Scott Walker - Pola X (FLAC)

Scott Walker's largely-overlooked (and hopelessly rare) soundtrack to the 1999 movie Pola X, directed by Leos Carax and starring Guillaume Depardieu, Yekaterina Golubeva, Catherine Deneuve.

The music on Pola X verges from utter discordancy to fragile beauty. As a result, this CD perhaps represents the most accessible route to understanding and appreciating the music on Scott Walker's latter-period albums. 

Pola X was released in Japan and France only.  The album was not in print for long; it soon became a collector's item.

 

All of the tracks composed by Scott Walker on Pola X were compiled in the 2003 box set Scott Walker In 5 Easy Pieces.  However, they were presented in a different order to the original album, and interspersed with other examples of his film songs and compositions.  

At the time of writing, both Pola X and the box set In 5 Easy Pieces are out-of-print, and command high prices on the collector's market.  

Meanwhile, I am not aware of any other available lossless download of the CD Pola X anywhere on the internet. 

Download here

Scott Walker – Any Day Now / The Moviegoer / Sings Songs from his TV Series – official (withdrawn) CD reissues

In 1999 Universal Music scheduled three Scott Walker albums for re-release.  These albums, originally recorded for the Philips label, were:

• Any Day Now
• ‘Til The Band Comes In
• Scott On Screen

The albums were remastered for CD, promotional CDR discs were circulated to the media, but due to intervention from Mr Engel himself; the reissues were cancelled.  The CDs – due for release on the Fontana label - did not appear in the shops.  

• Any Day Now was Scott’s last album for Philips.  It has yet to receive a full official CD reissue. The withdrawn 1990 CD contained two bonus tracks – I Still See You & My Way Home, originally A & B sides of a 1971 Philips single.
  

• ‘Til The Band Comes In reappeared on the BGO label in 1996 – this issue was soon withdrawn.  The album has since received an official release as part of the CD set The Collection 1967-1970.  This collection was repackaged as a bargain-priced 5-disc collection on the Spectrum label[i].   There is also an unofficial reissue of the album on the Water label in the United States. The 1990 CD included bonus tracks (Lights Of Cincinnati & The Rope & The Colt).

• Scott On Screen was to have been a 2-on-1 disc that combined the LPs Sings Songs from his TV Series (1969) with The Moviegoer (1972).  It is not to be confused with the fifth disc in the 2003 box set compilation, In 5 Easy Pieces (also known as Scott On Screen).  Meanwhile, for some unfathomable reason, the last track on The Moviegoer (Easy Come Easy Go) was omitted from the Fontana collection.
  
    

Although these records are not quite in the same league as Scott 1-4, they are nonetheless wonderful albums.  They absolutely belong in your collection. 

Here are lossless downloads of the withdrawn compact disc versions of Any Day Now & Scott On Screen.  I have added back the missing track (Easy Come, Easy Go).

As discussed, ‘Til The Band Comes In is now available on CD.  The album has also been reissued on vinyl (Back To Black / Mercury 602537323647). Thus, I have not included the album as a download here. 

Download here

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[i] The box set 5 Classic Albums (Universal / Spectrum) contains the albums Scott 1-4 and ‘Til The Band Comes In.  At the time of writing, it sells for under £10.