Before the Poison

Marianne Faithfull | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 25, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Anti
• ASIN: B0006Z3DDA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,366 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

From her beginnings as a pop chanteuse in 1964, through a little-heard set of country rock, on to the edgy bearing of her second commercial breakthrough with Broken English in 1979, and then into the world of Kurt Weill and elsewhere, Marianne Faithfull appears to have taken wildly varied twists and turns. In fact, her ongoing musical projects move with one another with breathtaking artistry. Before The Poison is yet another peak, as she collaborates with PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, and, Jon Brion. From the ethereal balladry of "There is a Ghost" (with Cave and the Bad Seeds), to the meaty guitar punches of Harvey's "My Friends Have," this album is a diverse set that's all tied together by the smoky resonance and phrasing of Faithfull's unmistakable voice. --David Greenberger

Product Description

Faithfull's career spans over four decades, beginning with the melancholy of the Jagger/Richards' tune, "As Tears Go By", the first of four hit singles Marianne recorded during the 60's. In 1979, she released the stunning reinvention "Broken English", the album by which her mature career has been measured. "Before The Poison" is another such record, as Faithfull teams with her most sympathetic collaborators yet, including PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, Blur's Damon Albarn, and Magnolia composer Jon Brion.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Faithfull In A Long, Long Time, March 2, 2005

By 

Juan Mobili (Valley Cottage, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Before the Poison (Audio CD)

I have to say that my respect for Marianne Faithfull has been greater for her character and the bare honesty with which she's lived her life, than due to my love for most of her recordings of the last fifteen years.
Of course, this has changed dramatically with the release of Before The Poison. This album reveals Faithfull's talent and depth of emotion more than anything in a long time, perhaps harking back as far as Broken English.
It is, actually, an interesting paradox, that she can sound so authentically herself although most of the great songs in this CD have been written by other people, and in some cases -No Child Of Mine and Last Song- recorded by their authors before this album was even planned.
Whereas Kissin' Time, her album prior to this, also counted on a host of great writers -Beck, Jarvis Cocker and Billy Corgan- this one takes the promise of those collaborations to a higher, more intense level.
Eight of the ten songs included here are written or co-written by Nick Cave or PJ Harvey, and the chemistry between them and Ms. Faithfull is stunning.
Harvey's The Mystery Of Love and In The Factory could have been included in Uh Huh Her, yet sung by Marianne they were worth saving for this record. In them you'll find the same fierce vulnerability that Harvey's latest exuded. Of course, Child Of Mine -which was included in Uh Huh Her- deserves the same praise, as Faithfull's weathered and wise voice carves new truths out of it.
No less impressive is Cave's work. There Is A Ghost and Crazy Love must be counted among Cave's most accomplished ballads, as touching and solemnly vulnerable as the best of Boatman's Call.
Last but not least, her version of Damon Albarn's Last Song is equally impressive. Again, she took a beautiful song in its original version -in Blur's Think Tank- and birthed a distinct and soulful version.
I doubt that there'll be many albums this young year that will surpass the heart, strength and utter wisdom of these songs. I doubt even more that there will be voices -new or old- that will rival what Marianne Faithfull's can evoke and make you feel.
To listen to this album is to be in the glorious presence of the dark and intimate journal of a true artist.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Of The Most Honest CDs Ever, January 26, 2005

By 

D. Sean Brickell (gorgeous Virginia Beach, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Before the Poison (Audio CD)

I'm admittedly a huge Marianne Faithfull fan. Nonetheless some of her stuff is way better than others. In this scope of fair disclosure, it's quite a pleasure to highly recommend her new CD.

This is one of the most honest CDs ever recorded. Most of it, co-written with PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, illustrate they certainly understand Ms. Faithfull's unique vocal texture, colorful musical pedigree, and general perspective on life. Production is appropriately sparse and allows her voice to occupy center stage.

The sound is some blend of very late-night blues with cabaret/broadway. What we get for investing a listen is genuine, never cheesy, mature outlooks on love, complete with all its mysteries, uncertainties, and hopes.

The range of songs is spectacular. I'm knocked out with "My Friends Have" and "Desperanto," which couldn't be more polar tunes. "Crazy Love" and "The Mystery of Love" are also standouts.

I'll be listening to this CD repeatedly for a long, long time. And what more could I ever ask an artist to do?

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A darker, more abrasive companion to "Kissin' Time", September 23, 2005

By 

M. Bromberg "BellemeadeBooks" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Before the Poison (Audio CD)

Marianne's recent knack for finding sympathetic co-conspirators continues. This brooding album showcases contributions by singer-songwriters P.J. Harvey and Nick Cave, and the collaboration is dark even in its quieter moments. Unlike the pop setting of her 2002 album "Kissin' Time" which featured Beck and Dave Stewart, there's not a remake of "I'm into Something Good" on this disk. Even the song titles here ("No Child of Mine," "Crazy Love," "Before the Poison") sketch the risky and uncertain facets of human nature. What makes these songs resonate is Marianne's beautiful ruin of a voice, and when she closes the set with the delicate music-box ballad "City of Quartz" there's still no relief from the tension of her jagged lyric and sandpaper-tough delivery. Age and excess may have robbed Marianne of some of her vocal gifts but songwriting remains her stronger suit. Highly recommended.