Film Reviews

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

• Rating:
• Director: Stephen Kijack
• Starring: David Bowie
• Details: US/UK / 95mins (PG).

The term 'genius' has been bandied about music too much for my liking, but I've only heard 'Godlike genius' applied to one musician and that's Scott Walker. Scott, one third of The Walker Brothers - whose hits included The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore and Take It Easy On Yourself - was a teen icon in the mid '60s. At the height of their brief fame, Scott - who always stated that he wasn't in it for the money and despised fame - left the band and embarked on an increasingly bizarre solo career that would yield four of the best albums ever made (Scott 1-4). Over the following years, the singer would embrace the avant-garde, turn into a recluse and wouldn't step in front of a live audience again, only releasing two albums since 1984's Climate Of Hunter. Information on Scott is hard got, as everyone in this documentary will testify: "Who is this man?", "I know very little about him," "I don't even know what he looks like," "Is he still cute?" "Who knows anything about Scott Walker?" Well, Stephen Kijack's documentary does that rare thing: it answers a lot of questions but still keeps Walker's mystery intact. His fans are diverse: David Bowie, Jarvis Cocker, Damon Albarn, Johnny Marr, Radiohead, Dot Allison, Lulu, Brian Eno, Richard Hawley and a number of arrangers, producers and engineers all contribute here. The nabob of sob is front and centre too, and looks comfortable in front of the camera. He tells us why he broke up The Walker Brothers, the first time he heard Jacques Brel, why his '70s output stank, why his release schedule is so deliberate and why he will only listen to his songs once. We are also invited into the studio for the first time to show Scott's recording of last year's The Drift, an album that included the use of pipes, dustbins, a big wooden box and a number of donkeys (you had to be there). 30th Century Man is a must for fans who are hungry for information and its inviting presentation won't turn newbies away either. And, as an added bonus, Bono is nowhere in sight.

Review by Gavin Burke