It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70)

It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70)
Compilation album by Scott Walker
Released	October 15, 1996 (1996-10-15)
Genre	Pop rock
Length	58:12
Label	Razor & Tie
Producer	Johnny Franz
Scott Walker chronology
Tilt (1995) It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70) (1996) Pola X (1999)

It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70) is a compilation album of songs by the American-born British singer-songwriter Scott Walker, released on October 15, 1996, on Razor & Tie. The album consists of seventeen songs taken from Walker's first five studio albums, and was Walker's first solo album to be released in the United States.^[1] Marshall Crenshaw compiled the album's tracks and spent a year and a half convincing Razor & Tie to release it.^[2][3]

Critical reception

In a review of It's Raining Today for The New York Times, Neil Strauss wrote, "Though the collection may seem schmaltzy to the casual listener, further exploration unveils an indelible, melancholy beauty, with each track a rigorously orchestrated excavation into a different recess of human despair and loneliness."^[4] Writing in Pitchfork in 2004, Scott Plagenhoef wrote that the compilation was "far too Spartan and scattershot to be recommended".^[5] Wilson Neate wrote in Trouser Press that the album "...isn’t quite as solid an introduction as Boy Child, but it does offer a marginally stronger selection of tracks from 'Til the Band Comes In."^[6] Robert Christgau gave the album a C− grade, describing Walker as "...Anthony Newley without the voice muscles, "MacArthur Park" as light-programme boilerplate, a male Vera Lynn for late bloomers who found Paul McCartney too r&b."^[7]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
The Village Voice	C–[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Scott Walker except where noted

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Big Louise"	3:12
2.	"Jackie" (Jacques Brel, Gerard Jouannest, Mort Shuman)	3:22
3.	"The World's Strongest Man"	2:20
4.	"It's Raining Today"	4:01
5.	"Montague Terrace (In Blue)"	3:28
6.	"Through a Long and Sleepless Night" (Mack Gordon, Alfred Newman)	4:11
7.	"Next" (Jacques Brel, Mort Shuman)	2:50
8.	"The Seventh Seal"	4:56
9.	"Plastic Palace People"	6:06
10.	"Rosemary"	3:24
11.	"The Old Man's Back Again (Dedicated to the Neo-Stalinist Regime)"	3:42
12.	"Joe" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	3:41
13.	"Lights of Cincinnati" (Tony Macaulay)	3:21
14.	"Cowbells Shakin'" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	1:05
15.	"Thanks for Chicago Mr. James" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	2:17
16.	"Little Things (That Keep Us Together)" (Ady Semel, Scott Walker)	2:19
17.	"Joanna" (Tony Hatch, Jackie Trent)	3:57
Total length:		58:12

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Scott Walker - It's Raining Today: The Scott Walker Story (1967–70)". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
2. Lien, James (January 1997). "Flashback". CMJ New Music Monthly. p. 45. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
3. Dominic, Serene (1996-11-14). "The Crenshaw Redemption". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
4. Strauss, Neil (1996-10-20). "Once a Star Everywhere But Home". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
5. Plagenhoef, Scott (2004-01-12). "Scott Walker: 5 Easy Pieces". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
6. Neate, Wilson (2020). "Scott Walker". Trouser Press. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
7. Christgau, Robert (1996-12-03). "Consumer Guide Dec. 3, 1996: Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
8. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958.
9. Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Scott Walker". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780743201698.