Vagabond Ways

Marianne Faithfull | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 2000)
• Original Release Date: April 11, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Instinct Records
• ASIN: B00004SBMI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,115 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Vegabond Ways

2. Incarceration of a Flower a Child

3. File It Under Fun from the Past

4. Electra

5. Wilder Shores of Love

6. Marathon Kiss

7. For Wanting You

8. Great Expectations

9. Tower of Song

10. After the Ceasefire

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing How This Woman Can Keep My Attention, June 26, 2002

By 

Randall E. Adams (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Vagabond Ways (Audio CD)

The Marianne Faithfull part of my music collection stretches for a long distance. I liked her back when she had the little girl voice doing the folkie and light folk/pop things in the mid-60s. I liked her harrowing version of "Visions of Johannah" recorded at a time when she was completely strung out on junk and virtually homeless. I LOVED her first three albums on Island, when she was more-or-less back in one piece and taking responsibility for her choices of material. And everything since has been quite fascinating, from Hal Wilner's torch explorations to Kurt Weill revivals to the brilliant Angelo Badelamente album. On "Vagabond Ways," it feels as if Marianne has revisited a number of her records in the past twenty years or so. The classic approach of her first three Island albums ("Broken English," "Dangerous Acquaintances," and "A Child's Adventure") is used on the title track, and on "Electra," "Wilder Shores of Love," the Daniel Lanois-arranged "Marathon Kiss" and the utterly perfect interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Tower of Song." This latter number is such a perfect match of song and singer that I wonder whether she's ever considered doing a full album of Cohen's songs; she could do any of them--even "Don't Go Home with Your Hard-on." On the other hand, tracks like "For Wanting You," "Great Expectations" and "After the Ceasefire" remind of "A Secret Life." The only criticism is that Marianne can veer dangerously close to self-parody, such as on the title track. I can live with a bit of Marianne Faithfull's self-parody.

All in all, a great album

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beauty By Torchlight, November 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Vagabond Ways (Audio CD)

With her cigarettes-and-whiskey alto voice and her been-there, done-that-twice persona, Marianne Faithfull, 53, packs all the tools a modern-day torch singer might need. Since 1979's brilliant and brutal Broken English, the former hippie goddess (and long-ago flame of Mick Jagger) has carved out a niche as a sterling interpreter of other people's material -- notably Kurt Weill's -- and as a significant songwriter herself.

Here is Faithfull's first pop collection in nearly five years. As might be expected, her interpretation of pop is somewhat more nuanced than, say, Britney Spears's. Especially effective are the up-tempo title track, which celebrates a life lived too close to the edge, and the quietly sad "Incarceration of a Flower Child," which chronicles a poignant morning after. With producer Mark Howard, Faithfull paints a dark but never dour portrait of lives out of focus and of love gone wrong.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Diamond in the Rough, May 14, 2000

By 

Timothy F. Finn (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Vagabond Ways (Audio CD)

Vagabond Ways is one of the best CD's this year. Marianne Faithfull once again bares her soul in a matter-of-fact way that leaves the listener craving for more. Emmylou Harris on Marathon Kiss is a true delight. I listen to this CD over and over, in awe at the lyrics and the exceptional music. Wilder Shores of Love, File it Under Fun from the Past, and Incarceration of a Flower Child are real gems. Tower of Song is a bit pop, but essential. The narrative, After the Ceasefire is the perfect ending to a great CD. You can't help but be drawn in by Marianne's drone.