Big G

One of the great live recordings, Nov 10 2007

In June 2008, Stan Rogers will have been dead 25 years but, with recordings like this, he and his music lives on mightily.

Being a Brit, I hadn't heard of him (obviously) until I bought a reference book on Folk music and looked him up by mistake. The story was enough to prompt me to buy one album, and the rest of them, too. What a collection of albums.

This is such a wonderful live recording, it's amazing how his voice sounds as pure and strong here as in the stronger. Great songs - I love them all - and the banter for, and to, the audience adds to the enjoyment in his quick-wittedness and fun. The good thing about the Canadian audience on this album is that it lets… Read more

A disturbing work of genius, July 18 2004

You have to have an open mind to sit through this album. It is very distubing and I would not listen to this on my personal stereo late at night. This is challenging in the extreme and not for the faint-hearted

Having said that, this is a work of such genius and beauty that, to me, it is like opera. Here is a man who can sing anything - and proves it on this album.

My advice to everyone who wants to know about this album and wonders if there is anything similar to it, is to ignore all his early albums. I listened earlier to "Boy Child" - the compilation of Scott's music from 67 to 70. It's a magnificent collection from his first six albums, but this is nothing like that - the… Read more

One of the great, timeless, male voices of the 20th century, July 16 2004

Someone has suggested to me that Scott Walker is mad - as nutty as a fruitcake. My answer to that observation is that I don't know if he is or not. All I know is that he is one of the finest male singers of the 20th century.

All the selections on this album are Walker originals - the last four are collaborations with Ady Semel - and come from his first five albums. All show a composer at the top of his game and in tune with the production team who helped create the finished articles.

The great thing about this album is that if someone was looking for a hit single here, they would be out of luck. Just like there are no songs here by one of his great influences, Jacques Brel, there are no… Read more