Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
J'Adore, July 12, 2000
In 1990, as a naive young music fan, I read a rave review of a live album by the intriguingly-named Marianne Faithfull. Curiosity piqued, I picked up "Blazing Away" at my local record shop. What followed was intense - an hour of dark, moody music, sometime wistful, sometimes vicious, sung in a husky alto that seemed to define the term "chanteuse" to a college freshman with only the vaguest notion of what that meant. I became an immediate fan, and though I discovered her studio albums were fantastic, nothing matches the raw emotion poured forth in the suitably sombre, acoustics of St. Anne's Cathederal. The album wanders a bit in the second half, and though others on this site have raved about "Times Square," I feel the studio version is vastly superior. However, the incredible live renditions of "Guilt," "As Tears Go By," "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan," and "Broken English" are without equal. It's also a pleasure to hear her versions of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" and Tom Waits' "Strange Weather." However, my personal favorite track is the harrowing "Sister Morphine," which benefits from a masterful arrangement. And how delicious, after the blisteringly obscene rant "Why'd Ya Do It?," to hear dear Marianne sigh, "Ah, I feel better now." Ten years on, still a delightful album, best enjoyed in the dark.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Marianne is ever Faithfull, February 22, 2000
Recorded live in front of her adoring fans at St. Anne's Church in Brooklyn, NY, "Blazing Away" ranks as Marianne Faithfull's truest testament to who and what she is: a one-time media darling, presently a woman expressing her own feelings on her own terms.The album opens with the dark, haunting "Les Prisons du Roi." She follows it up with a slow, dark, and absorbing reading of "Strange Weather." The album progresses through dark, slow ballads ("As Tears Go By") to angry rock ("Why'd Ya Do It?"). She does a splendid version of Lennon's "Working Class Hero." The standout is the desolate tale of woe "Times Square." It will absolutely give you chills. Following these excellent tracks is an a cappella reading of "She Moved Through the Fair." And after that, the apocalypse: a pounding, driving "Broken English," the title track of her 1979 watershed. Through all of the changes in music and in the rock scene in general, Marianne Faithfull remains a force to be reckoned with. Her songwriting, her singing, and her lack of desire to "sell out" for the mainstream stardom she so richly deserves ensure that her voice and name will echo for generations to come.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Live Faithfully, August 23, 1998
By A Customer
I gotta admitt, Marianne Faithfull sounds great live in front of an audience! I think she sounds better! 'As Tears Go By' is one of my favorite songs of all time, but I didn't quite like it live. What I did like was the way she sang 'Why'd Ya Do It' and 'Broken English' as well the the John Lennon song, 'Working Class Hero' which became another favorite of mine. I don't own this CD, but I rented it at the library, and it's great! Anyone would like this type of music, becasue it's classic rock and doesn't almost everyone like classic rock in a way?
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