Late Night Music Club with Marianne Faithfull
By Howie Klein Thursday Feb 28, 2008 10:00pmThe world first heard about Marianne Faithfull as part of the Rolling Stones soap opera in the 60s. She was a great looking singer with an uncontrollable drug habit. She had a series of pretty decent singles over the course of a decade-- and some less praiseworthy albums-- before she released the LP that brought her back to the public's attention after a long and spectacular descent into drug hell: Broken English (1979). One of the most acclaimed songs on the album was a cover of John Lennon's now classic "Working Class Hero," first released by Lennon on his debut post-Beatles project in 1970. More recently-- last year-- Green Day did a great version of it on a charity compilation. Here's Marianne Faithfull's version:
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"Broken English" is still one of my favorite albums. So much pain in that voice.
This is better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N_rNz2oAGA
Aside from all the great jazz players I've seen and heard live over the years, the greatest non-jazz show I ever went to was Marianne Faithfull backed-up only by her pianist, Paul Trueblood. She sang almost all the songs from Three Penny Opera, as well as a few from Broken English.
Without a doubt, one the most most powerful performances I've ever had the pleasure to witness.
And whenever anyone tells me that Alanisse Morisette sang the greatest song of rage against love gone wrong, I simply key up "Why'd Ya Do It?" on the stereo. It pretty much stops people dead in their tracks.
"Broken English" is definitely an underrated album. One of my obscure favs.
And she's starring in the film Irina Palm, out shortly. How many songs were written about this woman? I believe there's about three I can think of off the top of my head, and I'm sure there are many more...
GREAT write-up Howie!
One of my favorite Lennon songs, BTW. Good cover.
I found her SNL performance of Broken English was intriguing. Later, I read in her autobiography she'd snorted procaine, expecting it to be coke-- and her vocal cords froze up, and she was terrified she'd suck. It was still great!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgEJpjsoXdM - Star Trek - Trojan Reggae - The Vulcans
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V09a1I6yjXc - Lee Scratch Perry - Kiss The Champion
Hey, isn't that one animated pic an Everett Peck?
Thanks for reminding me of an adolescent crush. Winehouse?
This was the first I heard of her!
Marianne Faithfull - As Tears Go By (Hullabaloo London 1965)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf9w2hJIqUk
that part where the video was on Paul Wellstone.
whew............(shaking my head)
I just gots ta share this: Stanley Jordan ~ Stairway to Heaven
A great song - as everything John wrote was. She's very good with it, as well. I would hope, however, that folks don't take from the video the impression that Mao, Guevara and Castro - one of the biggest tyrants of our time - were "working class heroes."
Mao was an extreme dictator, Che was a murderous prick, and Castro, well...
As for Marx, the system he created was one of the most oppresive in the history of the planet.
bajasteve@17
what part of baja?
Acting Patriotic @ 16:
Jordan's amazing, but it wouldn't hurt if he PICKED THE STRINGS every once and while. ;) He's the master of the touch technique.
As one of the youtube commenters said, its a Jordan jazz song with Stairway to Heaven influence.
M. Faithful has also worked with Metallica.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsQHbg3kxlo
Israel Threatens “Holocaust” Against Gazans
http://www.jwharrison.com/blog/2008/02/29/israeli-minister-threatens-%e2...
Is Jane at FDL is in one of the pictures?
in honor of the upcoming 5th anniversary of the illegal, immoral and just fucked up occupation of iraq
5 years....bowie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=louXPUW7tHU
Batocchio @ 6:
Irina Palm is an amazing movie. It took about 8 months to get to Copenhagen after showing in Berlin. If you get a chance to see it, do.
Marianne also did an english version of Kurt Weill's "Seven Deadly Sins", and some other of his songs, like "Jenny the Pirate". Recommended..The libretto was translated by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman, and Faithfull's rendering is a good an English version as you could have. http://www.amazon.com/review/R2YOHJJMN09LE4
99 @ 2:
Way better!
Howie, Thank You for this sample. Never heard it before. I will go get it TODAY !!
WOW !!!!!
Reminds me of the pain & longing of this great Peter Green cut:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aMwDb1ndOB8
I first heard this jam in a German club in 1980. Ever since I have been playin' it at parties and turnin' people on to it! Actually, I believe guitarist SNOWY WHITE is on lead on this one. He fills in for ROGER WATERS on his last 2 DVD concerts. By the way, Peter Green's best blues solo is on A FOOL NO MORE !! Simply BRILLIANT !!
The drugs really destroyed her voice. What a shame.
She made a number of iconic appearances in movies during the first part of her career including Serge Gainsboug's Anna (a made for TV musical starring Anna Karina), Jack Cardiff's film version of Girl on a Motorcycle, co-starring Marianne with Alain Delon, and Jean-Luc Godard's Made in USA in which she sings "As Tears Go By" a cappella. More recently she's appeared in Patrice Chereu's Intimacy and contributed a song "Sleep") from her great A Sinful Life album (lyrics by Marianne, music by Angelo Badalamenti) to Chereau's Son Frere.
"Working Class Hero" is a terrific cover. But "Why'd Ya Do It" off that same album is an even better original, a cigarette-stained razor-blade gargling indignant all-time rock and roll classic (that your corporate Classic Rock format FM stations won't be playing any time soon).
Live version of Marianne performing "Why'd Ya Do It?" from 2005.
As good as Broken English is, Strange Weather is her best.. I was fortunate to see her with the band that recorded Strange Weather at the Bottom Line in NYC in the 80's. She looked fantastic and sounded great! You have to love Marianne, she's a survivor.
oh, and the video is no longer available
Highly recommend her biography. Don't know about the story of hooking up with the north African drug dealer the week he overdosed Jim Morrison but not everybody gets called a witch by the Vatican. Except for the coma, her friend's overdose and the one overdose where she believed she restarted her own heart on adrenaline, the heroin seemed like one of her lesser traumatic life experiences.
There's a great DVD available of her performing live in Montreal in 1999. She sings the great Brecht-Weill songs, plus Noel Coward's "If Love Were All" and a tribute to Harry Nilsson climaxed by a teriffic rendition of "Don't Forget Me."
mudshark: I lived just south of Pescadero, Baja Sur - it's about 40 miles north of Cabo on the Pacific side. Left there in 2002, but still have many fond memories.
cats r flyfishin:
One could make the argument that her voice has a lot more character now than when she had that waifish, undeveloped sound. I liked her then; I like her more now.
Marianne is a treasure. The more broken she became, the higher she rose. She's a great artist, a total inspiration and a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
Great video, Howie! Great version of this song!
And wonderful to see Ms Hamsher at 2:09, thanks for that too.
Here I go outing myself as a rabid Marianne Faithfull fan. Her live shows are always extraordinary and if you've never seen her perform, GO!!. My favorite was an acoustic set she did at Slim's in San francisco with Barry Reynolds. Her last American tour featured a trio of phenomenal young players, and she dug deep into her catalog as well as covers from the fantabulous John Prine and another from the over the moon divoon Irma Thomas. I read somewhere that MF is recording new mateial with Hal Wilner--bravo. I hope another favorite, Bill Frisell, appears to revisit the sonic landscape they created for Strange Weather. Throughout her long career, MF has had a knack for covering great song writers in addition to the gems she pens for herself. People tend to focus on pockets of her music, or the drugs, or Mick, or blah blah blah. But, if you look at the arch of her career in music you'll find an incredible story teller with a voice that can take you from rage to melancholy and everything in between in a half note, not to mention a more-than-occasionally inspired selection of material. Gotta luv ya some Marianne.
Thank you so much for posting this. I just loved this album when it first came out and
I almost forgot about it as I haven't listened to it in a long while. I need to get it out again
and re-listen to it. She's great and has a great voice. Love it.
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