''Scott'' is the debut solo album by Scott Walker, originally released in the United Kingdom on

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 ...

in 1967. The album received both strong commercial success as well as critical praise, hitting No. 3 on 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 ...

. The album was produced by John Franz, who had previously worked with Walker's group

the Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Joseph Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens) and Gary Le ...

, while its instrumental accompaniments were arranged and conducted by

Wally Stott 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 ...

, Reg Guest and Peter Knight.

Overview

''Scott'' was released only six months after Walker's third album with

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an American pop group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker), John Walker (born John Joseph Maus, but using the name Walker since his teens) and Gary Le ...

, ''

Images An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

''. Its mixture of Walker's original compositions and selection of cover versions established Walker as a more serious and sombre artist; gone were the Beat group and Blue-eyed soul material of his former group. The choice of material generally fell into four main categories: his own work ("Montague Terrace (In Blue)", "Such a Small Love", "Always Coming Back to You"), contemporary covers ("

The Lady Came from Baltimore "The Lady Came from Baltimore" (sometimes shown as "Lady Came from Baltimore") is a song written by American singer-songwriter Tim Hardin, who recorded and released it as a track on his album ''Tim Hardin 2'' in 1967. The song was inspired by Har ...

", "Angelica"), movie songs ("You're Gonna Hear From Me", "Through a Long and Sleepless Night") and significantly, English-translated versions of the songs of the Belgian singer and songwriter Jacques Brel (" Mathilde", "My Death", "

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

"). Brel was a major influence on Walker's own compositions, and Walker included three of his songs on each of his next two solo albums, '' Scott 2'' and ''

Scott 3 ''Scott 3'' is the third solo album by singer songwriter Scott Walker. Upon release in 1969, it met with slightly fewer sales than his previous albums, as pop audiences struggled to keep pace with Walker's increasingly experimental approach, tho ...

''. Walker described Brel without qualification as 'the most significant singer-songwriter in the world'. The real coup for Walker was his luck in acquiring and recording the new

Mort Shuman Mortimer Shuman (12 November 1938 – 2 November 1991) was an American singer, pianist and songwriter, best known as co-writer of many 1960s rock and roll hits, including "Viva Las Vegas". He also wrote and sang many songs in French, such as " ...

-translated versions of Brel's material before anyone else. Since the album's release, three complete outtakes, likely recorded during the ''Scott'' album sessions, have circulated in bootlegged form. These are "Free Again" (Basile/Canfora/Colby/Jourdan), "I Get Along Without You Very Well" (

Hoagy Carmichael Hoagland Howard Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American musician, composer, songwriter, actor and lawyer. Carmichael was one of the most successful Tin Pan Alley songwriters of the 1930s, and was among the first ...

) and "I Think I'm Getting Over You" ( Roger Cook/

Roger Greenaway Roger John Reginald Greenaway, (born 23 August 1938) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaborations with Roger Cook. His compositions have included "You've Got Your Troubles" and the transatlantic mill ...

), the latter of which was recorded for potential single release.

Release and reception

The album was released by Philips Records in September 1967 in the UK. It reached No. 3 on the

, and stayed on the chart for seventeen weeks. It was released the following year in the US on

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 ...

under the title ''Aloner''.

Track listing

Personnel

* Scott Walker – vocals *

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, conductor (Tracks 1,2,5,7 & 8) * Reg Guest – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 3,4,6 & 11) * Peter Knight – arrangements, conductor (Tracks 9 & 10) * Peter Olliff – engineer

Release history

Charts

References

{{Authority control Scott Walker (singer) albums Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements 1967 debut albums Albums conducted 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 Fontana Records albums