It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70)

It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70)
Compilation album by Scott Walker
Released	October 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	58:12
Label	Razor & Tie
Producer	Johnny Franz
Scott Walker chronology
Tilt (1995) It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70) (1996) Pola X (1999)

It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70) is a compilation album of songs by the American-born British singer-songwriter Scott Walker, released on October 15, 1996, on Razor & Tie. The album consists of seventeen songs taken from Walker's first five studio albums, and was Walker's first solo album to be released in the United States. ^[1] Marshall Crenshaw compiled the album's tracks and spent a year and a half convincing Razor & Tie to release it. ^{[2] [3]}

Critical reception

In a review of It's Raining Today for The New York Times , Neil Strauss wrote, "Though the collection may seem schmaltzy to the casual listener, further exploration unveils an indelible, melancholy beauty, with each track a rigorously orchestrated excavation into a different recess of human despair and loneliness." ^[4] Writing in Pitchfork in 2004, Scott Plagenhoef wrote that the compilation was "far too Spartan and scattershot to be recommended". ^[5] Wilson Neate wrote in Trouser Press that the album "...isn’t quite as solid an introduction as Boy Child , but it does offer a marginally stronger selection of tracks from 'Til the Band Comes In ." ^[6] Robert Christgau gave the album a C− grade, describing Walker as "...Anthony Newley without the voice muscles, "MacArthur Park" as light-programme boilerplate, a male Vera Lynn for late bloomers who found Paul McCartney too r&b." ^[7]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
The Village Voice	C– [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Scott Walker except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Big Louise"	3:12
2.	"Jackie" (Jacques Brel, Gerard Jouannest, Mort Shuman)	3:22
3.	"The World's Strongest Man"	2:20
4.	"It's Raining Today"	4:01
5.	"Montague Terrace (In Blue)"	3:28
6.	"Through a Long and Sleepless Night" (Mack Gordon, Alfred Newman)	4:11
7.	"Next" (Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman)	2:50
8.	"The Seventh Seal"	4:56
9.	"Plastic Palace People"	6:06
10.	"Rosemary"	3:24
11.	"The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)"	3:42
12.	"Joe" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	3:41
13.	"Lights of Cincinnati" (Tony Macaulay)	3:21
14.	"Cowbells Shakin'" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	1:05
15.	"Thanks for Chicago Mr. James" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	2:17
16.	"Little Things (That Keep Us Together)" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	2:19
17.	"Joanna" (Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent)	3:57
Total length:		58:12

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Scott Walker - It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70)". AllMusic . Retrieved July 14, 2020.
2. Lien, James (January 1997). "Flashback". CMJ New Music Monthly . p. 45. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
3. Dominic, Serene (November 14, 1996). "The Crenshaw Redemption". Phoenix New Times . Retrieved July 15, 2020.
4. Strauss, Neil (October 20, 1996). "Once a Star Everywhere But Home". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved July 14, 2020.
5. Plagenhoef, Scott (January 12, 2004). "Scott Walker: 5 Easy Pieces". Pitchfork . Retrieved July 14, 2020.
6. Neate, Wilson (2020). "Scott Walker". Trouser Press . Retrieved July 15, 2020.
7. Christgau, Robert (December 3, 1996). "Consumer Guide Dec. 3, 1996: Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice . Retrieved July 14, 2020.
8. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857125958.
9. Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Scott Walker". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9780743201698.