A Strange Talent

What do you make of a guy who takes 11 years to make an album - at the age of 63? Or a guy who starts out as a succesful pop balladeer fronting up a schmaltzy pop trio and goes solo to record Jacques Brel as his jumping off point? A guy who is almost reclusive these days? A guy who makes albums (not many admittedly) that defy categorization and that treat the voice, his voice, as a musical instrument? What do you call a guy who fulfills all of these criteria?

You call him Scott Walker and you are ineffably happy when you read that his new album is due for worldwide release on May the 8th 2006. And then you call him an artist who used to be a pop star. And then you thank Turing that pop-music (an essentially artless medium) is capable of producing such dynamic and logic defying art. And then you slowly count on your fingers the roll call of such talents: Syd Barrett, Tim Buckley, Scott Walker, Joni Mitchell. Finally you ask yourself who's next?


A review of the new album is available:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/10bestcds/story/0,,1756929,00.html

A review of the previous album - Tilt - is available here:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jun2002/scot-j04.shtml

One day I shall share with you all the names of those few artists that are filed under the heading "Wierd Shit" - not today but one day.