Scott Walker & Walker Brothers

1984's Climate of Hunter was Scott Walker's only album of the decade and his only for Virgin Records. It drew critical raves for it's minimalist, trancelike ambience that showed him keeping abreast of cutting edge 80's rock trends. Digitally remastered for the first time and includes sleeve notes by Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne.

The Walker Brothers' second U.K. album was their most commercially successful, reaching number three, yet its quality was quite erratic. Like some other pop/rock LPs of its time, it suffered from an apparent strategy to appeal to a wider demographic than those that typically bought pop/rock records, adding a cover of Louis Armstrong's "Just for a Thrill," the moldy standard "Old Folks," and the pedestrian white-boy soul workout on Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready." On the other hand, this had the dramatic "In My Room," a fine antecedent of Scott Walker's moody, late-'60s solo outings.

Scott Walker's catalog has been reissued several times; therefore, yet another package, this one containing his four self-titled solo albums and 'Til the Band Comes In (sans any bonus material), might seem puzzling at first, or a cash-in at worst. Indeed, this isn't even a truly chronological reissue: Scott Sings Songs from His TV Series was his actual fourth album, issued in 1969, between Scott 3 and Scott 4. The choice to include the uneven 'Til the Band Comes In, his sixth record – and one of the first of his truly confounding releases from the '70s – is interesting if not ideal. That said, it is not without merit as about half of it is wonderful.

Like the prior Sky Still Blue (2014), Gotta Get Back bears the involvement of the Wood Brothers but instead of Oliver Wood in the producers seat, that job is handed off to Wood Brothers keyboardist and drummer Jano Rix. Rix like Wood does nothing to get in the way of Walker, his guitar, his voice and his songs; his job was to make sure all is heard in full glory. Gotta Get Back is a little less guitar-heavy but manages to be timeless overall even more so than its immediate predecessor.

Two CD compilation containing some of acclaimed vocalist Scott Walker's finest recorded moments. Of the 45 tracks on this double disc set, over 20 are appearing on CD for the first time…including a previously unreleased alternative vocal mix of the classic Walker Brothers hit, 'The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore'. The often mysterious Walker deftly married classic pop craftsmanship and string-laden arrangements with lyrics about doomed love affairs, dreams dashed and lives left unfulfilled. As the public moved on to 1970s guitar rock, the ever-elusive Scott Walker slowly withdrew from public view, quietly battling depression and alcoholism out of the limelight. He has since recorded sporadically, but these magical moments are what made him one of the biggest cult legends in Pop music.

If your only reference for what the Ruen Brothers were about was their twangy, Roy Orbison-esque 2013 singles "Aces" and the broodingly detached, '50s-style cover photo on 2018's All My Shades of Blue, you might assume they were rock & roll purists – throwback poster boys for all things tube-amp warm and pomade-rich. However, one listen to the Rick Rubin-produced album and it quickly becomes clear that, despite the duo's obvious knack for mid-century pulp posturing, that assumption is only half-correct.