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Title: Well-Handled Tribute
Review: The many available interpretations of Jacques Brel's oeuvre certainly allow for argument as to their relative merits (I myself prefer David Bowie's version of "My Death" to the one on this album); but from an objective standpoint there's no denying that SCOTT WALKER SINGS JACQUES BREL is a strong and tasteful attempt to inject a bit of mass-market appeal into the work of a particularly difficult and esoteric songsmith. Walker sings beautifully as always, and as in his own compositions manages to find enough ironic counterpoint in the material to offset and thus redeem the sometimes bombastic arrangements behind him. That's hardly surprising, since these cuts are in fact taken from the singer's first three solo albums; nevertheless, assembled in one place they constitute a worthy and cohesive tribute to one modern musical original from another.
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