The one hundred thirtieth album: #130 Scott Walker - Scott 2
Scott 2 starts off with a Jacques Brel song, Jackie, the music pushed further to sound grander rather than the more delicate sound I'd expect from Brel. That's how the album continues, these baroque numbers that draw from the chansonroots but go grander, creating a show. It ties into the indulgent nature of the lyrics, describing the decadent lifestyle with sexual undertones in several songs.
The album feels jubilant, any dirty undertones overwhelmed by the lavish production, which sounds incredibly good. It takes some attention to go deeper on what the songs cover, but that's what works especially well here. There's something raw about the darkness, something that really comes through in parts of Walker's performance, and so the production feels as much of a statement about that as it's done to make the album feel epic.