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

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It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70)
It's Raining Today The Scott Walker Story (1967 - 1970) Cover.jpg
Compilation album by
ReleasedOctober 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)
Genre Pop rock
Length58:12
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]

Contents

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
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Village Voice C– [7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Scott Walker except where noted.

No.TitleLength
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. 1 2 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. 1 2 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.