''Scott 3'' is the third solo album by American singer songwriter Scott Walker, released on March 1, 1969, in the United Kingdom through

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 ...

. It was produced by John Franz. Though a majority of the tracklist features original songs from Walker, the final three tracks are covers of compositions by

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 ...

Reception

Commercial

Upon release in 1969, it met with slightly fewer sales than his previous albums, as pop audiences struggled to keep pace with Walker's increasingly experimental approach, though it still reached No. 3 on the

UK Album Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for 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 Offici ...

Critical

In a retrospective review, Mark Lager wrote that the album contained "contemplative, delicate, and nostalgic songs surrounded by a string section of somber darkness. The opening track 'It's Raining Today' is autumnal, gray, misty, and overcast and his lyrics share similarities with

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

's songs from around this same time period. 'Copenhagen' contains Christmas chimes and, at the end, a carnival carousel. His voice is reminiscent of crooner

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, yet the lyrics are akin to

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust ( ; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, literary critic, and essayist who wrote the novel (in French – translated in English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'' and more r ...

's ''Swann's Way'' in their recollections upon faraway childhood innocence. 'Winter Night' is a crystalline, melancholy mood piece that is best accompanied by a glass of Amontillado sherry."

Legacy

The album's slightly muted reception and subsequent failure of Walker's short-lived

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

TV series signified the beginning of his decline in popularity. Since its release, however, it has been regarded by many of Walker's fans as a favourite. In September 2019,

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician who is the vocalist and main songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. He plays guitar, bass, keyboards and other instruments, and is noted for his falsetto. ''Rolling Stone'' desc ...

, on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

show ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...

'', named "It's Raining Today" as one of the eight pieces of music he would take to an imaginary desert island. The title of the 1981 compilation '' Fire Escape in the Sky: The Godlike Genius of Scott Walker'' is taken from the lyrics of the song "Big Louise", and the 2006 documentary '' Scott Walker: 30 Century Man'' is named after "30 Century Man".

Track listing

The original U.S. Smash label vinyl issue omitted "30 Century Man", replacing it with " Lights of Cincinnati", a UK non-LP single from the same period. This issue also featured a different cover design from the UK

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

release.

Personnel

*Scott Walker – vocals *Keith Altham – liner notes *

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 (1–10, 13) * Peter Knight – arranger, conductor (11, 12) * John Franz – producer *Peter Olliff – engineer *John Kelly – front photograph *Linda Glover – sleeve design

Release history

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control Scott Walker (singer) albums 1969 albums Albums conducted by Peter Knight (composer) Albums arranged by Peter Knight (composer) Albums produced by Johnny Franz Philips Records albums Fontana Records albums Art pop albums