The Collection

This two-CD compilation, assembled from the Walker Brothers' three albums and various singles released by Philips between 1965 and 1967, gives a good overview of their U.K. history without limiting itself to their hits. The sound quality is good if not exceptional -- one gets the sense that another round of remastering would be in order (and while we're talking about sound, wouldn't one like to see a Mobile Fidelity reissue on the Walker Brothers or, for that matter, Scott Walker's best solo stuff?). And the track order isn't chronological -- their two best-known songs, which were not their first two U.K. singles -- occupy the opening two slots on disc one. So this set is lacking in some attributes that one would, ideally, like to se. On the other hand, all of the songs that one would like to see are here somewhere, and the annotation is thorough if not extensive. For anyone starting a collection of the classic Walker Brothers' material, this set -- which also carries the subtitle "My Ship Is Coming In" -- is a great place to start and finish, assuming that one doesn't wish to own everything that they did during their British period. ~ Bruce Eder