I was lucky to find this album on CD at a second hand store - quite a lucky thing , as both the CD and the vinyl are hard to find now , not to mention becoming more expensive .

One of the previous reviewers has done a good job of giving listeners an idea of what is on this album . The original songs are good , for me the most affecting is 'Joe' , which describes an old man running out of friends simply by outliving them . There will always be Scott Walker lyrics that don't make much sense to anyone but him , but 'Joe' tells a story that is mostly heartbreaking .

The song 'Time Operator' is also a bit of a character study - could be the same character as 'Joe' actually , from another perspective .

The cover songs aren't as bad as people might think , let's face it , Scott has a pleasant voice and I am happy to at least listen to them before commenting . I had not heard the songs before and some of them have great lyrics . For that reason , I'm not bothered whether they are done in Vegas style arrangements . The arrangements on Scott's early records are always tasteful and individual - the 'cover versions' are mostly welcome to my ears .

The album is varied stylistically and that is always a good thing - it takes to you some different places but does not always make sense as a whole statement .

I know it will be difficult for most people to have a chance to hear it , but if you ever find it for sale , ask to hear it first . You will then know if you want to spend big money on adding it to your collection .

I hope the above has been useful to Scott fans out there .

I mostly agree with the other reviewer so it's no use writing it all again. But I had to write this because there's one song about which I strongly dissagree with him: "Jean the Machine". It's one of my favorites on this album. Hilarious lyrics and great music. Songs like "Thanks for Chicago Mr James", "Til the Band Comes in" and "The War Is Over" are also absolutely superb, and the cover versions aren't bad. This is a good album though not as good as Scott 4, Tilt or Scott's four songs on Nite Flights.

When this album first came out no-one had anything very good to say about it and, basically, no-one bought it. Scott's plummet from the heady heights of No. 1 albums and his own TV series(!) to being just another pretty-boy has-been was complete. Even when Scott's reputation was first being rehabilitated in the 1980's, this album was more or less airbrushed out of the picture, leaving the "perfect" quartet of Scott 1-4. All of which is a shame as this album has much to commend it, it has 3 or 4 tracks which are the equal of anything on Scott 1-4.

Basically, this album is a flawed document, it's a snapshot of something that could have been more substantial. The opening 10 track, 25+ minute sequence of Scott's own compositions (with some lyrical pruning from new manager, Ady Semel) works very well and contains some excellent material, but (not unlike the Walker Brothers' "Nite Flights" album) Scott or Semel seem to have lost their nerve and filled the rest of the album with by rote cover versions. Maybe the fact that the self-penned Scott 4 bombed, maybe they just ran out of songs, but whatever the reason, the effect is one of frustration!

Opening with an ominous "Prologue", a slightly dissonant string version of "Thanks For Chicago Mr. James", overlaid with tapes of dripping taps and children playing - right away you know you are in Scott Walker territory! The driving "Little Things" is virtually the only one of these tracks ever to pop up on Scott compilations, and it is an exciting track, though (as Scott wryly points out in the sleevenotes) lyrically it's Scott at his least optimistic about the world, politics and the whole damn thing. There are some suprises on the album, a couple of jazzy ballads, "Joe" and "Time Operator", allow Scott to stretch out vocally - the latter being a rare outbreak of relaxed humour from the usually intense Mr. Walker. (Unfortunately, the other uncharacteristic stab at humour, "Jean the Machine", is the worst thing on here!) "Thanks For Chicago, Mr. James" was apparently considered as a single, and it would have made a fine one even if lyrically it is not exactly pop material, it appears to be a "Midnight Cowboy" inspired tale of a male hustler. "Long About Now" is a beautiful ballad.... but Scott doesn't even sing it! Instead, Esther Ofarim gives a powerful rendition of what is one of Scott's best, least known songs. Closing the ten-track "mini-album" are the powerful title track and the haunting "The War Is Over", another track to rank alongside Scott's best. These tracks were all arranged by Scott's most empathetic arranger, the great Wally Stott - the remaining tracks by Peter Knight, himself no slouch.

Of the covers, these are fine but nothing special. The only one that grates is "Stormy", which smacks of variety shows, supper clubs and dinner and dances at The Batley Variety Club. "The Hills of Yesterday" and "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" are pure showbiz schmaltz which allow Scott to exercise his Junior Sinatra vocal gymnastics - he was doing much the same thing on Scott 1 and Scott 2, so no need to castigate for doing it again here. "Reuben James" looks forward to the Country & Western stylings of "Stretch" and "We Had It All" - to be honest, Scott could sing anything and sound classy but he did have an excellent voice for this kind of material, it's corny but not unpleasant. Closing the album is "It's Over" which sounds like a re-write of Roy Orbison's "It's Over" and is actually rather good if a trifle underplayed.

So, all in all, an album which deserves more attention than it received at the time and more attention than it has received since!