Scott 4

This article is about the Scott Walker album. For the band, see Scott 4 (band).
Scott 4
Studio album by Noel Scott Engel
Released November 1969
Recorded Olympic Studios, London, 1969
Genre Baroque pop, pop
Length 32:28
Label Philips / Fontana
Producer John Franz
Noel Scott Engel chronology

Scott: Scott Walker Sings Songs from his TV Series
(1969)		 Scott 4
(1969)		 'Til The Band Comes In
(1970)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Pitchfork Media (9.0/10)[2]

Scott 4 is Scott Walker's fifth solo album (a collection of songs he had performed for his BBC television series had been his fourth). It was originally released in late 1969 under his birth name, Noel Scott Engel (the name Walker did not appear on the original album sleeve), and was the first Walker album to consist solely of self-penned songs (Scott 1-3 had each featured translations of Jacques Brel songs, which were later compiled to form the album Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel, and the earlier albums had also featured some songs from other sources).

The album failed to chart and was deleted soon after. It has been speculated that Walker's decision to release the album under his birth name of Noel Scott Engel contributed to its chart failure. All subsequent re-issues of the album have been released under his stage name. Today it is considered as one of his strongest works and it's been acknowledged in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die amongst others. It's also critically acclaimed by known artists such as David Bowie and the members of Radiohead.

The quote "a man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened" (credited to the French-Algerian writer Albert Camus) appears on the back of the sleeve of the album.

The opening track, "The Seventh Seal" is based on the film of the same name by filmmaker Ingmar Bergman.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Noel Scott Engel. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "The Seventh Seal"   4:58
2. "On Your Own Again"   1:48
3. "The World's Strongest Man"   2:21
4. "Angels of Ashes"   4:22
5. "Boy Child"   3:38
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "Hero of the War"   2:29
2. "The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)"   3:43
3. "Duchess"   2:51
4. "Get Behind Me"   3:14
5. "Rhymes of Goodbye"   3:04

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue
United Kingdom November 1969[3] Philips LP (Credited to 'Scott Engel') SBL 7913
UK August 3, 1992[3] Fontana CD 510 882-2
UK June 5, 2000[3] Fontana HDCD 510 882-2
United States February 15, 2008[4] 4 Men With Beards LP 4M152

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Release: Scott 4 - MusicBrainz". Retrieved 2010-08-10.
  4. ↑ "VinylFanatics.com Vinyl Records, Vinyl Record Reviews, News, Forum Vinyl reviews Audiophile vinyl The best site for vinyl records - UPDATE : Vinyl Lovers - New record label?". © 2010 VinylFanatics.com. Retrieved 2010-08-11.

External links