Scott Walker’s career is impressive. He’s been at it for decades, and gone though a range of increasing experimental styles; and what’s more, he’s done pretty well at it too.
At one point before the release of Scott 3 in 1969, he even went to live in a monastery to learn about the art of Gregorian chanting, in order to increase the Baroque quality of his music.
It is pretty intense stuff, with his deep voice cutting through some quite unusual sounds. This does not sound like a record made in 1969, and I was quite stunned to find that it was…
“It’s Raining Today” starts off with a terrifying array of dissonance reminiscent of Xenakis, before a slow and sweet guitar riff starts. Walker’s jazzy voice adds a real touch of class to everything, and here is no exception.
About halfway through, some rich strings hit, and the song has a brief moment of conventionality before sinking back into its weird surreal edginess.
I’m not sure whether I’ve sold the song well here, but it really is a nice song, albeit one that could very easily soundtrack a particularly creepy episode of Black Mirror.
The lyrics are deep and dark, which is about right for the overall feel of the song. It does make his soothing baritone quite a contradiction though…
This wasn’t just ahead of his time; it’s ahead of ours too!