WEB EXCLUSIVE - Scott Walker: 30 Century Man [extended listings]
Matthew Moyer -- Library Journal, 07/01/2009
Blur. The Great Escape. Virgin. 1995. UPC 7-24384-08552-0.
Blur contrarily celebrated Britpop domination with this album; key track "The Universal" was a florid Walker homage.
Jarvis Cocker. Jarvis. Rough Trade. 2006. UPC 8-05551-05012-8.
Walker produced the last album by Cocker’s former band Pulp; when frontman Cocker returned with this solo album, Walker’s influence still clearly lingered.
Brian Eno. Before and After Science. Astralwerks. 1977. UPC 7-24357-72922-2.
Before going full-on ambient, Eno allowed himself the luxury of a full side of soft, childlike ballads. The other side was, of course, full-on art punk.
Goldfrapp. Felt Mountain. Mute. 2000. UPC 7-24596-91352-9.
British vocalist Alison Goldfrapp made her name with this lush set of velvety, noir electronica.
Last Shadow Puppets. The Age of the Understatement. Domino. 2008. UPC 8-01390-01812-1.
Arctic Monkeys’ frontman Alex Turner put out this album fully in hock to the orchestral anguish of the Walker Brothers with the help of the Rascals’ Miles Kane.
Ute Lemper. Berlin Cabaret Songs. Decca. 1997. UPC 0-28945-26012-9.
German chanteuse Lemper reinvigorates lost Weimar-era cabaret barnburners with her suitably dramatic flair.
PRINT RESOURCES
Reynolds, Anthony. The Impossible Dream: The Story of Scott Walker and the Walker Brothers. Jawbone Pr. Sept. 2009. c.336p. ISBN 978-1-906002-25-1. $19.95.
This forthcoming volume should have some potentially valuable insights into the lives and careers of the Walker Brothers.
Williams, Lewis. Scott Walker: The Rhymes of Goodbye. Plexus Pub. 2006. c.192p. ISBN 978-0-85965-395-4. pap. $19.95.
One of the very few books devoted to Walker, this volume gives a solid overview of his troubled career.
ONLINE RESOURCES
4AD–Scott Walker
(www.4ad.com/scottwalker)
The online home of Walker’s current record label, the stalwart indie 4AD; it is the best place to keep track of all his current activity.
Scott Walker @ pHinnweb
(www.phinnweb.org/retro/scott)
This site is a regularly updated clearinghouse of Scott Walker–related links and newsbytes; also includes a good introductory biography.
Trouserpress.com: Scott Walker
(www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=scott_walker)
This page boasts a thorough discography of Walker’s solo and Walker Brothers work, as well as perhaps the best biography I’ve read of him yet. Trouser Press does its homework.
