New Scott Walker album: 'The Drift'

WALKER: I've fuckin' spent it, ain't I?

ALBA: I don't know, have you?

WALKER: Yeah, it's all gone.

ALBA: Really?

WALKER: Down the boozer.

ALBA: Really? Good Lord! Now I want to know one thing...

WALKER: What?

ALBA: Are you serious or are you just making me, trying to make me laugh?

WALKER: No, it's all gone. Gone.

ALBA: Really?

WALKER: Yeah.

ALBA: No, but I mean about what you're doing.

WALKER: Oh yeah.

ALBA: You are serious?

WALKER: Mmm.

ALBA: Beethoven, Mozart, Bach and Brahms have all died...

WALKER: They're all heroes of mine, ain't they?

ALBA: Really... what? What were you saying, sir?

WALKER: They're wonderful people.

ALBA: Are they?

WALKER: Oh yes! They really turn me on.

ALBA: Well suppose they turn other people on?

WALKER: (Under his breath) That's just their tough shit.

ALBA: It's what?

WALKER: Nothing. A rude word. Next question.

ALBA: No, no, what was the rude word?

WALKER: Shit.

ALBA: Was it really? Good heavens, you frighten me to death.

WALKER: Oh alright, Siegfried...

"Riding a deliciously scratchy guitar riff, DRIFT explodes onto the scene, power chords blazing and choruses erupting. Scott Walker cruising his way through the song, voice soaring in all the right places and easing back to a quieter croon when the occasion calls."

Yes, yes, it's the new Scott Walker.

It's called "The Drift".

Ten tracks (last one acoustic just like Tilt and Climate of Hunter).
Like Tilt only more so - darker, stranger, further out, further in.
Astonishing stuff. Three or four of the tracks (at least) career highlights: so powerful I had to listen to it in two or three track bursts. Tracks two and three actually disabled me for about 45 minutes after (the way "The Electrician" and "Farmer In The City" did when I first heard them, only more so).
If you got Tilt, you'll love this. "Haunting" doesn't begin to do justice to its emotional complexity.
Inspirational: a 63 year old who makes musicians - artists - a third his age seem like cop outs; and makes 53 or 63 (or 46) seem like a good age to really start living...
Worth the wait - and then some.

{Out March-ish, I think, on 4AD.

posted by Ian 1/17/2006 08:37:00 PM

http://apawboy.blogspot.com/2006/01/yes-yes-its-new-scott-walker.html

i remember the wire interview circa Tilt when they asked him what he had been doing for 11 years and he just said something like "i was waiting. waiting and waiting"

http://www.thewire.co.uk/archive/interviews/scott_walker.html

Is Climate of Hunter good?

And Billy Ocean.

I don't recall the 21-gun salute.

i'm looking forward to the doc almost as much as the album.

Don't be ridiculous. They taped over those with a recording of their Morris dancing.

-- Dom iNut (do...), January 20th, 2006.

Drive

-- do knut (do...), November 17th, 2005.

close, but no prize.

Tilt > The Drift, but they're both excellent. Wasn't there something else he did recently?

It's a long way from "Stretch" it has to be said...
http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/s28517.jpg

OMG that trailer

I Heart Scott Walker

Hi. New to this forum and relatively new to Scott Walker's world but have been immersing myself in it daily, especially Tilt and The Drift, for several months. These 2 albums are still throwing up surprises for me - amazing.

Can anyone shed any light on the following for me please?

On the 1995 BBC "Late Night" Scott Walker documentary, there are 4 clips of videos of songs from Tilt - Farmer In The City, Cockfighter, Patriot and Rosary (the last one is NOT the same as on the Jools Holland show). Each one seems to be a mix of him singing the words plus visual images (the latter being a bit like the Jesse video). Does anyone know if these 4 videos have ever been released/shown in their entirety?

I've also heard about a bootleg his from the early 1990s called 'The Secret Garden' with the following tracks. Again, anyone have any more info please?
1. Big Louise (same as released)
2. We Came Through (same as released)
3. Jackie (live)
4. The Flemish Girls (live)
5. Tokyo Rimshot (same as released)
6. Liquid Air 1 (instrumental, possible Climate Of Hunter outtake)
7. Liquid Air 2 (instrumental, possible Climate Of Hunter outtake)
8. Here You Are (an early & different version of Manhattan, subsequently on Tilt)
9. Liquid Air 3 (instrumental, possible Climate Of Hunter outtake)

Thanks for any info on these
Simon

Oh i thought this was gonna be Jeff giving his opinion on the cd he bought.

havent heard of that bootleg, sorry. But if anyone has it i want it!

fuck yes, me too.

As I've never seen one anywhere else, I've started compiling a
timeline of shows/concerts for Scott and The Walker Brothers (can
someone please tell me if this has already been done so I don't waste
my time??). My intention is to make it freely available when I've taken it as far as I can. I don't know if it'll be of interest to anyone else but, so far, I'm enjoying pulling it together.

To date, I've been concentrating on the Walker Brothers years from
1965 to the Japan shows in 1968 and have gathered loads of
information, poster scans, handbills, ticket scans, etc.......but I'm
grinding to a halt with quite a lot of gaps still left. I've pretty
much exhausted searches I can think of on the internet and just
wondered if anyone could help with any information you may have about
tour dates, specific show/TV dates, programme scans with lists of
dates, poster/handbill scans, old music papers, etc that would help? Not just for 1965 to 1968 but really for any period of Scott's career?

If you have anything, maybe you could just post the venue and date so I can add it to my master list (see below)?

Really grateful for ANY help with this.

Thanks,
Simon

So far...... (I also have a rich text version with scans etc)

1964-09-30 "Shindig" TV Show
1965-01-30 "Shindig" TV Show
1965-03-26 "Ready Steady Go" TV
1965-04-10 "Thank Your Lucky Stars" TV Show
1965-04-18 Leicester, De Monfort Hall
1965-04-19 Scarborough, Futurist Theatre (x2)
1965-05-20 Wolverhampton, Gaumont
1965-05-21 Bolton, Odeon
1965-05-22 Leeds, Odeon
1965-05-23 Derby, Gaumont
1965-05 or 06 "Ready Steady Go" TV
1965-05 or 06 "Thank Your Lucky Stars" TV
1965-05 or 06 "Top Of The Pops" TV
1965-06 Manchester, Oasis Club
1965-06 Stourbridge
1965-06 Blackpool
1965-06 Sheffield
1965-06 Birmingham
1965-06 Scarborough, Futurist Theatre
1965-07-16 Exeter, Odeon (supporting Rolling Stones) x2
1965-07 Great Yarmouth ABC
1965-07 Morecambe, Winter Gardens
1965-07-31 Nelson, Imperial Ballroom
1965 Bury
1965 Stockport
1965 Boston
1965 Nelson
1965 Blackpool (x2)
1965 Reading
1965 Harlow
1965 Dunstaple, California Ballroom
1965-08-01 London, Palladium???
1965-08-13 "Ready Steady Go" TV
1965-08-21 "Thank Your Lucky Stars" TV Show
1965-11 Portsmouth, Birdcage
1965-11-21 Bristol, Colston Hall
1965-12 London, Palladium???
1965-12-03 "Ready Steady Go"
1965-12-07 "Ready Steady Go" TV Christmas Special
1965-12 "Top Of The Pops" TV Christmas Special
1966-01 Oldham, Princess Ballroom
1966-01-08 "Thank Your Lucky Stars" TV Show
1966-01-29 "Thank Your Lucky Stars" TV Show
1966-02 Stockton, Tito's Club (1 week)
1966-02 Liverpool, Empire
1966-02-13 Portsmouth, Guildhall
1966-02-25 "Ready Steady Go"
1966-03-02 Edinburgh, ABC
1966-03-19 "Thank Your Lucky Stars" TV Show
1966-03-25 Finsbury Park, Astoria (1st night) (x2)
1966-03-29 Chester, ABC (x2)
1966-03-30 Wigan, ABC (x2) (cancelled)
Birmingham, ABC
1966-04-02 Newcastle, City Hall (x2)
1966-04-03 Leeds, Odeon (x2)
Wolverhampton, Gaumont (x2)
1966-04-08 Bradford, Gaumont (x2)
Stockton, ABC (x2)
1966-04-xx East Ham, Granada (x2)
1966-04-14 Bristol, Colston Hall (x2)
1966-04-15 Cardiff, Capitol (x2)
Sheffield, City Hall (x2)
Liverpool, Empire (x2)
Dublin, Adelphi (x2)
Belfast, ABC (x2)
Portsmouth, Guildhall (x2)
Bournmouth, Winter Gardens (x2)
1966-05-01 Coventry, Coventry Theatre (x2)
1966-05-01 NME Poll Winners Concert, London, Empire Pool
1966-05 to 06 Dates in Europe
1966-05-28 "Beat Club" TV, Bremen (Land Of 1000 Dances, Love Minus Zero, The Sun)
1966-06-12 London, Palladium (first time?) should date be the 5th?
1966-06 Week's dates in France?
1966-07-08 "Ready Steady Go - Walker Brothers Special" TV
1966-07 Southend
1966-07 Dover
1966-07 Southampton
1966-07 Morecambe
1966-07 Hull
1966-08-26 Southend, Odeon
1966-08-28 Morecambe, Winter Gardens
1966-09-23 "Ready Steady Go" TV
1966-10-01 East Ham, Granada (x2)
1966-10-02 Leicester, De Monfort Hall (x2)
1966-10-03 Chester, ABC (x2)
1966-10-04 Wigan, ABC (x2)
1966-10-05 Glasgow, Odeon (x2)
1966-10-06 Dundee, Caird Hall (x2)
1966-10-07 Edinburgh, ABC (x2)
1966-10-08 Stockton, ABC (x2)
1966-10-09 Leeds, Odeon (x2)
1966-10-12 Wolverhampton, Gaumont (x2)
1966-10-13 Manchester, Odeon (x2)
1966-10-14 Newcastle, City Hall (x2)
1966-10-15 Sheffield, Gaumont (x2)
1966-10-16 Coventry, Coventry Theatre (x2)
1966-10-18 Tooting, Granada (x2)
1966-10-19 Belfast, ABC (x2)
1966-10-20 Dublin, Adelphi (x2)
1966-10-21 Slough, Adelphi (x2)
1966-10-22 Bradford, Gaumont (x2)
1966-10-23 Derby, Odeon (x2)
1966-10-27 Gloucester, ABC (x2)
1966-10-28 Cardiff, Capitol (x2)
1966-10-29 Birmingham, Odeon (x2)
1966-10-30 Liverpool, Odeon (x2)
1966-11-02 Exeter, ABC (x2)
1966-11-03 Plymouth, ABC (x2)
1966-11-04 Bristol, Colston Hall (x2)
1966-11-05 Hammersmith, Odeon (x2)
1966-11-06 Ipswich, Gaumont (x2)
1966-11-09 Portsmouth, Guildhall (x2)
1966-11-10 Luton, ABC (x2)
1966-11-12 Bournemouth, Winter Gardens (x2)
1966-11-13 Finsbury Park, Astoria (x2)
1966-11-29 London, Palladium "Royal Gala"
1966-12 Tour of Scandinavia?
1967-01-17 Singapore, National Theatre
1967-01-21 Sydney, Stadium or Festival Hall (x2)
1967-01-22 Sydney TV Show
1967-01-23 Sydney, Stadium or Festival Hall (x2)
1967-01-24 Adelaide Festival Hall or Centennial Hall (x2)
1967-01-25 Adelaide Festival Hall or Centennial Hall (x2)
1967-01-26 Melbourne Festival Hall (x2)
1967-01-27 Melbourne Festival Hall (x2)
1967-01-28 Brisbane Festival Hall (x2)
1967-01-30 Christchurch, NZ, Theatre Royal (x2)
1967-01-31 Wellington, NZ, Town Hall (x2)
1967-02-01 Hamilton, NZ, Founders Theatre (x2)
1967-02-02 Auckland, NZ, Town Hall (x2)
1967-03-31 Finsbury Park Astoria (x2)
1967-04-01 Ipswich, Gaumont (x2)
1967-04-02 Worcester, Gaumont (x2)
1967-04-05 Leeds, Odeon (x2)
1967-04-06 Glasgow, Odeon (x2)
1967-04-07 Carlisle, ABC (x2)
1967-04-08 Chesterfield, ABC (x2)
1967-04-09 Liverpool, Empire (x2)
1967-04-11 Bedford, Granada (x2)
1967-04-12 Hadleigh, Kingsway (x2)
1967-04-13 Wolverhampton, Gaumont (x2)
1967-04-14 Bolton, Odeon (x2)
1967-04-15 Blackpool, Odeon (x2)
1967-04-16 Leicester, De Monfort Hall (x2)
1967-04-19 Birmingham, Odeon (x2)
1967-04-20 Lincoln, ABC (x2)
1967-04-21 Newcastle, City Hall (x2)
1967-04-22 Manchester, Odeon (x2)
1967-04-23 Hanley, Gaumont (x2)
1967-04-25 Bristol, Colston Hall (x2)
1967-04-26 Cardiff, Capitol (x2)
1967-04-27 Aldershot, ABC (x2)
1967-04-28 Slough, Adelphi (x2)
1967-04-29 Bournmouth, Winter Gardens (x2)
1967-04-30 Tooting, Granada (x2)
1967-04-02 London, Palladium
1967-08-06 Stockton, Fiesta Club (Scott Walker)
1967-08-26 "Beat Club" TV, Bremen (Walker Brothers)
1967-09-05 Dusty Springfield TV Show "It Must Be Dusty"
1967-09-09 "Dee Time" TV
1967-09 'Cabaret engagements'
1967-12-22 Frankie Howerd TV Show
1967-12-25 "Down At The Old Bull & Bush" ATV
1968-01-02 Osaka, Festival Hall (televised)
1968-01-03 Tokyo, Nippon Budokan (Korakuen Stadium)
1968-01-04 Osaka
1968-01-06 Fukuoka
1968-01-07 Nagoya
1968-01-09 Shizuoka, Sunpu Kaikan
1968-03-19 "Cilla" (Black) TV Show
1968-05-08 Dusty Springfield TV Show "It Must Be Dusty"
1968-05-12 NME Poll Winners Concert, London, Empire Pool
1968-05-12 Frankie Howerd TV Show "Howerd's Hour"
"Top Of The Pops" TV
"It Must Be Dusty" TV
"Billy Cotton's Music Hall" TV
"Dee Time" TV
1968-06 Bolton (cancelled)
1968-06 Birmingham
1968-06-16 Bournemouth, Pavilion Theatre (x2)
1968-06-21 Brighton, Dome (x2)
1968-09? Wolverhampton, Club Lafayette
1968-09-27 "Esther & Abi Ofarim" TV Show
1968-10-01 "Mr & Mrs Music" TV Show (Hatch & Trent)
1968-10-04 Finsbury Park, Astoria (x2)
1968-10-05 Manchester, Odeon (x2)
1968-10-06 Bradford, Gaumont (x2)
1968-10-09 Edinburgh, ABC (x2)
1968-10-10 Newcastle, City Hall (x2)
1968-10-11 Birmingham, Odeon (x2)
1968-10-13 Liverpool, Empire (x2)
1968-10 Chester, ABC
1968-10-20 Coventry
1968 Manchester Gaumont????
1968 Northern Cabaret Engagements"
1968 London. Palladium "Save Rave" Charity
1968-12-22 "Frost On Sunday" TV Show
1968-12-24 "Cilla" (Black) TV Show
1969 Birmingham
1969-06-21 "Set 'Em Up Joe" TV Show (sings Lights Of Cincinnati)
1969-07-04 Brighton, Dome (x2)
1969-07-06 Blackpool, ABC (x2) (yellow programme >>>>>>)
1969-07-27 Blackpool, ABC (also yellow programme >>>>>>)
1969 Wythenshawe, Golden Garter Theatre (week's booking cancelled)
1970-03 Scott Walker Tour of Japan ????
1970 Batley, Frontier Club 'residency'
1972-07-01 "2Gs & The Pop People" TV Show
1972 Manchester, Fagin's Club
1974 Manchester, Fagin's Club
1978 BUNNY'S CLUB, CLEETHORPES, ENGLAND

New interview in tandem with the barbican malarkey.

A few interesting nuggets of biographical detail but it's no surprise that he gives so few interviews when so few interviewers seem to be able to get him.

The whole "oddball"/"cult" thing needs to be thrown out the window.

Respect him as an artist or don't bother with him at all.

1965-04-19 Scarborough, Futurist Theatre (x2)

Oh man, would like to believe that that place is as amazing as it sounds.

The whole "oddball"/"cult" thing needs to be thrown out the window.

Respect him as an artist or don't bother with him at all.

OTM. What else can he do but laugh a little if this being brought up again by a journalist? It's a disappointing interview for exactly that reason. If you don't want to look beyond the superficial image of recluse/oddball/etc., don't even bother. What a wasted opportunity.

the problem with this record is that it sounds very much put together on a computer- like you can imagine them actually fiddling with the levels/fades whatever as you are listening to it: "ok, they've decided to bring this bit on now with a fade". on a mac. it doesn't sound real at all. not one bit. that may be a conscious decision, in which case, fine (bit not for me). it all sounds so unreal spatially, like there is no space there. i really cannot connect. even an amazing song like "clara" sounds like computer.

psst psst

― my baby's got the bans (ksh), Friday, May 14, 2010 3:17 PM (6 months ago)

For those may not have seen it, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man is on Netflix streaming now. Just watched it last night, and it's probably one of the must informative docs of its kind that I've seen in a long time. PLUS, Scott is open and honest just about the whole way through, and it's really cool how his mind works. All the studio footage from the making of The Drift is also great.

My favorite part was learning that he discovered Brel via a Playboy bunny.

!

Yeah, that amazed me.

Marc Almond's bit about how he hated Tilt and Drift got a big unexpected laugh in the cinema i saw it in. i didn't agree with his opinion but it provided a cracking lol all the same!

oh yeah made me hate Almond all the way. What a waste of humanity.

Also, strange to see present-day Sting in an interview setting where I didn't hate his guts.

I sort of respected Almond for not pretending like he liked something he didn't like just because he was participating in a documentary about the guy who made it. Those albums are certainly not for everyone, even if I happen to love them.

I mean, I know people who love them and hate his early stuff.

yeah if he's doesn't like 'em, better he says so than confer yet another blandishment on them.

I mean, I know people who love them and hate his early stuff

this is exactly where I stand on Scott Walker

My favourite part of the documentary is the bit where they're talking to Angela Morley (formerly Wally Stott) about 'Montague Terrace (In Blue)', they play the song back to her and her face is amazing. "I did that?". Makes me teary every time.

It's a wonderful documentary often despite the talking heads.

this is exactly where I stand on Scott Walker

Heh heh I read that wrong

By "early stuff" do you mean 1/2/3/4 or the even earlier Walker Brothers hits? (or both?)

By "early stuff" do you mean 1/2/3/4 or the even earlier Walker Brothers hits? (or both?)

Anything before those first four tracks on Nite Flights, basically.

Anything before those first four tracks on Nite Flights, basically.

I used to feel that way but then his Brel covers really jumped out at me, and then his bed-sit dramas wormed their way into my head. I'm still metza-metza about his ballads and most of The Walker Brothers material, though. But listening to the entire "Five Easy Pieces" box set straight was almost transformative, to live in his world for that long.

I love everything he did, even his worst stuff. He just has a certain something.

"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" is one of my all time favorite songs.

Last night's Devon Record Club had a Halloween theme. I played this - http://devonrecordclub.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/scott-walker-–-the-drift-–-round-17-–-nick’s-choice/

Great write up sicko

He's doing Donald Duck, not Daffy Duck.

indeed

"I was trying to get something matching up to the lyric at the end there, because you know he’s not saying what Donald Duck says, he’s saying what Bugs Bunny says, so you have a kind of combination of two creatures together. They're kind of morphing into each other. I guess that was what was running through my head."

http://tigersare.blogspot.com/2006/05/scott-walker-speaks.html

I've got over the "I'm too scared of this record to play it more than once a year" thing and now I'm finally appreciating it in full. Actually I'm kind of obsessed with it. Once the "songs" start shining through it's one of the best albums ever. Shame that everything else sounds shallow and cheerful by comparison.

Yeah, it's fantastic!! My only crit is that the rhythm of the vocal phrases gets a little repetitious. It's my favourite album of the 00s, Tilt doesn't hold a candle to it imho

This is maybe kind of 'well gee' but if you own a pair of studio monitor headphones you should give it a listen through it's probably the best sounding record I've ever heard

When that storm of bees or whatever it is erupts, fucking hellfire.

I must listen again to The Drift. It's never completely worked for me, and I speak as someone who thinks Tilt is a masterpiece.

"oh yeah made me hate Almond all the way. What a waste of humanity."

I think that bit was salutary, insofar as it stuck a pin in the general tone of reverence, but I can't help but think that Almond hates Tilt in a "oh, but where are the songs about decadent prostitutes?" way.

"the problem with this record is that it sounds very much put together on a computer- like you can imagine them actually fiddling with the levels/fades whatever as you are listening to it: "ok, they've decided to bring this bit on now with a fade". on a mac. it doesn't sound real at all. not one bit. that may be a conscious decision, in which case, fine (bit not for me). it all sounds so unreal spatially, like there is no space there. i really cannot connect. even an amazing song like "clara" sounds like computer."

Yeah, I think this gets to the problem.

i like the lack of spatiality! it's very claustrophobic

I hear the lack of space too, but it's part of its monastic quality. It's claustrophilia!

Yeah, I think this gets to the problem.

Didn't 30th Century Man reveal the recording of The Drift to be entirely analog?

That's what it says on the liner notes. I'm pretty surprised that it's analog, it doesn't seem that necessary (except maybe some of the string stuff) and there's zero hiss

There's extra footage on the 30thCM DVD of the recording of The Drift, there are shots of guys peering at computer screens but you can never quite see if it is ProTools or some other recording software.

http://heystacks.tumblr.com/post/51677726774/scott-walker-the-escape-the-drift-2006-okay-so

Slowly reading through this thread again and very sad at the realisation we'll unlikely hear any new Scott ever again

I was really depressed when he died and the news went right by me without registering. Just realized he’d passed last week. A true genius :(

I know right? He spent so long between albums that I keep thinking 'Ah I wonder what he's going to pull out his sleeve in 2024?' and then it dawns on me...

Yeah, same here. I half keep expecting him to pop up again with something new or crazy, but then realize... It's been very different with other greats (maybe also because with eg. Bowie, and even Hollis, the tributes were *everywhere* and seemed to last way longer than with Walker).

Did anyone see this? (Also hmu if you know how I can see this)

Tune in tonight at 9pm on Sky Arts to watch Charles Hazelwood’s reimagining of Scott Walker’s 2006 album The Drift 🕷

Charles and Paraorchestra are joined by singer Rylan Gleave and experimental improv trio Pulled By Magnets in Abbey Road’s Studio 2 pic.twitter.com/qs647vF8kv

— 4AD (@4AD_Official) July 4, 2022