MARIANNE's "My Songs of the Sixties"

Once upon a time there was a sweet loving girl called Marianne... No woman from the 1960s lost her youth as thoroughly as Marianne Faithfull. And by youth, I mean her innocence, not her looks. Long after that decade ended, she wrote in a song, "Where did it go to ... my youth?" She answered herself only last year with lyrics that begin, «I drink and I take drugs/I love sex and move around a lot». And no citizen of the '60s drank, took drugs and had sex with Faithfull's public abandon. This Rato Records's collection (shared once more 'cause of many requests), in three parts, reunites 75 great songs that Marianne recorded during the sixties, before her personal life went into decline, and her career went into a tailspin.

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: EP "Come And Stay With Me"

EP Decca 457.068 M (FRANCE, July 1965)

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: "A Child's Adventure"

Original released on LP Island ILPS 7 90066-1

(US, Fébruary 1983)

Nothing. Nowhere. Lightless, without luminosity. Soundless, without the accent of life. Weightless, without the gravity of the living. There was nothing. Nothing to feel or taste or scream at. If the world was formless, this was now the world. Unreality was populated as silence and hyper-insignificance. My universe was bleak, was eviscerated, was a once-filled cosmic egg drained of essence and meaning. My world was dead. My world had ended. No starlets to turn me on. No warmth of lover's legs or ass. No life around me to nag or cry. The death knights had won, and the light brigade was eternally smothered. Doctor Death has injected me with his singular brand and had conquered my realm. The great timekeeper and gatekeeper of my universe were put to their final rest. The great formerly boundless ardor had been steamrolled and crushed by the Reaper's mechanized, four-wheeled beast. Blood, spit - there were no words for anything, anymore. No sex. No friendship. No emotion. Nothing...that is until Faithfull's "A Child's Adventure".

One minute I was crushed beyond repair by heartache and loss, the next I was listening ad nauseum to "Running for Our Lives". I was happy to be running for my life, for I felt like I had a life once again. "A Child's Adventure" isn't avant-garde jazz, or opalescent psychedelic jams, or hair-whipping metal. It isn't stuffed with horror stories. There's few fingers like frightening shadows skulking to strangle your soul, though a couple of songs (like "Morning Come") with petrify you with gorgon's eyes in their sincerity and mindfulness, which can be as terrifying as a slasher flick for some. I'm not sure there's a Marianne Faithfull record that moves me more or aligns my insights in love, the memory of love and memory of pain, and with those the irresponsiblity of memory's senses. Though C.S. Lewis once wrote in The Problem of Pain that "love may forgive all infirmities and love still in spite of them: but Love cannot cease to will their removal", I think "A Child's Adventure" brings its own specially trained love, and with that special training some sweet exorcism. (in RateYourMusic)

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: "Dangerous Acquaintances"

Original released on LP Island ILPS 9648

(UK, October 1981)

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: "Live at BBC"

Original released on CD Decca 5307959

(UK 2008, July 14)

The ROLLING STONES Rock And Roll Circus

Original released on CD ABKCO 1268-2

(UK, October 1996)

The "Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" became a thing of legend when the Rolling Stones refused to air it. Recorded in early December 1968, the show became famous for several reasons before it was officially released in 1996. First, fans of the Who were allegedly in for a treat with a performance of their mini-rock-opera "A Quick One While He's Away." Second, it featured an appearance by a supergroup known as the Dirty Mac, consisting of John Lennon and Eric Clapton on guitar, Keith Richards on bass, and Mitch Mitchell (of the Jimi Hendrix Experience) on drums. Last, it reportedly featured the last appearance of Brian Jones with the Rolling Stones before his death. This just had to be great. Right?! Well, in retrospect it is easy to see why this was shelved. the Who's performance is tight, but not as exciting as some claim it to be. Jethro Tull and Marianne Faithfull's performances are dull. The Dirty Mac is just okay, worth it mainly to hear Keith Richards play some thumpin' bass, an instrument he only turned to on occasion. (I must admit that I love the loathed "Whole Lotta Yoko" - I am clearly the target audience for that shit!) the Rolling Stones' set is relatively listless, save for "Parachute Woman," which is a revelation, far and away better than the version on "Beggars Banquet". They even mime over "Salt of the Earth," which is unfortunate. Probably the best thing on here apart from "Parachute Woman" is Taj Mahal's banger "Ain't that a Lot of Love," which gives the album a pulse it is lacking elsewhere. This expanded edition, available officially on vinyl for the first time, sounds fantastic. The bonus material is largely mediocre, of historical interest only, though the Dirty Mac's "Warmup Jam" provides some sloppy fun. Diehard fans of the various groups represented here will all probably claim to like this more than they really do. The event, with its ill-conceived circus theme, the Stones' version of Magical Mystery Tour (which at least had some brilliant music), is nothing more than a decent set of performance across what amounts to a missed opportunity. (in RateYourMusic)

This is the most interesting archival release of the Rolling Stones since "More Hot Rocks", 20 years ago, and the first issue of truly unreleased material by the Stones from this period. And the Stones have some competition from the Who, Taj Mahal, and John Lennon on the same release. Filmed and recorded on December 10-11, 1968, at a North London studio, "Rock and Roll Circus" has been, as much as the Beach Boys' Smile, "the one that got away" for most '60s music enthusiasts. The Jethro Tull sequence is the standard studio track, but the rest - except for the Stones' "Salt of the Earth" --is really live. The Who's portion has been out before, courtesy of various documentaries, but Taj Mahal playing some loud electric blues is new and great, the live Lennon rendition of "Yer Blues" is indispensable, and the Stones' set fills in lots of blanks in their history - "Jumpin' Jack Flash" in one of two live renditions it ever got with Brian Jones in the lineup, "Sympathy for the Devil" in an intense run-through, "Parachute Woman" as a lost live vehicle for the band, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" as a show-stopping rocker even without its extended ending (no Paul Buckmaster choir), and "No Expectations" as their first piece of great live blues since "Little Red Rooster." (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)

MARIANNE's "Broken English"

Original released on LP Island ILPS 9570

(US 1979, November 2)

"Broken English" is the seventh studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. The album marked a major comeback for Faithfull after years of drug abuse, homelessness, and suffering from anorexia. It is often regarded as her "definitive recording" and Faithfull herself described it as her "masterpiece". "Broken English" was Faithfull's first major release since her album "Love in a Mist" (1967). After ending her relationship with Mick Jagger in 1970 and losing custody of her son, Faithfull's career went into a tailspin as she suffered from heroin addiction and lived on the streets of London. Severe laryngitis, coupled with persistent drug abuse during this period, permanently altered Faithfull's voice, leaving it cracked and lower in pitch. She attempted to make a comeback in 1976 with the release of "Dreamin' My Dreams", which noted only a small success. Shortly afterwards, Faithfull began working with musician Barry Reynolds who initially produced the songs "Broken English" and "Why D'Ya Do It?". The demos attracted the attention of Chris Blackwell who signed Faithfull to his record label Island Records.

Faithfull's immediately preceding albums, "Dreamin' My Dreams" and "Faithless", had been in a relatively gentle folk or country and western style. "Broken English" was a radical departure, featuring a contemporary fusion of rock, punk, new wave and dance, with liberal use of synthesizers. After years of cigarette smoking, Faithfull's voice was in a lower register, far raspier, and had a more world-weary quality than in the past that matched the often raw emotions expressed in the newer songs. The backing band of Barry Reynolds, Joe Mavety (guitars), Steve York (bass) and Terry Stannard (drums) had been formed in 1977 to tour Ireland with Faithfull promoting "Dreamin' My Dreams". Marianne Faithfull recounted how Mark Mundy was brought on as the album's producer: «I don't think I could have handled "Broken English" without a producer. You can't imagine what it was like. There I am with no respect at all within the music business. ...So I found somebody who wanted the break, and that was Mark Mundy. He wanted to be a record producer, and he had some great ideas.»

The album's title track took inspiration from terrorist figures of the time, particularly Ulrike Meinhof of the Baader-Meinhof group. "Guilt" was informed by the Catholic upbringing of the singer and her composer Barry Reynolds. "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan", originally performed by Dr Hook, is a melancholy tale of middle class housewife's disillusionment; Faithfull's version became something of an anthem and was used on the soundtracks to the films Montenegro (1981) and Thelma & Louise (1991). "What’s the Hurry?" was described by Faithfull as reflecting the everyday desperation of the habitual drug user. Her cover of John Lennon’s "Working Class Hero" was recorded as a tribute to her own heroes such as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, David Bowie and Iggy Pop, and Lennon himself.

The last track, the six-and-a-half-minute "Why'd Ya Do It?", is a caustic, graphic rant of a woman reacting to her lover's infidelity. The lyrics began with the man's point of view, relating the bitter tirade of his cheated-on lover. It was set to a grinding tune inspired by Jimi Hendrix’s recording of Bob Dylan’s "All Along the Watchtower". Poet and writer Heathcote Williams had originally conceived the lyrics as a piece for Tina Turner to record, but Faithfull succeeded in convincing him that Turner would never record such a number. Its plethora of four-letter words and explicit references to oral sex caused controversy and led to a ban in Australia. Local pressings omitted the track and instead included a 'bonus' 7" single of the extended version of "Broken English". The ban did not extend to import copies, and the song was also played unedited on the Government-funded Double Jay radio station and Brisbane community broadcaster 4ZZZ. It wasn't until 1988 when Island re-released the album in Australia that "Why D'Ya Do It" was finally included.

The album was recorded at Matrix Studios in London. Faithfull collaborated with producer Mark Miller Mundy with whom she recorded all songs for the album. After having the whole album recorded, he suggested that the music should be "more modern and electronic" and brought in Steve Winwood on keyboards. Musically, "Broken English" is a new wave rock album with elements of other genres, such as punk, blues and reggae. After its release, "Broken English" received critical acclaim. It peaked at number eighty-two on the Billboard 200, becoming her first album to chart in the United States since "Go Away from My World" (1965) and giving Marianne Faithfull a first nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. In the United Kingdom, it reached number fifty-seven and was also successful worldwide peaking into the top five in countries, such in Germany, France and New Zealand. "Broken English" was certified platinum in Germany and France and sold over one million copies worldwide. Two singles were released from the album, with "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" peaking at number forty-eight on the UK Singles Chart. The album was included on NME magazine's list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" and in the book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

This deluxe reissue was released in a cardboard sleeve and features the original album remastered by Jared Hawkes with the first disc consisting only of the original album along with a 12-minute film directed by Derek Jarman. The film was designed to be shown in theaters and had never been released for home video before. The second disc features the original mix of the album which, in some cases, sound quite a bit different and, in the case of "Why'd Ya Do It" runs nearly two minutes longer than the album version. Supplemented by single edits, 7, 12 inch remixes and Faithfull's re-recorded version of "Sister Morphine", which had previously appeared on a 12-inch release, the second disc with the original mix was Faithfull's preferred mix of the album. The original mix receives its release for the very first time as part of this reissue. The spoken word track "The Letter" (not to be confused with the song by The Box Tops and Joe Cocker) is not included as it was recorded after the album was completed even though it did appear in some countries on the b-side of the 12 inch remix for "Broken English" (the single also included "Sister Morphine"). The 24 page booklet includes photos of the various sleeves and album cover variations that appeared in different countries.

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: "Dreamin' My Dreams"

Original released on LP NEMS NEL 6007

(UK, 1976)

MARIANNE FAITHFULL: "Rich Kid Blues"

Original released on LP Castle CCSLP 107

(UK, July 1984)