If You Could Hear Me Now

If you are new to the Walker Bros, maybe this is not the best introduction, there are better compilations of their work. But avid fans will be delighted. Three "new" tracks from the golden voice of Scott. In reality, Scott was the Walker Brothers, Gary rarely played drums and John was only good with the harmonies. Give a listen to Scott's compositions "Nite Flights" and "The Electrician". Outstanding tracks that influenced many other artists such as Bowie and Marc Bolan.

Listen to the fragility of "Til I Gain Gain Control Again" by Scott. One wonders why these tracks were never released in the 70's? Are there more gems hidden away?

'If You Could Hear Me Now' is one of many Walker Brothers' compilations, like 'The Singles Plus' & the 'A Very Special Collection' it focuses on the reformed Walkers' of the 1970s. This takes in the albums 'No Regrets' (1975), 'Lines' (1976), and 'Nite Flights' (1978), with the addition of several out-take tracks of differing quality.

Having a compulsion to buy most Walker/Walkers' compilations, this one doesn't feel in any way definitive, but does highlight great material ('Lines', 'Til I Gain Control Again', 'Brand New Tennessee Waltz') that didn't make 1992's best-selling 'No Regrets' compilation, which took 'No Regrets' and perversely 'We're All Alone' over the 'Nite Flights' e.p. and 'Lines.'

The main reason to buy this budget-priced compilation is due to the fact it includes all four tracks penned by Scott Walker for 'Nite Flights,' with the addition of Gary Leeds' 'Death of Romance' (which fits well with material of the new wave) comprised the first side of 'Nite Flights.' Many put value on Walker's first self-composed material since the flop of solo LP 'Til' the Band Comes In' - an e.p. of his songs from 'Nite Flights' was released and is effectively included here. The out-take 'Tokyo Rimshot' is a curio/potential b-side, but not as strong as those four tracks...

Walker had obviously hinted at material of this nature before, lyrics like 'The Plague', 'War is Over (Sleepers),' and 'The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)' had hinted at darker subject matter. Scott alluded to Beckett, Bergman, Camus, Genet & Pasolini...and this all fed into the less string-dominated sound of the 'Nite Flights' material. The strings are there, but so is the band too, and the sound is not a million miles from Bowie and Eno in Berlin. Both of whom have cited Walker's material here, both appearing in the documentary 30 Century Man, while Eno almost worked on a record with Walker, & Bowie covered 'Nite Flights' (as did those Fatima Mansions). The material here sits well, and predicts (to a degree) acts such as Associates, Japan, Magazine, and Ultravox. Certainly one to play alongside 'The Idiot', 'Low', and "Heroes."

'Shutout' is like a disco Joy Division, while 'Fat Mama Kick' is more demented and art - as with all the material from 'Nite Flights', there is a feeling that the directions Walker would follow are set here. The title track is one of gorgeous paranoia and easily as powerful as any earlier Walker moment - just a shame there wasn't more Walker-penned material in the 'Nite Flights' style, though play these against 1983's 'Climate of Hunter' and you will see the natural progression. The highlight and model for 'Climate of Hunter,' 'Tilt', and 'The Drift' is 'The Electrician.'

This six-minute epic is the real dark stuff, Walker fixating on torture in Latin America that involved the complicity of the CIA, the theme of torture returning on songs like 'Sleepwalkers Woman' & 'Face on Breast.' The opening and concluding parts of the song are the most disturbing, having the drones and minimal strings common to 'Tilt' et al, and Walker singing over the top, "Baby it's slow/When lights are low/There's no help no/Baby it's slow/When lights go low/There's no help no..." The band then comes in, sounding very Low/"Heroes" and Walker continues, "He's drilling through the Spiritus Sanctus tonight/Through the dark hip falls/Screaming, "Oh you mambos kill me and kill me and kill me..."/If I jerk the handle/You'll die in your dreams/If I jerk the handle/Jerk the Handle/You'll thrill me and thrill me and thrill me..." The song then veers off into a strange symphonic direction, which probably was a huge influence on Ultravox's 'Vienna.' There is some minimal guitar and the disturbing opening drone, close to Throbbing Gristle, returns. Very dark stuff, Walker linking CIA torture practice to sexual gratification - a key record and probably reason enough to buy this compilation...