Search - Scott Walker :: Tilt

A disturbing work of genius

Geoff Hall | Borehamwood, UK | 07/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You have to have an open mind to sit through this album. It is very distubing and I would not listen to this on my personal stereo late at night. This is challenging in the extreme and not for the faint-heartedHaving said that, this is a work of such genius and beauty that, to me, it is like opera. Here is a man who can sing anything - and proves it on this album.My advice to everyone who wants to know about this album and wonders if there is anything similar to it, is to ignore all his early albums. I listened earlier to "Boy Child" - the compilation of Scott's music from 67 to 70. It's a magnificent collection from his first six albums, but this is nothing like that - the music on "Boy Child" and "Tilt" could not be further away from each other, they're light years apart.To have any clue about what to expect musically and lyrically here, you might listen to the last Walker Brothers album - "Nite Flights" - and Scott's previous release "Climate Of Hunter". Even then, you'll put this on your stereo and listen in wonderment and disbelief.You can't categorise this music, you can't sing along to it - you just listen to it and marvel at it's originality and it's brilliance. The musicianship is magnificent and simple and the strings, in all of this albums oddness, stand out beautifully.A distubing work of genius. As others have said, you can't accuse of Scott Walker of selling out, of writing to get hit records.The bad news is that there has been nothing from Scott since this album - 9 years of nothing, although I am ever optimistic that there is another album in him. The further bad news (for other writers, that is) is that most of them could not write material of this massive quality even in their dreams (or their nightmares).This is immense in the extreme. A strange but glorious masterpiece."

TILT'S EMOTIVE POWER

Curtis T. Price | 12/09/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Tilt" is the most recent CD from reclusive genius Scott Walker, best known as lead singer for 60s pop sensations, The Walker Brothers. I don't know much about the Walker Brothers; they were before my time. But Walker Brothers fans should beware. "Tilt" is about as far away from frothy pop as it is possible to get. I guess the transition would be the equivalent of Rickey Martin suddenly opting out of the Top 40 to join a music concrete ensemble."Tilt" is difficult to slot into any neat category; it defies categorization. But if I were pressed to make comparisons, I would say that parts of it remind me of the very early 4AD era Associates, with Walker's voice having the same emotive soar as the late Billy Mackenzie. In other parts, "Tilt" calls up Colin Newman's (Wire) early solo work or Bowie circa "Low"."Tilt" lives up to its name being subject to sudden angular shifts in mood. Lush orchestral passages (with a real symphony) dissolve into harsher, disjointed, angular runs before returning back to a soundtrack-like dreaminess. Cuts that especially stood out are "Farmer in the City" and the title track.The more I listen to it, the more I can say that "Tilt" is work of singular breadth and vision, almost breathtakingly so. When others with his past would be content playing Las Vegas lounges, Walker has instead carved out a distinct and bleakly romantic vision., eschewing all concessions to commercial success and successfully carving out a distinct musical territory he alone occupies."

Just label it genius

Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 08/24/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm enthralled by this magnificent CD. A masterpiece of contemporary music, totally unclassifiable, unique in its beauty and magic. The intricacy of these compositions is astounding, with intriguing instrumentation, some lush, some loud/crashing, but all knit together with riveting drama and passion. The meaning of the lyrics, or are they poems?...or perhaps a script ?...are incomprehensible to me, but I "feel" them in the way that they're sung. Charged with emotion, his expressive voice conveys more than words could ever say. A dark inner/outer journey to his/our world of alienation. This is challenging music. Scott said about this recording: "I worked hard at it and they (his listeners) should work at it as well. More and more I think there are people around who'll do that". So if you're willing to go down the path Scott made, put this CD on late at night, turn off the lights, and explore it...it's a wonderful voyage."