The Drift

The Drift is the thirteenth studio album by the American solo artist Scott Walker. It was released on the 8 May 2006 and reached number 51^[1] on the UK Albums Chart. No singles were released from the album. Apart from composing the soundtrack to the film Pola X, the album was Walker's first studio album in eleven years and only his third studio album since the final disbanding of The Walker Brothers in 1978.

Walker composed the songs for the album slowly over the eleven years soon after the release of 1995's Tilt^[2] beginning with "Cue", the longest song to complete, up until the album's recording. An early version of "Buzzers" was premièred at the Meltdown festival on 17 June 2000 under the title "Thimble Rigging". The album was recorded over a period of 17 months at Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London, with orchestra recorded in one day at George Martin's AIR Studios in Hampstead, London. Receiving good reviews from critics, the album was released as an LP and CD in May 2006. The artwork for the album was designed by Vaughan Oliver at v23 with assistance from Chris Bigg and photography by Marc Atkins.

Overview

Walker's first album composed entirely of new material since 1995's Tilt, The Drift forms the second instalment of the "trilogy" that concluded with 2012's Bish Bosch.^[3] In the years between Tilt and The Drift, Walker's released output comprised a few instrumental tracks on the soundtrack to the film Pola X,a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Threw It All Away" on the To Have and to Hold soundtrack and "Only Myself To Blame" from The World Is Not Enough soundtrack, as well as a few compilations of previously released material, including the retrospective box set 5 Easy Pieces.

The Drift has been cited by many critics and fans alike as a disturbing and complex album that departs from Scott Walker's previous albums while still remaining true to his experimental roots. French singer Vanessa Contenay-Quinones appears as the voice of Clara Petacci on "Clara".

The sound and subject matter for the album is unrelentingly dark and unsettling, often juxtaposing quiet sections with sudden loud noise to induce discomfort in the listener. Subjects include torture, disease, 9/11, and Elvis Presley.^[4]^[5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Brainwashed	(favourable) 3 May 06
Telegraph	(favourable) 6 May 06
The Guardian	5 May 06
The Independent	5 May 06
Mojo	p.102, #151
musicOMH.com	May 2006
New York	(favourable) 8 May 06
The Observer	23 Apr 06
Pitchfork Media	(9.0/10) 9 May 06
PlayLouder	15 May 06
PopMatters	10 May 06
The Times	6 May 06
Uncut	(favourable) 10 May 06
Yahoo! Music	15 May 06

The Drift received positive reviews by the majority of critics.

Mikael Åkerfeldt wanted his band Opeth to have their album Watershed be a heavy metal version of this album but "it proved to be impossible simply because his [Scott's] head is sicker than mine and I also love melodies and dynamics. There are however many parts on there directly inspired by Scott."^[6]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Scott Walker, except "Psoriatic" (Scott Walker/Bob Carleton).

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cossacks Are"	4:32
2.	"Clara"	12:43
3.	"Jesse"	6:28
4.	"Jolson and Jones"	7:45
5.	"Cue"	10:27
6.	"Hand Me Ups"	5:49
7.	"Buzzers"	6:39
8.	"Psoriatic"	5:51
9.	"The Escape"	5:18
10.	"A Lover Loves"	3:11

Personnel

Scott Walker – Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Sax, Sound Treatment
Hugh Burns – Guitar
Ian Thomas – Drums
Mark Warman – Keyboards, Orchestration, Conducting, Percussion, Woodwind, Sound Treatment
Philip Sheppard – Orchestration, Conducting, Cello
Alasdair Malloy – Percussion, Drums
John Giblin – Bass
Steve Pearce – Bass
Peter Walsh – Sound Treatment, Sitar, Percussion
Andrew Cronshaw – Woodwind, Concertina
James Stevenson – Guitar
Brian Gascoigne – Keyboards, Sound Treatment
Thomas Bowes – Violin
Vanessa Contenay-Quinones – Vocals
Beverly Foster – Voice
Pete Long – Sax
Rohan Onraet – Percussion
Lucy Painter – Vocals
Rebecca Painter – Vocals
Ralph Warman – Vocals
Derek Watkins – Flugelhorn

Personnel by track

*"Cossacks Are"

Drums: Ian Thomas
Bass: John Giblin
Electric Guitar: Hugh Burns
Keyboards: Brian Gascoigne, Mark Warman
Percussion: Alasdair Malloy

*"Clara"

Drums: Ian Thomas
Bass: Steve Pearce
Electric Guitar: Hugh Burns
Echoplex Guitar: James Stevenson
Ocarina: Mark Warman
Shawm: Andrew Cronshaw
Percussion and Meat Punching: Alasdair Malloy
Sound Treatment: Peter Walsh and Mark Warman
Vanessa Contenay-Quinones as the voice of Claretta Petacci
Strings Orchestrated and Conducted by Philip Sheppard

*"Jesse"

:Electric Baritone/Electric Guitar: Hugh Burns
Mosquito/Echoplex Guitar: James Stevenson
Strings Orchestrated and Conducted by Mark Warman

*"Jolson and Jones"

Drums: Ian Thomas
Bass: Steve Pearce
Electric Guitar: Hugh Burns
Violin: Thomas Bowes
Alto Sax: Scott Walker
Keyboards: Mark Warman
Percussion: Alasdair Malloy
Sound Treatment: Peter Walsh
Man Descending Stairs: Peter Walsh
Concertina: Andrew Cronshaw
Strings Orchestrated and Conducted by Mark Warman

*"Cue"

Drums: Alasdair Malloy
Bass: John Giblin
Acoustic Baritone Guitars: Hugh Burns and Scott Walker
Electric Guitar: Hugh Burns
Flugelhorn: Derek Watkins
Big Box Percussion: Alasdair Malloy
Big Box Construction: Tim Painter
Strings Orchestrated and Conducted by Philip Sheppard

*"Hand Me Ups"

Drums: Ian Thomas
Bass: John Giblin
Vox Continental: Mark Warman
Children Scream Vocals: Ralph Warman, Rebecca Painter, Lucy Painter
Choirboy: Ralph Warman
Tubax/Baritone Sax: Pete Long
Percussion-Claps: Rohan Onraet

*"Buzzers"

Bass: John Giblin
Electric/Acoustic Guitar: Hugh Burns
Percussion: Alasdair Malloy
Newsreader: Beverly Foster
Sound Treatment: Scott Walker and Peter Walsh
Strings Orchestrated and Conducted by Philip Sheppard

*"Psoriatic"

Drums: Ian Thomas
Bass: Steve Pearce
Electric Guitar: Hugh Burns
Sitar Guitar: Peter Walsh
High Sus Guitar: James Stevenson
Electric Cello: Philip Sheppard
Sound Treatment: Brian Gascoigne and Peter Walsh
Di-Zi: Andrew Cronshaw
Percussion: Alasdair Malloy

*"The Escape"

Drums: Ian Thomas
Bass: Steve Pearce
Electric Baritone/Acoustic Guitar: Hugh Burns
Cello: Philip Sheppard
Harmonica: Scott Walker
Keyboards and Percussion: Mark Warman
Strings Orchestrated and Conducted by Mark Warman

*"A Lover Loves"

:Acoustic Guitar: Scott Walker

String players

Violin I	Violin II	Cello	Bass
Janice Graham Paul Willey	Steve Morris Simon Smith	Alistair Blayden Nick Roberts	Neil Tarlton Chris West
Julian Tear Ofer Falk	Deborah Widdup Alison Kelly	Jane Fenton Andrew Fuller	Matthew Corman Clare Tyack
Sophie Barber Ben Buckton	Clive Dobbins Amanda Smith	John Tunnell Tamsy Kaner	Roger Linley Diane Clark
Clare Hoffman Elizabeth Wexler	Ulrike Kipp Jo Godden	Judith Herbert Jackie Phillips
Karen Leishman Matthew Scrivener	Ruth Funnell Sue Briscoe	Robert Max Roberto Sorrentino

Violin I	Violin II	Cello	Bass
Michael Davis Paul Willey	Steve Morris Simon Smith	Alistair Blayden Nick Roberts	Neil Tarlton Chris West
Julian Tear Ofer Falk	Deborah Widdup Alison Kelly	Jane Fenton Andrew Fuller	Matthew Corman Clare Tyack
Sophie Barber Ben Buckton	Clive Dobbins Amanda Smith	John Tunnell Tamsy Kaner	Roger Linley Diane Clark
Clare Hoffman Elizabeth Wexler	Ulrike Kipp Jo Godden	Judith Herbert Jackie Phillips
Ralph De Souza Robert Salter	Charles Sewart Celia Sheen	Jonathan Williams Joely Koos

Production

Produced By Scott Walker & Peter Walsh
Engineers: Geoff Foster, Peter Walsh
Mixing: Peter Walsh

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
United Kingdom	02006-05-088 May 2006	4AD	LP2×LP	CAD 2603
United Kingdom	02006-05-088 May 2006	4AD	CD	CAD 2603 CD
United States	02006-06-066 June 2006	4AD	CD
Japan	02006-06-2424 June 2006	Hostess	CD	HSE-20015

Charts

Chart	Position
Belgian Albums Chart^[7]	49
German Albums Chart^[8]	97
Irish Albums Chart	80
UK Albums Chart^[1]	51

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chart Stats - Scott Walker". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2009-02-12.
↑ Williams, Lewis (2006). Scott Walker - The Rhymes of Goodbye (1st ed.). London: Plexus. p. 179. ISBN 0-85965-395-1.
↑ http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/23/scott-walker-interview
↑ Elvis Dreams of 9/11, a review from New York magazine
↑ "Interview with Scott Walker". The Wire. May 2006. |accessdate= requires |url= (help)
↑
↑ "Charts Surfer - UK, German and French charts". charts-surfer.de. Retrieved 2009-02-12.

External links

The Drift at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
The Drift at the official 4AD site. Also "Jesse" video
Album completion announcement at the official 4AD site.
"Horrorpop!" - Momus writes about The Drift.
Dan Warburton on The Drift

v t e Scott Walker

Discography

Studio albums	Scott Scott 2 Scott 3 Scott: Scott Walker Sings Songs from his TV Series Scott 4 'Til the Band Comes In The Moviegoer Any Day Now Stretch We Had It All Climate of Hunter Tilt The Drift Bish Bosch

With The Walker Brothers	Take It Easy with The Walker Brothers Introducing the Walker Brothers Portrait The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore Images No Regrets Lines Nite Flights

Soundtracks	Pola X And Who Shall Go to the Ball? And What Shall Go to the Ball?

Compilations	Fire Escape in the Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel Boy Child: The Best of Scott Walker 1967-1970 No Regrets – The Best of Scott Walker and The Walker Brothers 1965–1976 5 Easy Pieces

Singles	Solo John/Solo Scott (EP) "Jackie" "Joanna" "The Rope and the Colt" "Lights of Cincinnati" "I Still See You" "The Me I Never Knew" "Delta Dawn" "Track Three" "Man from Reno"

Related artists	Jacques Brel Johnny Franz Peter Knight Ute Lemper Pulp The Routers John Stewart Wally Stott The Walker Brothers Gary Walker John Walker Peter Walsh

Related articles	"Deadlier Than the Male" "The Electrician" "Nite Flights" Scott Walker: 30 Century Man We Love Life

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