The Depths · All albums

Scott 4

Scott Walker · 1969

• Scores: Noise 1, Unease 3, Complexity 2 (each 1 to 5)
• Genre: Rock, Art rock, Orchestral
• Mood: baroque, brooding, lush
• Sound: orchestral, baroque pop, deep vocals

Released under his birth name Scott Engel, this was the first Walker album made up solely of his own songs, recorded at Olympic Studios in London with producer John Franz. The orchestral arrangements are sparser than on his earlier records, with a skeletal, folk-inspired sound and more weight on the rhythm section. The Seventh Seal draws on Ingmar Bergman's film, and The Old Man's Back Again refers to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. Engel said he tried to link lyrics by Sartre, Camus and Yevtushenko to Bartok modal lines.

Track list

1. The Seventh Seal (4:58)
2. On Your Own Again (1:48)
3. The World's Strongest Man (2:21)
4. Angels of Ashes (4:22)
5. Boy Child (3:38)
6. Hero of the War (2:29)
7. The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime) (3:43)
8. Duchess (2:51)
9. Get Behind Me (3:14)
10. Rhymes of Goodbye (3:04)