Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Scott 4, here comes a special edition half-speed mastered vinyl cut at Abbey Road Studios for ultimate sound quality. In over 15 years of half-speed mastering, Abbey Road engineer Miles Showell has mastered the art of creating the finest audio-quality vinyl pressings available with his specialist work, creating a whole new listening experience for some of the most iconic albums of all time.
Scott Walker’s fifth studio album features some of his finest compositions, including The Seventh Seal, The Old Man’s Back Again and Duchess and is now considered to be one of his greatest achievements. Despite its initial lukewarm reaction, the album failed to chart on release (possibly due to the album being released under his birth name of Noel Scott Engel! Scott 4 has been recognised as a major influence on countless artists – David Bowie, Jarvis Cocker, Marc Almond amongst others. His song-writing reached new peaks on this record (it was the first Scott Walker album to feature entirely original material) and is incisive, articulate and acerbic. The Seventh Seal (inspired by the classic Ingmar Bergman film), features a haunting Ennio Morricone-style arrangement; The Old Man’s Back Again also displays cinematic qualities and a penetrating theme (“dedicated to the neo-Stalinist regime,” the “old man” of this song was supposedly Josef Stalin); Duchess and Boy Child are achingly beautiful, timeless classics. The eclectic mix of folk, country, and soul influences contained, make this an intriguing and innovative body of work.