396) Scott Walker — “The Old Man’s Back Again (Dedicated to the Old Stalinist Regime)”
Scott Walker wrote this song in response to the Soviet-Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in ‘68 — with the “Old Man” of course being Josef Stalin. I can’t think of a more appropriate song to feature today — it appears that Stalin’s ghost has indeed returned to haunt Russia (and the world).
“Old Man“ saw “Walker, an avowed socialist, warning of the spectre of Stalinism in the Eastern bloc, following Russia’s 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia – over a funky bassline.” (https://www.last.fm/music/Scott+Walker/_/The+Old+Man%27s+Back+Again+(Dedicated+To+The+Neo-Stalinist+Regime)/+wiki). Yes, it’s all about that bass.
Frank Moraes gives some context:
[The song] is a reference to the Prague Spring where the newly elected First Secretary of the Czechoslovak communist party, Alexander Dubček, began to reform the country. He and others in the government made a lot of progress in this effort even while maintaining what they thought were good relations with the other Warsaw Pact countries. But they were wrong and on 20 August 1968, seven and a half months after it began, the Prague Spring ended. The old policies were gradually put back in place and Dubček was forced to resign a few months later.
https://franklycurious.com/wp/2020/03/29/old-mans-back-again/
The song appeared on Walker’s ‘69 album Walker 4, which was a very special album indeed. Richie Unterberger writes that:
As the leader of pop trio the Walker Brothers, [Scott] spent the mid-’60s enjoying chart success [in the UK, to where he and his bandmates moved in ’65] . . . . While remaining virtually unknown in his homeland [Ohio, USA!], Walker launched a hugely successful solo career in Britain . . . . At the height of psychedelia, Walker openly looked to crooners like Sinatra . . . for inspiration, and to Jacques Brel for much of his material. None of those balladeers, however, would have sung about the subjects — suicidal brooders, plagues, Joseph Stalin — that populated Walker’s songs. His first four albums hit the Top Ten in the U.K., and his second reached number one in 1968 — in the midst of the hippie era. . . . Scott 4 . . . was a commercial disappointment [but] probably his finest ’60s LP. . . . [M]uch of the over-the-top bombast of the orchestral arrangements has been reined in, leaving a relatively stripped-down approach that complements his songs rather than smothering them. This is the first Walker album to feature entirely original material . . . . [and s]everal of the tracks stand among his finest [including] “The Old Man’s Back Again”[, which] echoes [Ennio] Morricone, and tackles no less ambitious a lyrical palette; “dedicated to the neo-Stalinist regime,” the “old man” of this song was supposedly Josef Stalin.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/scott-walker-mn0000253142/biography; https://www.allmusic.com/album/scott-4-mw0000468113
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).
The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.
All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.
When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.
Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.
Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations 
Did Scott Walker ever state he was a socialist?
LikeLike