''Scott 4'' is
Scott Walker's fifth solo album. It was released in late 1969 under his birth name, Scott Engel, and failed to chart. Reissues have been released under his stage name. It has since received praise as one of Walker's best works.
Content
''Scott 4'' was the first Walker album to consist solely of self-penned songs. The preceding ''
Scott'', ''
Scott 2'' and ''
Scott 3'' albums had each featured a mixture of originals and covers, including several translations of
Jacques Brel songs, which were later collected to form the album ''
Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel''. ''Scott 4'' also features slightly less ornate orchestral arrangements than its predecessors, opting instead for a more skeletal,
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Folk Plus or Fo ...
-inspired sound with greater emphasis on the rhythm section.
The opening track, "The Seventh Seal," is based on the 1957
film of the same name by filmmaker
Ingmar Bergman. The second track on side B, "The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)" refers to the 1968
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia
The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...
.
The quote "a man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened" (credited to the writer
Albert Camus
Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...
) appears on the back of the album sleeve.
Release
The album failed to chart and was
deleted soon after. It has been speculated that Walker's decision to release the album under his birth name of Scott Engel contributed to its chart failure. All subsequent re-issues of the album have been released under his stage name.
Today ''Scott 4'' is considered one of his strongest works and it has been acknowledged in the book ''
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
'' amongst others. It has also been praised by the members of
Radiohead.
It was voted number 760 in the third edition of
Colin Larkin
Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British writer and entrepreneur. He founded, and was the editor-in-chief of, the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', described by ''The Times'' as "the standard against which all others must be judged".
Along wit ...
's ''
All Time Top 1000 Albums
''All Time Top 1000 Albums'' is a book by Colin Larkin, creator and editor of the ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. The book was first published by Guinness Publishing in 1994. The list presented is the result of over 200,000 votes cast by th ...
'' (2000).
Track listing
Release history
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Scott Walker (singer) albums
1969 albums
Albums produced by Johnny Franz
Philips Records albums
Fontana Records albums
Art pop albums