'Til The Band Comes In

Album review

The 1990s rediscovery of Scott Walker, hitherto the Pop Star Who Time Forgot, was one of the most gratifying events of the mid-'90s. No man blessed with a voice like that, taste like that, talent like that, should ever have been consigned to the creaky oblivion of oldies radio. But one needs to tread carefully when plunging into the cult. Even at his best, and particularly at his most recent, Walker can be an excruciatingly difficult taste to acquire. Move into the early-'70s midpoint of his output, and oftentimes it's simply painful. Never regarded among Scott Walker's finest efforts and a resounding flop when it first appeared in 1971, 'Til the Band Comes In is, retrospectively, the most shocking of all the singer's early albums. His first four, after all, are dramatic slabs of MOR-noir, crucial experiences for anybody eager to discover Brel, Bergman, and a taste for truly surreal pop tones; by their standards alone, surely album number five should have traveled even further astray? It doesn't. Two tracks culled for the It's Raining Today compilation, "Thanks for Chicago Mr. James" and "Joe," are this album's sole concessions to such matters as reputation. A year earlier, the BBC gave Walker his own TV series, with the assurance that he would concentrate his tonsils on ballads and standards. He fulfilled the brief admirably, and released a soundtrack album to prove it. Unfortunately, 'Til the Band Comes In suggests he never got the saccharine out of his system. He even brings TV guest Esther Ofarim back into the action, but morbid curiosity and an incomprehensible fondness for "Cinderella Rockefeller" are surely the only reasons anyone could want to check out her solo contribution to the set. There is a reasonable rendering of Jimmie Rodgers' "It's Over," aptly closing the album on a merciful note, but while Walker's first four albums remain essential listening, and the TV LP at least has its moments, Til the Band Comes In is best left waiting at the stage door. Some "lost classics" were lost with good reason.

© Dave Thompson /TiVo