Still kinda stunned a couple of days later to realise that Scott Walker has died. He was truly an original (and dammit, 2019 looks set to be one of those years when you start to worry when you see someone’s name trending on twitter).
I’d covered Scott Walker’s releases both here and over on God Is In The TV, and you can find links to pieces I wrote here:
Soused (with SUNN O))) review at 17 Seconds
The Childhood Of A Leader OST review at GIITTV
We Had It All re-evaluated at GIITTV
And some thoughts on what I think might be the best Scott Walker track, ‘It’s Raining Again‘:
The opening track from Scott 3 is heartbreaking yet sublimely beautiful at the same time. On the surface it’s a ballad, yet dip just below and there’s more at play, as Scott continued to experiment ever more than before. It has left the screaming fans of the Walker Boys days behind and looks to a future that’s more reflective and full of unknown possibilities.
In many ways, this might be seen as the definitive Scott Walker track: aware of what’s behind him, certainly not at a cross roads but combining chamber pop and an ever more avant grade approach. This is the piece that completes the jigsaw of fifty years plus of music making.