Music Reviews: Artist Archives
Scott Walker
The Drift
In 1995, Scott Walker released Tilt, an album that has often been described as one of the most difficult and obtuse “pop” albums ever recorded. Now, 11 years later, Walker, who originally rose to fame as one of The Walker Brothers (a group that once rivaled The Beatles for popularity), has released The Drift, an album that makes even Tilt seem simple and obvious by comparison.
Recorded over the course of seven years, The Drift finds Walker pushing the stripped down arrangements and structures that can be heard on Tilt to their uttermost limits. It’s difficult to describe the ten compositions that make up The Drift as songs. Eschewing any sense of typical pop structure, the tracks also move away from the elaborate orchestral arrangements that Walker toyed with early on in his solo career. The orchestra is still there—more than seventy musicians are listed in the album credits—but these are not your typical arrangements. Not by a long shot.
Walker constructs these “songs” out of blocks of sound, blocks that he moves around and pieces together, puzzle-like. Such an approach seems like it would result in rather staid music, but the exact opposite is true.
Sometimes, the blocks are devastating in their onslaught. The orchestra might still be present, but it moves with all of the subtlety and grace of an avalanche descending down the mountainside, devouring small villages in its wake. Sometimes, the blocks are assembled off in the distance, creating a backdrop of dread and anxiety—nervous guitar drones, percussion sounding out death marches, forlorn ocarinas and flugelhorns. And sometimes, they’re just plain absurd—a man punching a slab of meat or walking down a set of stairs, a wooden box being constructed, or the explosive braying of a donkey.
It’s random and disjointed, never once giving the listener anything to latch onto, never a time to truly become comfortable and “settle down” with the music. Even the rare melodic hooks are short, mere teases, precursors to yet another uncomfortable block of sound that shatters the stillness. The only thing that the listener has to latch onto is Walker’s voice, and that provides little comfort.
Scott 4
Scott Walker was once a member of the Walker Brothers, a British group the achieved a modicum of success during the 60s as a teen idol group. However, growing tired of his pop group status, Walker (born Noel Scott Engel) struck out on his own and recorded a series of albums that became progressively less successful commercially. In the meantime, he became an influence for a wide range of artists, from David Bowie to Brendan Perry (Dead Can Dance).
I previously reviewed “Tilt”, a dark and obtuse recording that featured Walker’s ghostly vocals over harrowing soundscapes and arrangements. “Scott 4” is much more accessible and listenable. It’s not as experimental as “Tilt” but still sounds much more modern and current than most releases you might hear from 1969. Setting the stage for artists like The Tindersticks and Nick Cave, the album weds poetic, intelligent lyrics and lush arrangements. At times it may seem a little artistically pretentious, but the end result is quite intoxicating.
The strongest track is the opener “The Seventh Seal”. Inspired by the gorgeous Ingmar Bergman film, the music summarizes the film’s epic storyline as a Morricone-esque ballad. The lovely “Boy Child” puts Walker’s vocals over soaring string arrangements and atmospherics that sound like a precursor to “Tilt”‘s gentler moments and “Hero Of The War” has a streak of black humor that fans of “Dr. Strangelove” will probably appreciate. Not bad for something I picked up in the used bin.
Tilt
From what I’ve read about him, Scott Walker used to be some sort of popstar back in the 60s, releasing a few hits before breaking off towards dark cabaret, orchestral pop stuff. However, I think that anyone who was a fan of his pop music will be taken aback at this recording. On “Tilt,” his first album in something like 10 years, Walker has moved into the territory occupied by dark crooners such as the Tindersticks and Nick Cave and come out with something even more extreme than any of them.
Walker’s voice is probably the most noticeable feature of “Tilt.” His voice swoops, soars, whispers, and howls in a manner very similar to that of Eric Clayton (Saviour Machine). In fact, it is the probably the epitome of the gothic male vocalist. But whereas one of those vampiric wannabes might be singing about depression and death, I don’t have the slightest idea as to what Walker is singing about most of the time. Well, I should say that I have a general idea of that the songs are about. To say his lyrics are obtuse is an understatement. “Farmer In The City” is an ode to controversial Italian director Paolo Pasolini, who was slain under mysterious circumstances. But ask me what Walker refers to when he says “can’t go by a man with brain grass, go by his long long eye gas” and you’ll probably get a shrug. Sometimes, I think he just chose the words because they “sounded” good, and not because of any meaning.
Musically, “Tilt” is just as much a challenge. Some of the music is just beautiful, such as “Farmer In The City,” where Walker’s vocals reside on a bed of Gorecki-like string arrangements. At other times, it’s almost industrial. “The Cockfighter” starts off slowly and quietly, but the silence is ruptured by a onslaught of noise, drums, and vocals that’s so sudden it made me jump the first couple of times I heard it. For most of “Bouncer See Bouncer,” all you here is a pounding drumbeat around which floats the locust-like sounds of a hurdy gurdy.
However, there’s always something off-kilter about the music. It’s always slightly off, like the songs might come apart or something. It’s this off-kilter quality that keeps it from becoming overbearing, whether due to Walker’s vocals or the license he takes from his lyrics. But even the music isn’t anything spectacular. Everything on this album comes together, the sum being way more than the parts.
Definitely an interesting listen, because I don’t really know of anything that sounds like this. But I wouldn’t mind hearing more from this guy.