Introducing...
Your Two-Part Ticket To Scott Walker Wonderland
I'm a bit bored, so I thought I'd compile a couple of mixtapes from the work of another one of my all-time my favourites. The reason we haven't got one link is, as those of you who've heard him before will know, there is quite a difference between Scott Walker's early work and his latter-day output.
A Beginner's Guide To a Younger Scott Walker
1. Montague Terrace (In Blue) - [from the album Scott]
2. My Death - [from the album Scott]
3. Jackie - [from the album Scott 2]
4. Plastic Palace People - from the album Scott 2]
5. 30 Century Man - [from the album Scott 3]
6. Funeral Tango - [from the album Scott 3]
7. If You Go Away - [from the album Scott 3]
8. The World's Strongest Man - [from the album Scott 4]
9. The Old Man's Back Again - [from the album Scott 4]
10. Rhymes Of Goodbye - [from the album Scott 4]
^ This is far and away the most easily-accessible and melodic of his work that you'll come across. His earlier solo albums all make for a very syrupy sweet blend between Sinatra-esque chamber music and a much darker and more lyrically-evocative form of folk. The first four of his solo releases, sampled from above, are by far the best of his pre-80s work, and well worth a gander.
A Beginner's Guide To An Older Scott Walker
1. The Dealer - [from the album Climate Of the Hunter]
2. Sleepwalker's Woman - [from the album Climate Of the Hunter]
3. Track Five - [from the album Climate Of the Hunter]
4. Farmer In the City - [from the album Tilt]
5. Manhattan - [from the album Tilt]
6. Face On Breast - [from the album Tilt]
7. Bolivia '95 - [from the album Tilt]
8. Cossacks Are - [from the album the Drift]
9. Jesse - [from the album the Drift]
10. A Lover Loves - [from the album the Drift]
^ This mix, though, is the much more interesting one for me. Basically, after calling time on his solo career and reuniting with the Walker Brothers, Scott went solo again but this time wrote much, much darker, original, endlessly fascinating and unsettling songs. Very, very good listening if you're having a sober night in in the company of your MP3 library. The music in that mix basically defies genre tags (for me at least), which makes things even more interesting.
Re-arrange both mixes in the chronological order of the albums each song comes from (as I've done in this post) if you want to get a good flow out of them. Click the pictures for the links and enjoy!