Scott Walker Starter Kit

Since I've been shocked to hear from several intelligent, with-it friends who have no idea who Scott Walker is, here are two favorite tracks. These early solo career outings suggest that even though he was being mislabeled as an MOR crooner at the time, there is more than a little evidence that he is no Jack Jones.

"It's Raining Today" has those wonderfully weird and spooky strings that sound both elegant and foreboding. "Boy Child" is evidence of lyrical abilities, and an approach to emotion that is both distant and intense.