THE WALKER BROTHERS – "Make It Easy On Yourself"

Some artists just don’t seem to make the leap across the pond. As I recall, neither the Byrds nor the Mamas and the Papas made much of an impression in England, while Scott Walker, with or without his “brothers,” never connected with the mass American audience.

For me, Scott’s singing always makes me think of Engelbert Humperdinck. The material here is better than anything the Hump ever sang, but the essential smarminess of both singers marks them as equals, more or less, to my ears.
In a way, Scott’s pretentiousness makes him the more irritating of the two: Englebert never fooled himself into thinking he was anything more than a lounge singer out to make money; Scott actually seemed to believe he was some kind of tortured artiste.

I don’t know if he was the genuine article, or if it was all a pose. The problem for me as far as enjoying his work is that tortured artistes as a class just don’t appeal to me.

If Scott was truly sincere, then the most unusual thing about him might be that he chose to express the emotions of a tortured soul in the smooth tones of a Vegas singer, rather than opting for the post-Dylan, “I yowl, therefore I am” approach.

Somebody mentioned that ” Satisfaction” would be a hard act to follow….I agreed but really I mean , I’ve never even heard of this guy ! From the sublime to the innocuous.
It’s only Rock ‘n’ Roll but I like it !

Postscript:
This is not an easy song to sing by any means, even though the WBs make it sound as if it is. It’s not Engelbert material by a long shot. I’d hate to think what a hash EB would have made of it.

Doctor Mod

I always thought this was an odd number one – the Jack Nitzsche-produced Love Her preceded it and stalled at no.20 with very similar subject matter but featured a heart-in-mouth bass-and-vocal breakdown that made the performance absolutely believable. And the two singles which followed – My Ship Is Coming In and The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore – stomp all over it.

Part of the problem is the slightly off-the-shelf arrangement which could just as easily have been intended for Cilla. I’m guessing it was force of personality as much as the vocals that pushed it to the top, bronzed sun gods arriving from CA in a drizzly English autumn.

The song, on the other hand, I’ve always thought of as one of pop’s bravest and most romantic, so beautifully selfless. It may be harder to take the wilted Scott at face value, but there’s no such problem with Jerry Butler’s softer but way more intense version. Butler is a true stoic, a man not known for easy tears, from whom “run to him before you start crying too” is a line delivered by a man barely keeping it together.

tsk.

meanwhile, over in the US, this was number 1:
http://nohardchords.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/144-barry-mcguire-eve-of-destruction/

The Dawn Of Correction was one of a few anti-longhair 45s at that time. Jan & Dean’s Universal Coward – a response to Donovan’s Universal Soldier – takes the cake.

Wasn’t Universal Soldier a Buffy St Marie song with a Donovan cover(and Glen Campbell too – the version my Dad played at/too me when I was a kid)?

Re 16: Ha! Good spot. They were certainly happy to record other PF Sloan songs, and did a pretty good job of them.

Re 17: Yes of course it was, sorry. The first version I knew was Donovan’s, on the K-Tel 24 Golden Greats Of The Sixties comp. I like Glen Campbell’s best too – didn’t seem to tally with his political views, mid you.

Re 18: I’ve never heard it, but heard of it (including that “I have no son” payoff) through Tom Hibbert’s Rare Records book.

Somehow the sentiments are creepier coming from someone of draft age, like Jan & Dean. Dawn Of Correction was written by Madara and White who also wrote It’s My Party! Sweet Home Alabama has always made me queasy for similar reasons – it isn’t exactly rejecting the jibes of Southern Man is it?

Critic watch:

Mojo (UK) – The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time (2000) 81
The Guardian (UK) – 1000 Songs Everyone Must Hear (2009)
Gilles Verlant and Thomas Caussé (France) – 3000 Rock Classics (2009)
Rock de Lux (Spain) – The Top 150 Songs from the 20th Century (1998) 89
Giannis Petridis (Greece) – 2004 of the Best Songs of the Century (2003)

I think Scott’s slightly wooden delivery arises from the fact that the narrator is – or is trying to be – an old-fashioned chivalrous chap who maintains a stiff upper lip for the sake of the girl who’s ending their relationship (btw surely he’s telling HER not to let HIM down gently?). As such, it wouldn’t work if he sang too emotively – although he hits a couple of politely anguished notes which, to my ears, make him sound sufficiently like he means it (man).

However, I do understanding what you’re saying. Scott’s performance here just isn’t quite arresting enough to lift this recording (even though I’m very fond of it) into the realms of the all-time greats. Certainly it doesn’t compare to his masterly study of resigned desolation in ‘No Regrets’, or even his moody dynamics in ‘The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore’. Still, if partly for sentimental reasons, it gets an 8 from me.