A rock legend recounts the tale of her career, from her first hit with ""As Tears Go By,"" through her affair with Mick Jagger, her descent into drug dependency, and her personal and professional resurgence. 50,000 first printing. Tour.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Early in this engrossing if somewhat disturbing autobiography, rock 'n' roll star Faithful remarks, "The ony way I could handle being on tour with all these weird people was to treat it as a sociological study." This approach aptly describes her dissection of her own life as well. Faithful is more analytical, ironic, self-scrutinizing and literate than most celebrity autobiographers. Writing with Dalton ( Mr. Mojo Risin' ), she depicts with penetrating insight the world of "free love, psychedelic drugs, fashion, Zen, Nietzsche, tribal trinkets, customized Existentialism, hedonism and rock 'n' roll" that absorbed her energies from the beginning of her singing career as a teenager in 1960s London. From her tumultuous four-year relationship with Mick Jagger through her descent into junkydom to her "comeback" in the late '70s as a punk-rock diva, Faithful embodies rock culture at both its most glamorous and most destructive. A self-described "victim of cool," she is nevertheless a tough (and often astutely feminist) commentator on the underside of the rock 'n' roll dream. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
A searing autobiography by one of rock 'n' roll's most tragic and romantic figures. A descendant of Austrian novelist Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the beautiful Faithfull was discovered by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham in 1964 and became an instant pop celebrity with her recording of the brooding ``As Tears Go By,'' a song Oldham asked Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to write for her. In a short time, Faithfull had become an internationally famous music and movie star, but she had little control over her image or artistic output. With the aid of rock biographer Dalton (Mr. Mojo Risin': Jim Morrison, the Last Holy Fool, 1991, etc.), she describes her struggle against the passive ``Angel Doll'' persona foisted on her by the press and her relationship to the Stones, especially Jagger, for whom she left husband John Dunbar in 1966. A dark romanticism- -what she calls a ``Walter Pater aestheticism,'' replete with flashes of everything from astrology to black magic--pervades the narrative, which is chock-full of encounters with pop legends (John Lennon is ``amusingly cruel''; Allen Ginsberg ``has never been hip''). Faithfull, who's had her own share of same-sex dalliances, suggests it was sexual tensions among the highly repressed Stones that gave them their manic energy: ``Who was the great love of [Jagger's] life? Actually, I think it was Keith.'' The tone is both compelling and pathetic as Faithfull details two decades of drug abuse and numerous lonely attempts to escape her addiction. From watching a lover commit suicide to recent singing and acting successes on her own terms, Faithfull has lived enough for three or four people--yet she is only 47. Despite some trite prose (``Things were happening so fast and we were changing with them''), this holds greater interest than any other recent book about the Stones and their circle. (Author tour) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book,
By El Teye (AUSTIN, TX United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Faithfull: An Autobiography (Paperback)
Marianne lifts another corner of the veil that romanticizing the sixties, and the Stones, has draped over the history and shenanigans of this Great Band.
She also has a LOT to tell about other artists, and goings-on. On top of that, she is a keen observer and a witty writer. I've read a lot about the Stones and their contemporaries, and Marianne's book blew me away. If you buy just one, buy this and of course Stanley Booth's great book! Umm...
65 of 69 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sliding through life on charm,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Faithfull: An Autobiography (Paperback)
She was the quintessential rock girlfriend in the 60s, the young woman envied by everyone -- men wanted her, and women wanted to be her. Now Marianne Faithfull offers her own side of the story of during and after that time, with dry wit and fractured nostalgia. If you ever heard the stories about Marianne, then hear what she has to say.Marianne Faithfull was born the daughter of an idealistic British gentleman and a haughty countess, and schooled in a convent that sheltered her from the outside world. All that went out the window when she came into contact with the blossoming rock'n'roll scene, and was recruited by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham into recording pop song "As Tears Go By." Soon afterwards, Marianne was wooed by rock star Mick Jagger, and left her husband to live with Jagger. At first, it seemed fantastic; Marianne lived in a haze of drugs, music and glamour with Jagger, the doomed Brian Jones, darkly intriguing Keith Richards, and the fascinating Anita Pallenberg. It was a time of rebellion, shifting sexuality, drugs and general strangeness. But criminal trials, addictions and Jagger's dalliances caused cracks in their relationship. After Marianne and Jagger broke up, she descended into heroin addiction, and her son was taken away. But she pulled herself up out of her addiction and released a new kind of music -- music that reflected her past, in all its darkness. Marianne's memoir is refreshingly just and honest -- she gives people like Jagger their due, only speaking badly when it's called for. She not only speaks out on the sexism of the press toward her (and their revolting, idiotic Mars bar story), but also about the hideous consequences it almost had for her mother Eva. Looking back on the fur rug and the handling of Marianne's presence, it's hard to believe that such ghastly mishandling of the facts could take place and actually be believed for so long. When the press turned on the Stones, they also turned on Marianne. And she's the first to admit (many times) that she's made mistakes; if anything, she seems harder on herself than anyone else, recognizing when she should have done better, spoken up, acted differently. (Such as when she blasted Jagger during an emotional moment) What's more, she offers greater insight into Richards, Jagger, Pallenberg, Bob Dylan and others -- not just about them, but the effect they had on people around them. (Richards' Byronic presence, Jones' tormented baby pictures, Pallenberg's hypnotic effect -- all these are amazing insights) And she doesn't pretend that her post-junkie life and romantic relationships were idyllic -- there are low points and high points, stumbles and falls. But it's inspiring to see her releasing new music and overcoming her past problems. The writing is wonderfully vivid, reading almost like a novel at times; Faithfull intersperses her rockspeak with literary and mythologic references (the Lady of Shalott is mentioned multiple times) that give "Faithfull" added sophistication. She also doesn't glorify the drug use that almost killed her; it's pretty horrifying for awhile there despite her initial romantic ideas about it. Faithfull also demonstrates a dry sense of humor that made me chuckle. (Lacking a true finale, she ends the book with cooking tips) A weaker woman than Marianne Faithfull might have been killed by all she's gone through. But her rise again is an inspiring and honest one, and "Faithfull" is a must-read for fans of rock and roll.
40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brazen, Revealing,Honest and Interesting,
This review is from: Faithfull: An Autobiography (Paperback)
This book finds her at ease and at peace with her past.
intriguing. She is very candid here. Admitting to numerous mistakes, her faults and endless regrets.(even mentioning some episodes of temporary lunacy)and drug problems. Almost like reading one's personal diary It's also very comical at times. It is great in that nothing is too taboo to be included in these writings. I read the original when it came out more than a decade ago. I must have been impressed as I remember it very well. It's too bad my copy didn't have that lovely picture on the cover.
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