Scott 2 | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1968 [1] July 1968 (US) | |||
Recorded | 1967–1968 | |||
Genre | Art pop, baroque pop | |||
Length | 43:47 | |||
Label | Philips, Smash | |||
Producer | John Franz | |||
Scott Walker chronology | ||||
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Singles from Scott 2 | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Pitchfork Media | (9.1/10) [3] |
Scott 2 is the second solo album by Scott Walker, released in 1968 by Philips Records in the UK and Smash Records in the US. Featuring the minor hit "Jackie", it arrived at the height of Walker's commercial success as a solo artist, topping the UK Albums Chart.
This album, alongside Scott , features Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" recording technique.[ citation needed ] Like its predecessor, Scott 2 comprises an assortment of pop cover versions, selections from Walker favorite Jacques Brel, and a handful of original songs. His following three albums would feature mostly or entirely original material.
Scott 2 follows the formula of Walker's début release, with a mixture of contemporary covers ("Black Sheep Boy", "The Windows of the World") Jacques Brel interpretations ("Jackie", "Next", "The Girls and the Dogs"), film songs ("Wait Until Dark", "Come Next Spring") and his own original compositions ("The Amorous Humphrey Plugg", "The Girls from the Streets", "Plastic Palace People", "The Bridge"). The content of his own and Brel's material was markedly more risqué than on Scott, with "Jackie", "Next" and "The Girls from the Streets" standing out with themes of sexual tribulations and decadent lifestyles, while the contributions of Walker's regular arrangers and the structures of his own compositions were becoming more adventurous and progressive.
According to Jonathan King, writing in the liner notes to Scott 2, not long after the album had been completed Walker described it as the "work of a lazy, self-indulgent man." He added, "Now the nonsense must stop, and the serious business must begin." King continues about Walker: "I have no doubt that many years from now, over a space age dinner of vitamins, [...] he will say: 'Well, the last fifty years have been great fun, but now we must get down to doing something worthwhile.' And he'll mean it." [4]
The album, released on Philips Records in March 1968, reached #1 for one week and stayed in the UK Albums Chart for eighteen weeks. [5] The album was preceded by the single "Jackie" in late 1967. The single met with controversy in the UK because of lyrics like "authentic queers and phony virgins" and drug references. [6] The song was banned by the BBC and was not performed on BBC TV or played on the mainstream radio channels. The song eventually charted at #22. [5] The album was eventually released in the United States in July 1968 with different artwork, but sold poorly.
"A record about real stuff with quite disturbing imagery," remarked Neil Hannon, frontman of The Divine Comedy. [7] British singer/songwriter Marvin B. Naylor referenced Walker's song Plastic Palace People in the title of his 2009 album The Last Flight Of Billy Balloon and in the song Beautiful Balloon from the same album.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Jackie" | Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest and Mort Shuman | 3:23 |
2. | "Best of Both Worlds" | Mark London and Don Black | 3:14 |
3. | "Black Sheep Boy" | Tim Hardin | 2:39 |
4. | "The Amorous Humphrey Plugg" | Scott Walker | 4:31 |
5. | "Next" | Jacques Brel and Mort Shuman | 2:50 |
6. | "The Girls from the Streets" | Scott Walker | 4:11 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
7. | "Plastic Palace People" | Scott Walker | 6:06 |
8. | "Wait Until Dark" | Henry Mancini, Jay Livingston and Ray Evans | 2:59 |
9. | "The Girls and the Dogs" | Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest and Mort Shuman | 3:10 |
10. | "Windows of the World" | Hal David and Burt Bacharach | 4:25 |
11. | "The Bridge" | Scott Walker | 2:50 |
12. | "Come Next Spring" | Lenny Adelson | 3:24 |
Chart | Year | Peak position |
---|---|---|
UK Albums Chart [8] | 1968 | 1 |
Region | Date | Label | Format | Catalogue |
---|---|---|---|---|
Germany | 1968 | Philips | LP | 844 210 BY |
United Kingdom | March 1968 [1] | Philips | LP | 7840 |
United States | July 1968 | Smash | LP | 7106 |
UK | April 27, 1992 [1] | Fontana | CD | 510 880-2 |
UK | June 5, 2000 [1] | Fontana | HDCD | 510 880-2 |
US | February 15, 2008 [9] | 4 Men With Beards | LP | 4M150 |
Jacques Romain Georges Brel was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world. He is considered a master of the modern chanson.
Noel Scott Engel, better known by his stage name Scott Walker, was an American-British singer-songwriter and record producer who resided in England. Walker was known for his emotive voice and his unorthodox stylistic path which took him from being a teen pop icon in the 1960s to an avant-garde musician in the 21st century. Walker's success was largely in the United Kingdom, where his first four solo albums reached the top ten. He lived in the UK from 1965 onward and became a UK citizen in 1970.
Grand Jacques is the début album by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel.
5 Easy Pieces is a box set anthology of the career of Scott Walker. It was released in November 2003. The set comprises five themed CDs and a 56-page booklet.
"Sorrow" is a song first recorded by the McCoys in 1965 and released as the B-side to their cover of "Fever". It became a big hit in the United Kingdom in a version by the Merseys, reaching number 4 on the UK chart on 28 April 1966. A version by David Bowie charted worldwide in 1973.
Scott 3 is the third solo album by American singer songwriter Scott Walker, released on March 1, 1969, in the United Kingdom through Philips Records. It was produced by John Franz. Though a majority of the tracklist features original songs from Walker, the final three tracks are covers of compositions by Jacques Brel.
Scott 4 is Scott Walker's fifth solo album. It was released in late 1969 under his birth name, Scott Engel, and failed to chart. Reissues have been released under his stage name. It has since received praise as one of Walker's best works.
Casanova is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy. It was released in 1996 by Setanta Records, and it happened to be the band's commercial breakthrough. It was certified Gold in the UK in July 1997, aided by the release of the album's first single, "Something for the Weekend", which reached No. 13 on the charts. Two other singles released from the album, "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "The Frog Princess", charted at No. 27 and No. 15, respectively.
"Amsterdam" is a song by Jacques Brel. It combines a powerful melancholic crescendo with a rich poetic account of the exploits of sailors on shore leave in Amsterdam. Musically, it takes its base melody line from the melody of the English folk song Greensleeves.
Scott is the debut solo album by Scott Walker, originally released in the United Kingdom on Philips Records in 1967. The album received both strong commercial success as well as critical praise, hitting No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was produced by John Franz, who had previously worked with Walker's group the Walker Brothers, while its instrumental accompaniments were arranged and conducted by Angela Morley, Reg Guest and Peter Knight.
Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris is a musical revue of the songs of Jacques Brel. Brel's songs were translated into English by Eric Blau and Mort Shuman, who also provided the story. The original 1968 Off-Broadway production ran for four years and spawned international and regional productions, as well as a West End production and Off-Broadway revival, among others. A film adaptation was released in 1975.
Fire Escape in the Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker is a compilation album of material by singer Scott Walker, compiled by musician Julian Cope and released by independent Zoo Records in August 1981. The material on the album was drawn from Walker's orchestral pop solo albums released between 1967–70, and focuses on songs that the singer had written himself. After Walker's popularity declined in the 1970s and his albums became out-of-print, Cope conceived the album to rescue Walker from obscurity and present his material to a new audience. Whereas he had previously appealed to middle-of-the-road fans, the compilation was created to help promote Walker to a post-punk audience.
"Ne me quitte pas" is a 1959 song by Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel. It has been covered in the original French by many artists and has also been translated into and performed in many other languages. A well-known adaptation, with English lyrics by Rod McKuen, is "If You Go Away".
Scott Walker is the stage name of the American singer-songwriter Noel Scott Engel (1943–2019), former lead singer with The Walker Brothers. He lived in the United Kingdom from the 1960s until his death.
Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel is a compilation of Jacques Brel compositions recorded by Scott Walker during the period of 1967 to 1969. The compilation brings together all the Brel material that Walker covered on record. Walker additionally performed five Brel songs on his television series including "Alone"; another Brel/Shuman composition. None of these live recordings were released on the accompanying soundtrack.
"Jacky" (La chanson de Jacky) is a song written by the Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel and Gérard Jouannest. Brel recorded the song on 2 November 1965, and it was released on his 1966 album Ces Gens-Là. The song was translated from French into English and retitled "Jackie".
"Joanna" is a song written by the English husband and wife song-writing team Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent which was first a song for the American singer-songwriter Scott Walker in 1968. The song was Walker's second solo single in the UK. The accompaniment was directed by Peter Knight.
"The Windows of the World" is a song written by Burt Bacharach (music) and Hal David (lyrics) which was a hit single for Dionne Warwick in 1967.
Boy Child: The Best of 1967–1970 is a compilation album by the singer-songwriter Scott Walker. It was released in 1990. The album compiles music that Walker both wrote and recorded on five of his first six studio albums; Scott (1967), Scott 2 (1968), Scott 3 (1969), Scott 4 (1969) and 'Til the Band Comes In (1970). The original release also includes the non-Walker composition "The Rope and The Colt", a French single recorded by the singer for the 1969 film Une corde, un colt. Also included was the 1967 b-side "The Plague".
Nancy is a studio album by Nancy Wilson, released on Capitol Records in January 1969. It was produced by David Cavanaugh, with arrangements and conducting by Jimmy Jones. Musicians on the album include famed jazz saxophonist Benny Carter, who also serves as arranger for one song.