The Moviegoer (album)

The Moviegoer
Studio album by Scott Walker
Released	October 1972[1]
Recorded	Summer 1972
Genre	Easy listening pop
Length	38:00
Label	Philips Contour (1975 re-release)
Producer	John Franz
Scott Walker chronology
'Til the Band Comes In (1970) The Moviegoer (1972) Any Day Now (1973)
Alternative cover
1975 Contour reissue

The Moviegoer is the seventh solo studio album by the American singer Scott Walker. It was released in October 1972 but failed to chart. No singles were released from the album, though "This Way Mary" was later released as a b-side to Walker's 1973 single "The Me I Never Knew". The album consists solely of renditions of film theme songs originally performed by other artists.

The album was the first of six consecutive studio albums (the last two as The Walker Brothers) in which Walker did not contribute original material. Having lost creative control of his music after the commercial failures of his previous two studio albums Scott 4 and 'Til the Band Comes In, Walker was tasked with recording "inoffensive, middle-of-the-road material that could be easily processed, marketed and sold".^[2] By way of compromise Walker had some say in the song selection and drew together a selection of themes from some of his favourite films.^[1]

The album was recorded quickly in the summer of 1972 with Walker's usual studio team consisting of producer Johnny Franz and engineer Peter J. Olliff. In a change from previous work, Robert Cornford was brought-in to produce the orchestral arrangements. Despite a push for commercial viability the album received negative reviews when released as an LP in October 1972. The album was re-issued in 1975 by Contour record label with new sleeve art. The album has since been deleted and has not been reissued.

In Japan, the album was released under the title The Impossible Dream (The Moviegoer) with a different sleeve, an altered running order and the inclusion of "The Impossible Dream" in place of "Easy Come Easy Go".