Scott (album)

Scott was the début 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.

Scott
Studio album by Scott Walker
Released	16 September 1967[1] 1968 (US)
Recorded	1967
Genre	Baroque pop
Length	40:30
Label	Philips Smash (US) Fontana (CD)
Producer	John Franz
Scott Walker chronology
Images (1967) Scott (1967) Scott 2 (1968)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Pitchfork Media	8.4/10[3]

This album, alongside Scott 2, features Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" recording technique.

Overview

Scott was released only six months after Walker's third album with The Walker Brothers, Images. Its mixture of Walker's original compositions and selection of cover versions established Walker as a more serious and sombre artist; gone were the Beat group and Blue-eyed soul material of his former group. The choice of material generally fell into four main categories: his own work ("Montague Terrace (In Blue)", "Such a Small Love", "Always Coming Back to You"), contemporary covers ("The Lady Came from Baltimore", "Angelica"), movie songs ("You're Gonna Hear From Me", "Through a Long and Sleepless Night") and significantly, English-translated versions of the songs of the Belgian singer and songwriter Jacques Brel ("Mathilde", "My Death", "Amsterdam"). Brel was a major influence on Walker's own compositions, and Walker included three of his songs on each of his next two solo albums, Scott 2 and Scott 3. Walker described Brel without qualification as 'the most significant singer-songwriter in the world'.[4] The real coup for Walker was his luck in acquiring and recording the new Mort Shuman-translated versions of Brel's material before anyone else.

Since the album's release, three complete outtakes, likely recorded during the Scott album sessions, have circulated in bootlegged form. These are "Free Again" (Basile/Canfora/Colby/Jourdan), "I Get Along Without You Very Well" (Hoagy Carmichael) and "I Think I'm Getting Over You" (Roger Cook/Roger Greenaway), the latter of which was recorded for potential single release.[5]

Release and reception

The album was released by Philips Records in September 1967 in the UK. It reached No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart, and stayed on the chart for seventeen weeks.[6] It was released the following year in the US on Smash Records under the title Aloner.

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mathilde"	Jacques Brel, Gérard Jouannest, Mort Shuman	2:39
2.	"Montague Terrace (In Blue)"	Noel Scott Engel	3:31
3.	"Angelica"	Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann	4:02
4.	"The Lady Came from Baltimore"	Tim Hardin	1:59
5.	"When Joanna Loved Me"	Jack Segal, Robert Wells	3:08
6.	"My Death"	Brel, Shuman	4:57

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
7.	"The Big Hurt"	Wayne Shanklin	2:26
8.	"Such a Small Love"	Engel	4:55
9.	"You're Gonna Hear From Me"	André Previn, Dory Previn	2:53
10.	"Through a Long and Sleepless Night"	Mack Gordon, Alfred Newman	4:12
11.	"Always Coming Back to You"	Engel	2:41
12.	"Amsterdam"	Brel, Shuman	3:04

Personnel

• Scott Walker – vocals
• Wally Stott – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 1,2,5,7 & 8)
• Reg Guest – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 3,4,6 & 11)
• Peter Knight – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 9 & 10)
• Peter Olliff – engineer

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
France	1967	Philips	LP	844 202 BY
United Kingdom	September 1967[1]	Philips	LP (Stereo)	SBL 7816
UK	September 1967[1]	Philips	LP (Mono)	BL 7816
United States	1968	Smash	LP (Title: Aloner)	27099
UK	March 16, 1992[1]	Fontana	CD	510 879-2
UK	June 5, 2000[1]	Fontana	HDCD	510 879-2
US	February 15, 2008[7]	4 Men With Beards	LP	4M149

Charts

Chart	Position
UK Albums Chart[6]	3

References

1. "Release: Scott – MusicBrainz". Retrieved 2018-02-12.
2. Unterberger, Richie. Review: Scott. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2010-08-10.
4. Williams, Lewis (2006). Scott Walker – The Rhymes of Goodbye (1st ed.). London: Plexus. p. 61. ISBN 0-85965-395-1.
5. Williams, Lewis (2006). Scott Walker – The Rhymes of Goodbye (1st ed.). London: Plexus. p. 185. ISBN 0-85965-395-1.
6. "The Official Charts Company – Scott Walker". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
7. "VinylFanatics.com Vinyl Records, Vinyl Record Reviews, News, Forum Vinyl reviews Audiophile vinyl The best site for vinyl records – UPDATE : Vinyl Lovers – New record label?". 2010 VinylFanatics.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2008. Retrieved 2010-08-11.