Search - Scott Walker, Walker Brothers :: Sun Ain't Gonna Shine: The Very Best of

Not his best work, but utterly fascinating nonetheless

Robert Moore | Chicago, IL USA | 05/13/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Scott Walker just may be the oddest, hardest-to-peg figure in the history of rock. His career is utterly schizophrenic, split between the pop crooner of the late sixties and the avant-garde, experimentalist of the nineties and beyond. One bit of lore repeated about him is that he was a major influence on David Bowie's singing style, and it is true that Walker will frequently recall David Bowie--albeit a more vocally gifted Bowie. Comparison is also often made to Bryan Ferry and Nick Cave. There is a similar theatricality in Anthony Johnson and the Johsons. Still, whatever comparisons with other performers, there is a massive difference between Walker's earlier and later work. Someone acquainted with TILT might be horrified listening to these songs. Someone who mainly knows Walker from his sixties work could well have a cardiac arrest listening to TILT.



If you had to describe Walker to someone who had never heard him, you might say that in the sixties he was trying to sings stuff very much like what Nick Cave would be singing in the eighties and nineties, while in the nineties he was singing something that Nick Cave might be singing in 2025. At the same time, he definitely is a throw back. His love of Jacques Brel is well known, and there are few singers in the history of rock who has a voice more suited for caberet. His voice was dramatic in the way that both Tim Buckley and his son Jeff were, though he was and is more polished either (though he lacks their absolutely astonishing range). At other times he recalls Bill Medley of the Righteous Brothers.



Still, there is a certain theatricality that Walker was clearly always drawn to. This is found in all of the cuts found here, whether with the Walker Brothers or in the solo cuts. I don't know if Scott Walker had a brother, but if he did he didn't perform as one of the Walker Brothers. This is just one of the host of contradictions that surrounds Walker. Just as the fact that while Walker is American, he has never enjoyed much success here, but was a huge success in Britain. This collection contains many of the Walker Brothers biggest sixties hits. There is a big difference between this collection and the much better BOY CHILD: THE BEST OF SCOTT WALKER 1967-70. The latter emphasized Walker's original compositions and demonstrate his marvelous if quirky gifts as a songwriter. This collection features comparatively few of his own compositions, but instead primarily songs by others he performed, such as Burt Bacharach and Jacques Brel.



If these songs don't reveal Walker's gifts as a song writer, they do put his voice on fine display. Some of these songs I could have donen without. Is this really made a better album by his doing "The Impossible Dream?" On the other hand, his version of Jacque Brel's "If You Go Away" is as lovely as anyone's. The biggest hits on the CD are unquestionably "Make It Easy On Yourself" and "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore." But those are hardly the only great cuts on the disc. Not everything is a gem, but there is still more than enough to justify the cost of the album.



I would, however, urge a prospective listener to try the BOY CHILD anthology before this one. This one has the hits, but I think BOY CHILD collects more interesting music. The truly adventurous should try TILT, which is easily one of the bleakest albums ever recorded."