''Scott 2'' is the second solo album by Scott Walker, released in 1968 by

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

in the UK and

Smash Records Smash Records was an American record label founded in 1961 as a subsidiary of Mercury Records. History Mercury Record Corporation president Irving Green announced the formation of the company’s new pop subsidiary label, Smash Records, in Ma ...

in the US. Featuring the minor hit " Jackie", it arrived at the height of Walker's commercial success as a solo artist, topping the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. Like its predecessor, ''Scott 2'' comprises an assortment of

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

cover versions In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...

, selections from Walker favorite

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

, and a handful of original songs. Three of his next four albums would feature mostly or entirely original material, with the '' Scott: Scott Walker Sings Songs from his T.V. Series'' album being devoted to covers.

Overview

''Scott 2'' follows the formula of Walker's début release, with a mixture of contemporary covers ("Black Sheep Boy", "The Windows of the World")

interpretations (" Jackie", "Next", "The Girls and the Dogs"), film songs ("Wait Until Dark", "Come Next Spring") and his own original compositions ("The Amorous Humphrey Plugg", "The Girls from the Streets", "Plastic Palace People", "The Bridge"). The content of his own and Brel's material was markedly more risqué than on ''Scott'', with "Jackie", "Next" and "The Girls from the Streets" standing out with themes of sexual tribulations and decadent lifestyles, while the contributions of Walker's regular arrangers and the structures of his own compositions were becoming more adventurous and progressive. According to

Jonathan King Jonathan King (born Kenneth George King; 6 December 1944) is an English singer, songwriter and record producer. He first came to prominence in 1965 when "Everyone's Gone to the Moon", a song that he wrote and sang while still an undergraduate, ...

, writing in the liner notes to ''Scott 2'', not long after the album had been completed Walker described it as the "work of a lazy, self-indulgent man." He added, "Now the nonsense must stop, and the serious business must begin." King continues about Walker: "I have no doubt that many years from now, over a space age dinner of vitamins, ..he will say: 'Well, the last fifty years have been great fun, but now we must get down to doing something worthwhile.' And he'll mean it."

Release and reception

The album, released on

in March 1968, reached No. 1 for one week and stayed in the

for eighteen weeks. The album was preceded by the single " Jackie" in late 1967. The single met with controversy in the UK due to its lyrics about "authentic queers and phony virgins" and drug references. The song was banned by the BBC and was not performed on BBC TV or played on the mainstream radio channels. The song eventually charted at No. 22. The album was eventually released in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in July 1968 with different artwork, but sold poorly.

Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a singer and songwriter from Northern Ireland. He is the founder and frontman of the chamber pop group the Divine Comedy, and is the band's only constant member since its inception in 1989. H ...

, frontman of

the Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

, later observed that ''Scott 2'' was "A record about real stuff with quite disturbing imagery".Thornton, Anthony: 'Neil Hannon's Record Collection', '' Q'' No. 146, November 1998, p67

Track listing

Chart positions

Personnel

Wally Stott Angela Morley (10 March 192414 January 2009) was an English composer and conductor who became familiar to BBC Radio listeners in the 1950s under the name of Wally Stott. Morley provided incidental music for ''The Goon Show'' and ''Hancock's ...

– arranger, conductor (1, 2, 12) *Reg Guest – arranger, conductor (3, 4, 9) * Peter Knight – arranger, conductor (6, 10) * John Franz – producer *Peter J. Olliff – engineer *

– liner notes

Release history

References

{{Authority control Scott Walker (singer) albums Song recordings with Wall of Sound arrangements 1968 albums Fontana Records albums Albums conducted by Wally Stott Albums arranged by Wally Stott Albums conducted by Peter Knight (composer) Albums arranged by Peter Knight (composer) Albums produced by Johnny Franz Philips Records albums Smash Records albums