkers een soort liftmuziek. En er komt nog een Scott-plaat aan, met alleen maar eigen nummers en geen Brel. Daar verwacht ik ook niet veel van.

Ik denk bij het eerste nummer direct aan Boudewijn de Groot, maar het internet corrigeert me al snel. Ik moet Jacques Brel voelen. En eerlijk gezegd, ook die ligt er dik bovenop. Ondanks de taal, is er een licht-Franse uitspraak en de articulatie is ook gebaseerd op Jacques. Waarom dan Boudewijn als eerste associatie? Dat zit deels in de manier waarop de zinnen klinken, maar misschien wel meer in de speelse muziek. Dit was het hitje, lees ik. Ach, het is ook wel een interessant plaatje. De meeste nummers hierna zijn gewoon saai. Meneer lijkt ook wel fan van Sinatra. Ertussen door vallen de nummers Next en The girls and the dogs weer erg op. Weer erg speels en interessant. En weer nadrukkelijk gebaseerd op Brel. Tja, wat vind ik daar nu van? Drie nummers die an sich een toevoeging zijn aan de muziek, maar die alle drie een erg stevige basis hebben bij dezelfde andere artiest. Nou ja, laat ik daar maar niet te moeilijk over doen.

Wat is er met zure broeder Eric gebeurd? Dit heeft alles voor een keiharde 1 ster. Gedateerde 60s muziek, ellenlange lettergrepen: "the best of bohohohohohohoth wohohohohohorlds!". En hij geeft het 3 sterren? Wij willen onze eigen zure Eric terug! Dan kraak ik het wel in zijn plaats af. Dit is een soort Neil Diamond die Jacques Brel zingt. Dan krijg je deze Scott Walker. Ik vind het iets enorm potsierlijks hebben en kan het moeilijk serieus nemen, laat staan als een eerbetoon zien aan Sjaak Brel. We krijgen blijkbaar nog een album van deze halfgare kroket. Laat ik dit alvast na 3 nummers afzetten en op de 1 ster klikken.

Meh

This has an absolutely stellar start with Jackie and then it’s all downhill from there I’m afraid. For all his pretensions his style and interpretation of the material just isn’t that good. Alex Harvey’s version of Next is so much better. It was worse on the second listen, I was getting really irritated by the end. Can see where the likes of Richard Hawley get their inspiration from. Probably more tolerable in small doses 2.5

uma das piores coisas que já ouvi na vida

I don't know what this album was trying to be, and I'm not sure the folks who created it did either. Adding a star for those lush, old Hollywood/musical theatre-style orchestrations, but I would call this style over substance, and somehow not convincing.

Is this our first easy listening selection? A lot of these songs sound like show tunes, or maybe a Vegas casino stage. Jacques Brel lyrics are very strange. Very, very strange, and very (male) '60s. Not really a genre for me, or an album I will ever revisit. But this was definitely an interesting experience. It was so incongruous, the dramatic vocals and orchestration contrasted with lyrics about girls, ass, piss, being naked in a towel, polka dot underwear, and STIs.

A second one of his but no Zevon?

Not too shabby, quite funny, if not a little misogynistic. 3/5 Top tracks: the girls and the dogs

Stupid, brilliant.

Pleasant listen until it wasn’t. Scott Walker isn’t someone I want to listen to in large doses but a song or two is kind of nice.

2/5

An edgy Tom Jones. A hell of a vibe.

Felt like most of these songs could be a title track for a James Bond movie. But like, a 60s bond movie where he’ll say a slur and then harass a woman

This was NOT what I was expecting. When I saw the album my first thoughts were who the hell is this Scott bozo and who names an album Scott 2? But the the orchestral hit of the first song hit and I was very intrigued. As much as I enjoyed the first couple songs, the longer the album when on the more bored I got with it. First few songs, 4. Album as a whole, 2.

wish I knew french and could get into chansons

3 out of 5. First time learning and listening to Scott Walker. Didn't think it'd be so bombastic and sometimes close to a Bond theme from the 60's.

..

Шокобарокко поп

Meh

Ha, I mean, wtf is this? I dont like it much but my eyebrows do raise from time to time. Scott is going for it and theres some weird shit on this. I also have no idea what occasion this is for? When does someone now or in 68 throwing this on? Gotta be some drugs around. And probably an ascot or 2. I'll never listen to this again but im kind of glad it exists. Next and the song about girls and dogs for the win, lol

Complete ass

Weird shit

Meh, no está mal

Yeah, nope. Very poppy 60's music with orchestra.

Scott Walker has some lyrics that don't age well but Black Sheep Booy is one of my favorite songs of all time. Great composer and voice.

Full disclosure, Jackie - the opening song on this album - is one of my most played tracks of all time in my collection. It’s a glorious gallop of a Jacques Brel song, racing through a dazzling sequence of images and ideas (including some quite risque ones!) sung with tremendous gusto by Mr Scott Walker. The rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to the opener, but it’s still an enormously enjoyable experience. The orchestration can sometimes be a little bit chocolate boxy - Best of Both Worlds sounds like it could have been a Bond theme (albeit for a louche George Lazenby rather than Sean Connery). There are flirtations with country sounds and a couple more Jacques Brel songs as well as original numbers written under Walker’s real name of Scott Engel. Perfect for listening to in your opium den! Stupid-ass-tastic!

I don't think this is required listening. If this is your thing tho, you would get your money's worth. I don't trust this guy. These lyrics seem problematic. In a world of singing contest shows, this guy doesn't sound that unique and doesn't have "it".

Very nice album; wasn’t aware his music genre was labeled baroque pop. Liked his mix.

Meh

Not my thing at all

It was fine

What a weird selection process that got this album in the book but not Scott 1 or 3. I've come to really love Scott Walker's baroque pop albums as I've matured, but I have to admit that this one is missing some sauce that 1, 3, and 4 have. "Next" having that random homophobic jab also doesn't help, although I can't say it's period-inaccurate, and honestly Jacques Brel probably said worse. That said, it does still have some classics of Scott's baroque period, like Jackie, Plastic Palace People, and Windows of the World.

Very good singing but not my thing

The orchestral backing serves his singing voice really well! The compositions are a little hit or miss for me, though when they're good they're a lot of fun; very grandiose yet whimsical. Standouts: Jackie • Next • The Girls and the Dogs • Windows of the World

A solid enough album by Scott Walker, but I have to say I really like his own compositions more. I'm not too into this cabaret-style of music.

Interesting album. It is like a pop singer and a crooner fell in love.

The evolution of Scott Walker as a musician is fun to read through. His early stuff like Scott 2 has a few good songs (Jackie, Next, The Girls and the Dogs, and The Bridge) and the rest of it is depends on your tolerance on baritone pop singers that can hold a note like they're from the 50s. Kind of waning in the last ten minutes but nevertheless the record is ok. Probably should have put some of his darker avant-garde career revamp music on the list just to counterpoint this era of his work.

This drama is dramatically dramatic

Walker's voice has an interesting timbre to it but man oh man is this music over the top. The Jacques Brel influence is strong here as Walker throws himself theatrically into every song. If he had only dialed it back to the world of recognizable emotions, this would have been a much stronger album.

This is not what I was expecting! Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom" is weird in a recognizable way, but this album is weird in a way I don't normally experience. I did some computer work while I listened but still lyrics about "butt slaps" (more than once!) and "polka dot panties" found their way through. Not my cup of tea, but I can see why it might make a list like this.

utter bollocks

Interessant kollektion af show tunes, andre covers og et par enkelte originale numre. Har ikke fået hørt albummet så meget som jeg gerne ville. Ved ikke om det bare lige ikke har været det mood jeg har haft brug for at høre. Jeg håber at kunne vende tilbage til dette album og give det en ordentlig vurdering. For nu må den dog ligge her, da den ikke lige har fanget mig.

Zuhause, Gerstetten, Heidenheim. Tolle Platte!

great voice starts strong but then wet fart prob giving this a 2

I want to like Scottie but something about this annoyed me

Sounds like my parents music. And not the good stuff.

I just listened to this again 4 days ago, all time classic, Jackie is my jam.

I’d give it a solid 3.5. Not as good as the album with Sunn though.

What do ya know, the rating is right there in the album title. This is definitely not my kind of 60s music. I was expecting standard baroque pop, but instead, he seems obsessed with singing about asses, and then he casually mentions gonorrhea?? His actual singing style kind of reminds me of Tom Jones with that big, dramatic, theatrical baritone voice. But the music itself is just way too over-the-top, orchestral, and creepy for me. It feels like the soundtrack to a weird, dark lounge act or a deeply unsettling movie musical rather than an album I would actually want to sit down and listen to.

An unusual album where most songs are arranged like Bond themes with bizarre lyrics. Very dramatic sounding and surprisingly easy to listen to, but I’m not sure I’d pick this as an album people must hear before they die.

3.5, kinda fun

This is a complicated album to grade. His vocal style, lyrics and instrumentation was all heavily influential on people like David Bowie. His way of matching almost classical-esque style of music has been done better, the likes of Raye and Rosalia most recently. I find it hard to completely remove his influence from my grade. That being said, I generally don't look into the singer when I listen to these albums, this, however, was an exception. In the track "Next" Walker uses "Fag" as a slur twice. Up until his death, Walker advocated against gay marriage. If I should account for his influence and legacy regarding his music, then why not his advocacy against my own rights, which itself is baked into his music? That aside, Plastic People Palace is an assault on my ears. It's not good, id rather every hair on my head be ripped from my scalp then listen to it again. I can't understand how he even wrote something so bad and then thought that it was alright to put that out into the world. While it was influential and should be remembered as such, I cannot find a good reason as to why I need to listen to this before I die. Undoubtedly, there is an album somewhere that should be on this list instead of this album. 2/10

Back at album number 183 I listened to Scott 4 and was totally charmed by it. At this point (#353) I have no recollection of it other than that, so I was looking forward to jumping in today. Unfortunately I think I've become a bit more jaded as I've gone through this project. Those initial surprises that got me through earlier records now have me listen to a few more songs to make sure that I'm truly enjoying it rather than liking the novelty. With that in mind, today's listen was nowhere near as fun as the previous one. I don't think the album is particularly "worse" but I think I'm just more discerning. I had a few moments where I laughed at a turn of the phrase, but I also became tired of the style early on. Preferred songs were Jackie and Black Sheep Boy.

Er taucht hier tief in barocke Schwermut ein, aber oft wirkt es eher wie ein überladenes Kammerdrama als ein überzeugendes Album. Die opulenten Arrangements drücken die Songs nieder, statt sie zu tragen, und seine dramatische Stimme verliert sich zu häufig im Pathos.

The most I can really say about this is it is inoffensive. I don’t mind crooners; while I don’t often listen to them they can be great to listen to at times. That being said Scott just didn’t quite seem to land. His voice is very good, but the songs themselves didn’t really hold my interest. I don’t see a reason to listen to him over someone like Bing Crosby or Bobby Darin. The production value is better than those so there is that.

Like the poser I am, I only have Scott 4. This is good, some great songs but some mid ones too. 3.5 rounded up Heard before? Some Owned: Yes 76/305 (25%) Will I get: Maybe

Finally, the sequel to Scott. I've always wanted this. This album's okay. I actually really enjoyed the other Scott Walker album of the list, Scott 4, when I heard it earlier this year. It had some great songwriting and a cool atmosphere. Scott 2? Eh. It's not as much of my thing. This album has less original songwriting and more of an operatic sound to it. The songs aren't quite as exciting to me as the ones on Scott 4, although I did enjoy the opener "Jackie" a good deal. The songwriting is less original, but most of it is still solid on account of the fact that it does come from people like Jacques Brel, who are also decently talented. In fact, this album is actually pretty similar to the Jacques Brel album that I also heard earlier this year in terms of how the album sounds. That's kinda neat, I guess. I definitely liked Scott 4's sound more though. Of course, Scott's singing is just as good as it is on that later album, but that's really the only thing that I find to be on par with Scott 4 on this album. The album at large is just not really my thing. It's not bad at all, but this sort of music doesn't do it for me like the other album did. 3/5.

Nice album

Wow check it out the album name already rated it for me! Only reason this isn't a 1 is because Scott's voice is really nice. Way too many slurs in these lyrics.

Lounge act.

kinda boring

****A beautiful, easy listening album. Awesome vocals.

Good lord that was terrible. Not sure why it was so bad, it wasn't much different than any of the random artists I've never heard of when flipping through records at a thrift store.. maybe the lack of any decent rhythm section?

Holy crap. All of this is incredibly bad.

Again another album of its time and somewhat nostalgic. But I listened to it once all the way through and forgot I did so. Jackie was fine

I haven’t heard this before. Walker has a good voice and the arrangements he’s singing to are complex and interesting, but this all boils down to dull crooning that doesn’t move me in the end. This is good in theory, maybe it’s the melodies that are boring or I just can’t get into mid to late 60s crooning.

This wasn’t it. Walker had a remarkable voice and the album has a couple of intriguing songs, but all of them are Jacques Brel covers

Yeah bit croony for me all this big band business, thought it was all a bit pedestrian until i clocked the lyrics in Next..... Actually after that there are a few other tracks where the dark / troubled (almost psychedelic on occasion) lyrics completely mismatch the music. I'd have breezed through giving this a 2 if i'd not noticed but actually this probably deserves a 4. My advice is to get Dre in next time and sort out the tunes because lyrically this is <chefs kiss>

Really liked this, especially Jackie but the whole thing had such out there, ballroom at the end of the universe energy which I loved. Can really see in the lyrics and delivery how Scott influenced a lot of the windmill bands, really cool, great album

parts were fun but I wouldn't listen again

What just happened. Well not my thing, I’m not a huge fan of theater in general, so not the target audience. That said, it’s interesting to hear unique stuff on here. Low 3 for interesting.

Ok, a lot of these songs are a bit same-y, and he massively overuses the vibrato, but there are some pretty solid tunes here, and The Amorous Humphrey Plug is an all-timer. Not great, there are too many indistinguishable songs for that, but it’s pretty good.

I feel like "It insists upon itself" adequately describes this album. Man. I'm happy to be past this one.

Not my style

Meh

Estoy cansado jefe

Great band......it's out there for sure

Confused by the low ratings here, do people just not like albums with personality? Like this is a big band style record with a twisted frontman, don't really understand what more you could want

some shit brian from family guy would sing

3.5

Scotty no.

Like a thinking man's Sinatra, or Jaques Brel singing in English. Wonder why...

Overall: 4/10 I'm usually a fan of strange music, but this was something I have absolutely zero interest in ever hearing again. His voice isn't bad but the songs just aren't there. Fav Song: Plastic Palace People

Hooting and hollering/this man will just say anything and it sounds pretty/a Jazz Club staple

deeply boring crooning. i don't outright loathe it but it just really does not hit i don't think. scott walker's voice is finw enough, and i enjoy the baroque elements when they work ("wait until dark" and "come next spring" are mostly solid), but a lot of this feels nauseatingly theatrical and over the top. it's 43 minutes of very boring music. there's also the appalling misogyny of tracks like "the girls and the dogs" which grated on me heavily. insulting as both a woman and an appreciator of art to suggest this album is in any way a Must Listen.

This list is lacking in both post-2000s and pre-1970s music. There's no Supremes, no Roy Orbison, no Lovin' Spoonful, and no The Animals. There is however this slop. Amongst the many crimes of Phil Spector, one of the lesser but still heinous offences is the introduction of the Wall of Sound. This album sounds awful. The best song on this album is "Jackie", which is one of the many instances of "I got popular covering a Jacques Brel song in English" in history. It's also one of the weakest examples of it. But compared to the rest it is a ray of sunshine because oh my god. Overwrought white pop cover crooning filtered through headache inducingly compressed production. If this was a type of food it would be a plate stacked high with entirely unseasoned, overworked, waxy mashed potatoes with the dairy substituted for water.

This was kind of pleasant and cozy, but I was so uninterested

Too baroque for me. Had its moments but overall I wanted more of the folky stuff and less of the soaring symphonic numbers.

I was bracing myself for this because I have previously listened to Scott 4, and I hated that. This was pretty good! I thought the songs were funny and sort of whimsical at times. The string arrangements were lush and expressive. Some of the songs made me laugh out loud. I would probably give this 4 stars but some of the songs were bad, and some of the songs I loved (Next) are covers, which isn't bad on it's own but I do kind of knock it for having so many from the same artist. Just seems weird.

theatre kid orchestral pop has not aged well, methinks.

Exquisite voice, the godfather of chamber pop

Why would I listen to this when I can listen to a real crooner? I thought this was a joke when I heard the lyrics.

Great

Father John Misty's career had a precedent that I didn't really understand until now.

What a funny album! Im not sure if i loved it or hated it! One day I'll cut my legs off and burn myself alive Anything, I'll do anything to get out of line Just to survive - Next!

I preferred this to Scott 4, but I am hoping we don't also have to listen to Scott 1 & 3 or beyond. I've heard more than enough Scott thank you.

I like his voice but got sick of it a few songs in. Pretty boring album with a lot of opera type vocals. Was hoping for more of Sinatra or Dean Martin type of sound but it failed to deliver

Das war doch schon 1968 altmodisch, oder?

I mean, the crooning , Bond-like, delivery of manly sentiments was more than I expected this morning.

Why the heck not?

Loved this nice jazzy sound. Perfect for enjoying a cup of coffee in the sun.

Die vent heeft zo’n ille range. Echt geniaal, teksten, compositie, stem, alles klopt. Toch, noem me uncultured, ik kan dit niet ff onderweg in de metro luisteren. Hoop dat ik binnenkort die sereniteit vind, voor nu zijn probleem, 1 sterretje minder.

Kan me hierin niet vinden

OK, this isn't a bad album. It's just perhaps a little much having the whole thing in this chanteuse style. I don't want to say 'oh it's not for me' but I do think a few songs to dabble in is probably best. I was also pretty relieved when it was over.

Playful kind of big sound music and singing. Fun to listen to as long as you dont take it too seriously

нгл начало альбома прямо понравилось: в первой половине мюзиклово-театральный вайб (особенно на Jackie и Next), но во второй ушло куда-то в блюз, и я слегка задушился без последних песен поставил бы даже 4

just unpleasant from start to finish

i can imagine someone using one of these songs really effectively on a TV soundtrack, but dear god do i not want to listen to it again. It gets a two because i think his physical vocal delivery is actually pretty nice

One bewildering and concerning glimpse into the British psyche after another

Ist nett - aber auch nicht mehr. Gut arrangiert mit Orchester, die Stimme angenehm. Richtig mitgenommen hat es mich nicht. 2/5

I had never heard his music before it was interesting but would probably not dig in again

Best Song: Jackie. He's really good at evoking that spaghetti western feel. Worst Song: Next. Jesus these lyrics were weak as hell. Overall: A lot of cheesy songs here, made to sound all the more cheesy due to his manner of singing. Everything sounds overtly theatrical and the lyrics here are far less compelling than for the other Scott Walker album I've listened to on this list.

Love his voice. Not crazy about the songs.

no.

Never listened. Expectations: High - Verdict: Good - I've always heard good things about this album. Jackie is a great, punchy opener. I also like The Amorous Humphrey Plugg and Plastic Palace People. I enjoy pretty much all the songs here but it isn't particularly mindblowing. It is the kind of album I could maybe see growing on me after a few listens.

I have heard a few of these songs randomly over the years, and I know Scott Walker was a big inspiration on many musicians, but I think this is the first full Scott Walker album I have ever listened to. I really enjoyed it. Even for the time and the style he is going for, it is quirky and off-kilter in a way I like. I definitely want to listen to more of his albums, as I know he became even more avant-garde over the years.

Scott is a great singer, but I think I still like Scott 4 better

What in the disney princess movie is this

Some very good songs, but too many pompous, turgid 6th forn profound lyrics.

So here's where I admit that I only know of Scott Walker's existence from his being mentioned in a Black Country, New Road song. The songs I liked best on here were the Jacques Brel covers. They're great songs; I know one or two of them from my parents' copy of "Jacques Brel is Alive and Living in Paris." But these versions don't feel quite right; they're like an easy listening version of those songs. The rest of this continues along those lines: smooth and a little wink-wink decadent. Objectively good for the genre I guess but a slog for me - 2 stars

Great vocalist of course, although I confess I haven't listened to his solo albums much. The single 'Jackie' is familiar, mostly covers on this album but worth a listen. 'Next' was more familiar to me from the Alex Harvey version.

Scott is the white boy of the millennium… Truly incredible work - specifically on Jackie, Next, and Plastic Palace People. I took a dive and listened to his later work like Tilt and The Drift. Almost embarrassed that I have gone so long without hearing such phenomenal art SCOTT 2 every day please thanks

this album is kinda crazy. at first i thought this would be just another crooner album but holy fuck those lyrics. bro came out swinging! the instrumentation is solid and scott walker's voice fuckin great but it's the lyrics that really steal the show here, mostly in his own compositions and his covers of jacques brel's songs. as an opener, "jackie" really sets the tone for the rest of the album with its references to drugs and "authentic queers", "the girls from the streets" is a musical rendition of how it feels to have sex with prostitutes, and "next" is straight up terrifying. it's a wild ride, especially for an album from the 60s. there's a lot of variety, to the point where i'm still finding new things to like on every listen, such as the discordant brass on "the amorous humphrey plugg" and the exaggerated delay on "plastic palace people". it's a great album. i'll be listening to this one again for sure.

noooooooooooooope

too theatrical for me

Não gostei

The second album by a British singer nobody has ever heard of. Why has nobody heard of him? Because he sucks. This album is not enjoyable, even in an ironic way. Not at all. Lyrics: self-indulgent, clunky, offensive. Vocal style: ranges between ho-hum and awful. Musical arrangements: boring.

love it, dancy, fun songs

Scott has a great voice and presence. There's some good songs here, bit also some dumb and occasionally creepy songs.

Scholocky and enjoyable, like Neil Diamond had a lobotomy. 2.5 rounding down

Not bad vocals but sounded like a movie soundtrack.

mmm non il mio genere

like most online music listeners im aware of the general trajectory of scott walker's career, but ive not rly sat down and familiarized myself with any of the specific points on it. this is not the most Celebrated point but its fairly interesting regardless....one of the central Things about scott walker surely is that he can sing like sinatra but had increasingly bizarre Tastes, here mostly shown in english language chanson covers that seem to influence the other material by proxy. walker is a captivating performer, and its hard to say he's Not the star of the show, but the orchestrations are what catch my attention the most...they always seem a little to the left of conventional wisdom, a lot of dark drama without yet stepping into full avant garde. random thought but what the fuck is happening on his 70s albums. what are those album covers. this guy has the scott 3 cover under his belt. how did we get there

Please don’t make me listen to any more shmaltz. I had my fill with Ute Lemper. 43 minutes has never felt more like an eternity, I had to shut this down halfway through. My grandma would love this though.

I am loving listening to this album for the first time!

Not it (for me)

Sounds like he's trying to do some sort of bullshit Tony Bennett/Neil Diamond impression.

No one else liked this but I’ve always duv his baroque pop. His later stuff gets darker and closer to Leonard Cohen but this was the tail end of his pop years

This one is odd. He has a good voice (and in my opinion, he has better material) but the old-timey instrumentals put me to sleep. The lyrics are odd for this type of music too, which is a plus

All I could think is why not Scott walker 4… but apparently that’s also coming. In no world can I imagine justifying TWO of this guys albums. But I’m glad to know of him.

2 scott 2 walker

Советские вайбы, музыка будто из фильмов, оркестр...

Having already reviewed "Scott 4", I was braced for the worst when "Scott 2" came up. I will never be a Scott Walker fan but I have to admit that the album's only single "Jackie" isn't half bad. The rest is (at best) very mediocre chamber pop - standard oldies. Nice-ish but no, not for me. At least, this is not as hilarious as "Scott 4".

Very interesting for a late 60s pop record. I enjoyed it Fav track: Plastic Palace People

Scott Walker's voice is really what draws me in on this record, he's powerful and commanding as he channels Chanson with several Jacque Brel covers and a Bacharach cover or two as well. The arrangements are nice and fitting as well, I think what ultimately sours some of the enjoyment is that the satirical nature of the music isn't landing for me. Some of the songs are kinda gross, and stylistically it just doesn't sound too original or novel for a late 60's album. Even still, it was fine enough even though I probably wouldn't revisit this one.

This is a crazy album for 1968. For a while I really thought this was like a sardonic 1980s parody of 1960s crooners. Some of the commentary here is quite similar to latter day Arctic Monkeys and Father John Misty. This has seriously screwed with my chronology of “baroque pop” and reminds me I should really give Jacques Brel a second look.

Has anyone covered as much ground over so relatively few records over such a long time? I think this transitional one might be my favourite of the four 60s solo albums. It does tail off a bit in terms of song choice and arrangements but there are plenty wonderful tracks. He's probably a little young and baby faced for singing Brel at this point but the songs and the Mort Schuman translations are so good it barely matters. Plastic Palace People might be his first masterpiece as songwriter. I sort of wish one of his late avant garde albums had made it to the list. That would really confuse folk.

I really liked the production of this album, the orchestration was great.

Such uninteresting pining lyrics throughout

So much going on here; challenging in all kinds of ways, and yet, at some level it's still "pop music." I feel like I can hear the influence this had on a lot of other music I like.

Sounds like Gordon Greep

I started being able to tolerate this album when I imagined it was Martin Short playing a character. Try this and listen to the very annoying song "Next." Makes it almost palatable. Works also on "The Girls From the Street." I thought of another way to describe this album, and I suppose it's similar to imagining Martin Short playing a character. This album sounds like the soundtrack for a really shitty fictional musical.

Scott 2

Scott Walker

Reviews (page 2 of 8)