Bigger than Jesus and The Beatles: so were the hopes for 1960s
crooner Scott Walker. The American-born enigmatic singer won over the
Brit-pop scene with his boy band The Walkers and their big hit, a cover
of “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine (Anymore).” Walker left the band to
pursue his own bizarre, experimental brand of music composition (e.g.
recording percussion with a frozen slab of meat), and vanished into
reclusion, with occasional reappearances, including an indepth
interview for this doc. Fans like David Bowie (the film’s executive
producer), Radiohead, Sting, Brian Eno, Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn,
Alison Goldfrapp and Johnny Marr give Walker the overdue props he
deserves. Without any references to Scott Walker’s personal life, this
is a straightforward doc about a musician who is anything but ordinary.
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2009.