So today's Guardian has a Top Ten Scott Walker songs.
They're all good songs, but 10 of the best that
Scott's ever been involved with?
I beg to differ.
The startling omission of anything from Scott 3 or Tilt is
remarkable. And clearly wrong.
Here's my ten.
1. "My Ship Is Coming In" - one of the few optimistic Walker
Brothers' songs. It also has one of the most stirring choruses ever written and
Scott (and John) sing the heck out of it. The fade out is superb, as they both
start improvising a bit with the words.
2. "Mrs Murphy" - while "Archangel" is superb, it's "Mrs
Murphy" that is surely the pinnacle of Scott's kitchen sink dramas. "Poor Mr
Johnson, being married to a wife... who should be caged". The whole thing is
fantastic, the deftly drawn characters, the gossip, the scandal, but it's the
sheer relish in Scott's voice as he sings "should be caged" which is the icing
on the cake for me.
3. "Such A Small Love" - arguably my favourite ever Scott
song. The strings, the voice, the aching fatalistic romanticism of it all, the
way he conveys SO much emotion in the final line "such a small love, such... a
little... tear..."
4. "Humphrey Plugg" - which fights "Mrs Murphy" for the best
sixties' vignette. I adore the whole story of this song, the way that "pavements
of poets will write that I died in nine angels arms, and they all were smiling".
Humphrey's flights of fancy are marvellously contrasted with the mundane (Dr Martin and I both love the way Scott sings of "the telly").
5. "Big Louise". Was there ever a sadder description of a
weary, worn out person than "she's a haunted house, whose windows are all
broken"? The arrangement on this song is amazing. There's been nothing like it,
ever. Scott's vocal is brilliant too, even more than usual.
6. "Boy Child" - continues the mood of "Big Louise", but takes
it into even more abstract territory. Utterly beautiful. How can this be missed
out?
7. "The Electrician" is the only choice I'd agree with. Not
only does it break new sonic ground, but it's a sweepingly lovely track too,
despite the nightmarish visions of the lyrics.
8. "Rawhide" - a song that begins with hesitant cowbells and
the swooping vocal "This is how you disappear" - that's brilliant. Scott
reinvented himself totally with this album, going way beyond the weirdness of
Nite Flights. At least Nite Flights had recognisable touchstones (Scott kept
playing "Heroes" to everyone, saying he wanted that sort of sound) but Climate
Of Hunter went out into a whole new world, a world inhabited by no-one but
Scott.
9. "Farmer In The City" - how could this be missed out of any
list of Scott Walker essentials? I mean really! This is a song that still has
the capacity to make me cry, no matter how many times I've now heard it. It's
devastatingly beautiful, a genuine work of astonishing art.
I can't pick anything from The Drift or Bish Bosch because
both albums, to me at least, need to be played in their entirety to get the full
effect. I agree with the Guardian that "Clara" is amazing, but as a stand alone
track its full effect is lessened. When the whole album is played it is an
incredible part of the sequence. Bish Bosch has only received about 4 complete
plays since I got it. I just can't bring myself to play it - when I do, I'm
surprised by the sheer amount of warped humour, but listening to the record
takes a mighty effort.
So my tenth is a sideways step:
10. "Scope J" from Ute Lemper's album Punishing Kiss. I would LOVE to hear
Scott's vocal on this track, but even without his distinctive voice it's totally
a Scott song. Written by Scott, played by his band, it's a wonderful, baffling, intriguing track. And that's how the
best songs should be.
