The Early Years

Performer: Scott Walker
Distributor: City Hall

Notes: Liner Note Author: Austin Powell. Latter-day fans of Scott Walker, the enigmatic pop auteur, are unlikely to take great interest in his early recordings as Scott Engel, the paint-by-numbers teen idol. Comparable to the mild pop/rock of Ricky Nelson, Walker's early efforts produced no hits and are remembered mainly because of his later fame as a solo artist and a member of the Walker Brothers. His best-known cuts from this era come from his debut Orbit single, "The Livin' End" b/w "Good for Nothin'," which have appeared on a few anthologies of early rock & roll. Exhibiting a tougher approach than most of his subsequent Orbit singles, "The Livin' End" also boasts a curious composer credit: Rod McKuen and Henry Mancini. Collectors of '50s rock & roll will be much more interested in Walker's Scott Engel sides since he recorded a few Johnny Burnette songs and performed ably in the teen idol vein. The Early Years compiles 18 of Walker/Engel's Orbit recordings, encompassing a few rockers, some ballads, and some straight pop music. A few months after Acrobat released The Early Years in England, Empire Musicwerks issued an identical collection in the United States under the title Humble Beginnings: The Scott Engel Sessions, although the import is slightly less expensive from most retailers. Also in existence are a pair of bootleg anthologies, Hits and Rarities, Vols. 1-2, that collect a total of 64 recordings Walker/Engel made in the '50s and '60s, dubbed from vinyl rather than original master tapes. ~ Greg Adams

Noel Scott Engel, better known as Scott Walker, was born in the US, but found fame in the UK as a member of the Walker Brothers, who became teen pop idols in England in the 1960s. After the group's demise, Walker's darker, artier side eventually came to the fore, and he began a quirky solo career that encompassed Jacques Brel covers, moody, saloon-singer crooning, and avant-garde tendencies. He became the quintessential cult figure, inscrutable and highly influential, though after the '70s his works were few and far between.

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