''Scott 2'' is the second solo album by Scott Walker, released in 1968 by

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

in the UK and

Smash Records Smash Records was an American record label founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records by Mercury executive Shelby Singleton and run by Singleton with Charlie Fach. Fach took over after Singleton left Mercury in 1966. Its recording artist ...

in the US. Featuring the minor hit " Jackie", it arrived at the height of Walker's commercial success as a solo artist, topping the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. This album, alongside '' Scott'', features

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

's "

Wall of Sound The Wall of Sound (also called the Spector Sound) is a music production formula developed by American record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios, in the 1960s, with assistance from engineer Larry Levine and the conglomerate of session m ...

" recording technique. Like its predecessor, ''Scott 2'' comprises an assortment of pop

cover versions In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

, selections from Walker favorite

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

, and a handful of original songs. His following three albums would feature mostly or entirely original material.

Overview

''Scott 2'' follows the formula of Walker's début release, with a mixture of contemporary covers ("Black Sheep Boy", "The Windows of the World")

interpretations (" Jackie", "Next", "The Girls and the Dogs"), film songs ("Wait Until Dark", "Come Next Spring") and his own original compositions ("The Amorous Humphrey Plugg", "The Girls from the Streets", "Plastic Palace People", "The Bridge"). The content of his own and Brel's material was markedly more risqué than on ''Scott'', with "Jackie", "Next" and "The Girls from the Streets" standing out with themes of sexual tribulations and decadent lifestyles, while the contributions of Walker's regular arrangers and the structures of his own compositions were becoming more adventurous and progressive. According to

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

, writing in the liner notes to ''Scott 2'', not long after the album had been completed Walker described it as the "work of a lazy, self-indulgent man." He added, "Now the nonsense must stop, and the serious business must begin." King continues about Walker: "I have no doubt that many years from now, over a space age dinner of vitamins, ..he will say: 'Well, the last fifty years have been great fun, but now we must get down to doing something worthwhile.' And he'll mean it."

Release and reception

The album, released on

in March 1968, reached #1 for one week and stayed in the

for eighteen weeks. The album was preceded by the single " Jackie" in late 1967. The single met with controversy in the UK because of lyrics like "authentic queers and phony virgins" and drug references. The song was banned by the BBC and was not performed on BBC TV or played on the mainstream radio channels. The song eventually charted at #22. The album was eventually released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in July 1968 with different artwork, but sold poorly. "A record about real stuff with quite disturbing imagery," remarked

Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and front man of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy, and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for t ...

, frontman of

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and ...

.Thornton, Anthony: 'Neil Hannon's Record Collection', '' Q'' #146, November 1998, p67 British singer/songwriter Marvin B. Naylor referenced Walker's song Plastic Palace People in the title of his 2009 album The Last Flight Of Billy Balloon and in the song Beautiful Balloon from the same album.

Track listing

Chart positions

Personnel

Angela Morley Angela Morley (10 March 192414 January 2009) was an English composer and conductor who became a familiar household name to BBC Radio listeners in the 1950s. She attributed her entry into composing and arranging largely to the influence and en ...

– arrangements and conductor (Tracks 1, 2, 12) *Reg Guest – arrangements and conductor (Tracks 3, 4, 9) * Peter Knight – arrangements and conductor (Tracks 6, 4) *Peter Olliff – engineer

Release history

References

{{Authority control Scott Walker (singer) albums Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements 1968 albums Fontana Records albums Albums conducted by Wally Stott Albums arranged by Wally Stott Albums conducted by Peter Knight (composer) Albums arranged by Peter Knight (composer) Albums produced by Johnny Franz Philips Records albums Smash Records albums