Scott Walker in the '80s: Search and Destroy/Classic or Dud

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We've covered the '60s, so howsabout the '80s?

― Andy, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hang on , didn't he only release one album in the 80s? Isn't this a bit of a limited question?

― Nick, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Search: Climate of the Hunter. Destroy: er, Scott didn't really do anything else during the 80s.

― Nicole, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nice try, Andy. ;-) A more comparative question -- _Climate_ or _Tilt_? I'd have to come down for _Tilt_, but only just. ;-)

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Now Now Ned, no one's preventing you from starting a Scott Walker in the '90s thread.

I really like most of Climate of Hunter, but I could do without some of the guitars -- especially Mark Knopfler's appearance. The answer would have to be classic. Search everything.

As for Tilt, I think the jury is still out. I've listened to it a great number of times but haven't quite decided whether or not I genuinely LIKE it. Scares the hell out of me, though. That's one thing it has going for it.

― Andy, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"Tilt" is one of those rare albums I find almost totally inexplicable, and I totally inexplicably love it.

― X. Y. Zedd, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Tilt changed the way I listened to music - instruments fighting each other, rather than mingling with each other. 'bouncer see bouncer', the execttioners drum melting into that beautiful, tiny string moment.

anyone lever try the songs he did for ute lemper? longer and more baffling.

― matthew james, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I once played 'The Cockfighter' in the middle of my set at an 80s pop disco. One girl gamely attempted to dance to it, but was dragged away by her friend, who bellowed "No, let's wait until he plays something good".

― Jamie, Thursday, 28 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

anyone lever try the songs he did for ute lemper? longer and more baffling

I keep meaning to get that album (Ute Lemper), but I never have. Is it any good?

― Nicole, Thursday, 28 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's so-so, with some good songs from the likes of Walker and Tom Waits, but a bit treacly and overproduced by The Divine Comedy guy, I think (don't have it with me to check, sorry).

― X. Y. Zedd, Thursday, 28 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

As has already been mentioned : Scott only released 'Climate Of Hunter' in the 80's. So, I'll go along with the 'Climate' or 'Tilt'?

And...(drum roll pleas) I go with 'Climate Of Hunter'. Why (you ask)? Well, because 'Climate' is at it's actual natural recorded speed whereas 'Tilt' clearly isn't (of course I'm not being serious, but...sheesh). I mean, 'Tilt' is basically 'Climate' only slowed down to a halt. Of course, I'm excluding the 80's earmarked dorky tracks (about 3 of them) from 'Climate' (the ones with the marked 80's drum tracks and cheesy guitar and Billy Ocean backing vocal).'

Other than the wonderful opening track "Farmer In The City" (from 'Tilt')...I'll take 'Climate'.

Now. How about William Shatner in the 60's? Anyone? Anyone?

― michael g. breece, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two years pass...

**Now. How about William Shatner in the 60's? Anyone? Anyone?**

You know, I've actually grown to like The Transformed Man. The Nimoy stuff is pretty good too.

― Susan (Susan), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:07 (twenty-two years ago)

**"Tilt" is one of those rare albums I find almost totally inexplicable, and I totally inexplicably love it.**

Why is everyone always going on about how inexplicable this album is? It's perhaps not the most straightforward piece of work ever composed, but it's definitely explicable.

― H., Friday, 1 August 2003 14:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Thank God AMG took that review down which claimed Tilt was "the most difficult album ever."

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:33 (twenty-two years ago)

when was the electrician? late 70's?

― gaz (gaz), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh wait, the new AMG review is just as awful. Never mind.

"Electrician" is '78.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:37 (twenty-two years ago)

That's a pretty cool song, and I guess it foreshadowed the Tilt sound.

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Something I learnt the other day. The beginning of Farmer In The City: "Do I hear 21/I'll give you 21" Apparently Pasolini picked up his murderer in a games arcade - the boy's normal price was 20,000 lire. Pasolini replied: "I'll give you 21" (from the transcript of the trial)

I'm with H. Not all the lyrics make sense, but enough of them do for one to be able to get to grips with this album. There are plenty of images and themes that recur throughout the album.

― Susan (Susan), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Shouldn't we be talking about Climate of Hunter on this thread. Why is that record out of print? I like it as much as Tilt.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Actually, I thought it was pretty funny that Tilt gets more coverage in a Climate thread than Climate does.

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:54 (twenty-two years ago)

It's because Climate is so hard to find! I think.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:56 (twenty-two years ago)

I like Climate almost as much as Tilt. Tilt's more accomplished. At first the eighties sound of Climate got on my nerves, but eventually I took it in my stride, because the orchestration (as always with SW) is just so sublime. Climate is frustratingly short and some of the songs sound a bit half-finished. At its best, though, it represents Scott at his best. Rawhide, Dealer, Sleepwalkers Woman, they're all sublime. But it lacks one absolute knock-out track, like The Electrician on Nite Flights or Farmer In The City on Tilt.

A brilliant yet flawed work.

― Susan (Susan), Friday, 1 August 2003 14:57 (twenty-two years ago)

*It's because Climate is so hard to find! I think.*

Scott's back catalogue is a fucking mess. Until relatively recently, even the classic Scotts 1-4 were hard enough to find. Nowadays, it's still tricky to lay your hands on 'Til The Band Comes In, Nite Flights, Climate, Man From Reno, Lullaby... his management should really do something about this. And maybe get someone to put out a collection of the later Scott.

― Susan (Susan), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Someone needs to arrange a Scott Walker/Tim Buckley catalog reissue society.

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:03 (twenty-two years ago)

the problem is that all his records were on major labels but aren't seen to be strong catalog sellers so they languish out of print, without anyone at the big noisy label to call attention to that sorry fact. the moviegoer and any day now have never been on cd to my knowledge.

if anyone desperately wants a copy of climate let me know.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:06 (twenty-two years ago)

**. the moviegoer and any day now have never been on cd to my knowledge.**

Mind you, this may be no bad thing!

― Susan (Susan), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:11 (twenty-two years ago)

The unavailability of a lot of his back catalogue is a source of continuing frustration to me -- I've managed to get most of it off of friends, etc. but is all much harder to find than it really should be, when you consider some of the terrible (and more obscure!) bands and/or singers that get comprehensive re-issuing.

― Larcole (Nicole), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Scott himself blocked the reissue of some of his "lounge cowboy" albums of the seventies (and if you've ever heard him singing Bread's "If", you'll understand why). But it's a shame Climate Of Hunter is not available. And I've never heard Lullaby, the song he recently wrote for Ute Lemper - it got an obscure release in Japan. The other Lemper song he did, "Scope J", is on her "Punishing Kiss" album, and I rate it one of the best things Scott Walker's done. It's amazing to still be doing genuinely interesting, innovative things at 60. I just hope he gets round to recording another album, but my hope is dwindling as the years pass...

― H., Friday, 1 August 2003 15:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I figure it will happen when it does. In the meantime, I'm always interested to see what others do with his inspiration and there's always that to explore (he says, listening to the Walkabouts' just plain lovely Davil's Road).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

Davil's? Devil's. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:24 (twenty-two years ago)

No, Davy's Road--it's a Monkees tribute.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:27 (twenty-two years ago)

*beats Amateurist senseless*

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 1 August 2003 15:28 (twenty-two years ago)

For those who find 'Tilt' is so damn explicable, explain to me what "17 ary anu ry" is supposed to mean (last line of 'Patriot')

― Frederick, Friday, 1 August 2003 15:32 (twenty-two years ago)

excluding the 80's earmarked dorky tracks (about 3 of them) from 'Climate' (the ones with the marked 80's drum tracks and cheesy guitar and Billy Ocean backing vocal)

eh?
I lurve those tracks too
there's only one track on CoH i don't like much - can't recall which one - but i find most of Tilt quite missable (though it does have about 3 VERY beautiful sections)

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Friday, 1 August 2003 16:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"17 ary anu ry": aren't these fragments of "17 January" (don't have the lyric sheet in front of me, but I think they're sprinkled through the song) when the first Gulf War started (hence "Patriot")?

― locus solus, Friday, 1 August 2003 16:18 (twenty-two years ago)

locus solus is correct - the song starts off "Ja '91" and ends "17 ary anu ry" - put them together and you have January 17, 1991, beginning of the Gulf War, which is what the song is about. "Tilt" is full of these little acrostic type puzzles. Bolivia '95 is about Che Guevara and has similar little puzzle references (i.e. "Doctorie give me a C.") = Doctor E. = Doctor Ernesto Guevara - etc., etc.) "Manhattan" has the lyrics of "Dem Bones" hidden in it - there's an awful lot of this if you look hard at the Tilt lyrics. They're not so nonsensical as they first appear.

― Susan (Susan), Friday, 1 August 2003 16:30 (twenty-two years ago)

I love the production on Climate, I've ever come to love the seemingly-useless guitar figures running throughout. And if it's dated it's dated in a way no other record is dated. It's like some strange perversion of mid-'80s production styles. Also where else can you find Billy Ocean jamming with Ray Russell?!

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 1 August 2003 17:39 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

Scott Walker - Climate of Hunter

Reissue - September 19th:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000A7SBMC/

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Saturday, 20 August 2005 09:45 (twenty years ago)

hmv are also listing:

Classics & Collectibles
Scott Walker - Release date: 5-9-2005 / MERCURY

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Saturday, 20 August 2005 11:50 (twenty years ago)

Do you know what's on Classics & Collectibles?

― Leon C. (Ex Leon), Saturday, 20 August 2005 12:18 (twenty years ago)

it's about time!

thanks martian.

― jed_ (jed), Saturday, 20 August 2005 12:22 (twenty years ago)

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