Beam Us Up Scotty!!!
''....'Climate Of Hunter' is probably the worst-selling record Scott Walker ever made. It didn't stay in Virgin's full priced range for long and even at mid-price was deleted by the turn of the nineties, hardly helped by the universal tide of lousy reviews it garnered on first release. In a sense, I can understand that - after over a decade of waiting, something as unusual and unexpected as this hardly immediate collection of largely untitled and unconventional songs was well hard to take. But an album as adventurous and brave as 'Climate' can't be cast aside forever. Over the years I've played it rarely, then occasionally, then regularly, to the point where I simply could not be without a copy. Pick up a second hand copy somewhere - probably very cheaply - and bear with it. I think you're going to like it, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life...''
CLIMATE OF THE HUNTER
''..."Stretch", consists mostly of doom laden ballads. The sustained assault on the listeners emotions, perhaps exemplified by the heart breaking interpretation of "Just One Smile", is somewhat overdone leaving one in need of some light relief from the all pervasive misery. This negative comment is perhaps a tribute to Walker in that he so effectively conveys the themes contained in the songs; the vocalisation is astounding, with Walker delivering each word with the upmost clarity and perfect emotional import. The highlight of the set is Jimmy Webb's, "Where Does Brown Begin", a plea for racial tollerance, sung beatifully. The social content of this song reminds the listener of some of Walker's self penned classics such as, "Big Lousie" from Scott III and "Joe" from "Till The Band Comes In", in which he sings for the desolate and dispossessed...''
STRETCH
''..'The Moviegoer' is a Scott Walker album with a particularly low reputation, even with Scott Walker himself. I'm not exactly sure why, though. Sure, he'd abandoned writing original songs in an effort to sell records again, and choose more 'middle of the road' material to sing. The title of the album gives away the concept for this one, Scott choosing some of his favourite songs from a variety of films. He sings, and that's always good. Scott still had a glorious voice in 1972 and all of these songs are very much in the vein of similar cover material that peppered his first two solo albums. There is a richness to some of the arrangements too, largely absent from the cover material present on 'Til The Band Comes In', a lushness and beauty to the string sounds...''
THE MOVIEGOER
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