On our last post we were discussing how it sounded like Furniture were a band that had had a strong Scott Walker influence; at least to these ears. In a bout of synchronicity, no sooner had I posted that review on Friday then word of a new Scott Walker cover version, landed in the inbox. Following Linton’s cover of Walker’s “Rosemary” late last year comes the next chapter in the “Jan Linton Sings Scott 3” album that doesn’t sound like such a far-fetched idea. This time it’s the brief song “30th Century Man,” which gave title to the excellent Walker documentary of…nineteen years ago.

Jan Linton: 30th Century Man – HK – DL [2024]

1. 30th Century Man 2:39

It began with a chittering, insect-like rhythm pattern which had acoustic guitar running through it; not a million miles away in vibe from the original version of the song. Then a tense, secondary drum pattern on what sounded like an 808 overlaid on top of that one; creating a polyrhythm as swelling, orchestral synths and Linton entered the song vocally with choral synth patches adding further depth to the sound during the first verse.

Then the music bed dropped out save for the eccentric rhythm pattern before Linton let loose with a roaring, eloquent eBow solo that transported the song into an even more exotic climate. With sustained Walker string synths holding a chord in suspension, Walker style, at the end of each bar. Leaving the eBow guitar to flicker like a reptiles’ tongue at the solo’s end.

Then the second verse played through and the coda dropped out everything except for the odd rhythm pattern and Linton; receding into the distance of he song’s horizon until the time when everything stopped and he restated the song’s title in closing. The net result is a radical re-imagining of the song in an Art Rock/Post-Punk context for what was, on “Scott 3” a brief, binaural acoustic country ballad with Scott on the left channel and the guitar on the right. With zero spill between channels. Let’s listen now.

Linton has heard to the song within such a minimal setting, stepped back and analyzed it, and has given it wings with which to take flight. I am here to state for the record that if one listens to the original version’s humming solo in the middle eight and then Linton’s glorious eBow…it manages to make Walker’s version of the song seem like a demo. Which is why “Jan Linton Sings Scott 3” would be such a thing to be fighting for, were it not for the undoubtedly brutal licensing issues.

Speaking of which, if anyone reading this would love to have a copy of this for their own to play at will on any device of your choosing, act quickly, because Linton has licensed exactly 25 copies of this DL for sale on Bandcamp, and [including me] four copies have sold already! With commenters here at PPM having already jumped on this in advance of my spreading the word. What will it cost you? A scant $1.00, so be sure to “top up” when buying to let Linton make enough to buy a matcha latte or two on our goodwill! The end result is worth so much more than that! Mr. D.J. …hit that button.

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