Scott Walker Sings Jacques Brel

Jacques Brel found his greatest interpreter in Scott Walker, who began covering the Belgian songwriter’s compositions in the late ‘60s. Walker’s amazingly full and resonant vocals — owing more to the likes of Anthony Newley or Jack Jones than to rock ‘n’ roll — bring out the anguished longing and bruised eloquence of Brel’s work. He cuts through the surface cynicism of songs like “Jackie” and “Next” to get at the torment within. His interpretation of “Amsterdam” captures both its morbidity and its gusto, while “My Death” finds him confronting mortality with fatalistic wonder. Walker’s melodramatic, almost campy delivery makes sardonic pieces like “Funeral Tango” shine with a weird glow. More conventional but just as effective are his readings of the heartbreaking “If You Go Away” and the philosophical “Sons Of.” Walker would blossom as a tunesmith, incorporating lessons learned from singing the songs of others, but his renditions of Brel’s darkly brilliant tunes may still represent his finest hour.