Any Day Now
By Scott Walker
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Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 Any Day Now
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arranger, conductor
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composer
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lyricist
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- A2 All My Love's Laughter
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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- A3 Do I Love You?
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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songwriter
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songwriter
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songwriter
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adaptation, lyrics
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- A4 Maria Bethania
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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- A5 Cowboy
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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- A6 When You Get Right Down to It
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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- B1 If
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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- B2 Ain't No Sunshine
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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- B3 The Me I Never Knew
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arranger, conductor
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composer
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lyricist
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- B4 If Ships Were Made to Sail
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arranger, conductor
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songwriter
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- B5 We Could Be Flying
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arranger, conductor
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composer
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lyricist
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Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
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2 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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Any Day Now [p] 33 rpm
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Any Day Now 33 rpm
3 Reviews
His best solo record post-'Til the Band and Pre-Climate
This is Scott's final album for Phillips, recorded during his so-called "wilderness years", where Scott, by his own admission, was no longer making albums for the sake of the art as he had before, but rather to *gasp*..."pay the bills". He's called these albums "useless", but is that really accurate in the case of this particular record?Of the 4 "wilderness years" albums (Moviegoer, Any Day Now, Stretch, We Had it All), ADN is by far the best of the bunch, and it isn't close, and that's entirely due to song selection. Instead of the awful country he would do for his 2 CBS records, and the schlocky movie themes of the previous album, Scott plays to his strengths on ADN by covering pop songs, most of them contemporary.
The high points on this album are quite high, most notable among them are the Bacharach written title-track (which would have made an even better Walker Bros. single), Randy Newman's "Cowboy", Paul Anka's "Do I Love You?" (a great proto-disco version done by Scott and his producer John Franz here) and of course, the beautiful cover of Caetano Veloso's "Maria Bethania".
There are misfires for sure, "All My Love's Laughter", which would foreshadow Scott and reunited Walker Brother's unfortunate country excursions, "Ain't No Sunshine", which is slathered here in awful electric guitar and "If Ships Were Made to Sail" which is a bore.
Songs that would be pure schmaltz in another's hands, like "We Could Be Flying" and "The Me I Never Knew" are handled deftly by Franz's tasteful arrangements and Scott's voice, which is in fine form here. In fact, this is the last album that features Scott's "classic" vocal style, before the affected country croon and then the art-rock period from Nite Flights and onward.
A wonderful album, if you can find it.
Published
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A1
Any Day Now
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A2
All My Love's Laughter
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A3
Do I Love You?
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A4
Maria Bethania
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A5
Cowboy
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A6
When You Get Right Down to It
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B1
If
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B2
Ain't No Sunshine
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B3
The Me I Never Knew
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B4
If Ships Were Made to Sail
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B5
We Could Be Flying
Sure, some songs are just schmaltz (wouldn't be the first time on a Scott Walker album though), with safe and boring arrangements that really pale in comparison with his output from the late sixties. Still, track selection is good and Scott's interpretation, while a little underwhelming on some songs, remains a pleasure to the ears.
Personal highlights are the slightly psych-pop Maria Bethania (although it is very much an acquired taste, with its faux Brazilian accent) and The Me I Never Knew, with its minimalistic arrangement that almost (I said almost) reaches a similar level of otherworldly quality as on previous records.
To sum things up, honestly, I'm still waiting for Scott's infamous drop in quality. This record is a by-the-numbers baroque pop cover album, but not the complete dud I was told it would be.
Published
Not one of his more well-regarded albums, as Walker wasn't exactly following his muse at this point in his career, but his cover of Maria Bethania is nonetheless a thing of beauty.
Published
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Catalog
15 Apr 2024
6 Apr 2024
3 Apr 2024
6 Mar 2024
27 Jan 2024
22 Dec 2023
8 Oct 2023
4 Oct 2023
30 Sep 2023
15 Sep 2023
3 Sep 2023
31 Aug 2023
27 Jun 2023
16 Jun 2023
28 May 2023
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A1
Any Day Now
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A2
All My Love's Laughter
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A3
Do I Love You?
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A4
Maria Bethania
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A5
Cowboy
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A6
When You Get Right Down to It
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B1
If
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B2
Ain't No Sunshine
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B3
The Me I Never Knew
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B4
If Ships Were Made to Sail
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B5
We Could Be Flying
Contributions
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