Morning:
8°c
Derek Malcolm's rating
A solitary Walker
By
Derek Malcolm
26 Apr 2007
Stephen Kijak's tribute to the poet and songwriter Scott Walker is just short of hagiography.
It traces his odd career, which progressed from Sixties pop idol as the lead singer in the Walker Brothers (The Sun Ain't Going to Shine Anymore) to enigmatic mystery man and influential hero of people like Bowie, Radiohead and Brian Eno.
Kijak secures rare interviews with a modest Walker who, having opted out of fame and fortune by disappearing for years, says he simply decided that his task was to do exactly what he wanted with his music and lyrics.
He produced difficult albums such as the much-admired Tilt after years of gestation, but never performed in public. Mahler, Delius and Ligeti are seen as big an influence on his music as any, and poets such as TS Eliot on his lyrics.
The film illustrates, with copious tributes, the devotion he now inspires and displays some rather jagged lumps of his music as illustration.
He clearly has a voice good enough to sing Schubert as well as Jacques Brel, makes highly original music and pens lyrics few can fully understand but most find hypnotic.
Definitely a hero for our alienating times. And a worthier one than most.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
