So Old It’s New set for Saturday, February 1, 2025

I had a show ready to go, then on Thursday came news that Marianne Faithfull had died. So, my show instead is a tribute to Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger’s 1960s girlfriend Faithfull who was a great artist in her own right, particularly long after leaving the Stones’ orbit.

That was evident on her return to prominence brilliant 1979 album Broken English which fit with the punk/new wave ethos of that time and was the first in a hot streak trilogy of the albums Broken English, Dangerous Acquaintances and A Child’s Adventure into the mid-1980s. The Broken English album in particular and subsequent releases featured her, well, broken english by booze, cigarettes and substance abuse voice. It was a far cry from the sweet sounds of her 1960s material like the Stones’ As Tears Go By, such that she came across as an entirely new artist, possessed by the passage of time and life experience as one of character and authenticity.

So, I’m playing the entire Broken English album plus assorted tracks, covers and otherwise, from throughout Faithfull’s career. Additional commentary after the bare-bones list. Song clips also available on my Facebook page.

Marianne Faithfull – Broken English

1. Broken English
2. Witches’ Song
3. Brain Drain
4. Guilt
5. The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan
6. What’s The Hurry?
7. Working Class Hero . . . John Lennon cover, brilliantly done.
8. Why D’Ya Do It . . . last but not least, the essential centerpiece of the album, a vitriolic rant over a lover’s infidelity.
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9. House Of The Rising Sun
10. The Blue Millionaire (extended 8:23 minute version)
11. A Stranger On Earth
12. Strange Weather
13. Falling From Grace
14. I’m A Loser (Beatles cover)
15. As Tears Go By
16. Intrigue
17. Reason To Believe (Tim Hardin cover)
18. For Beauty’s Sake
19. Sister Morphine (1969 version)
20. Sister Morphine (1979 version)
21. Running For Our Lives
22. Sweetheart
23. Bored By Dreams
24. Truth Bitter Truth
25. Monday Monday (The Mamas And The Papas cover)
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My track tales, outside of the Broken English album already covered:

9. House Of The Rising Sun . . . From 1964, Marianne Faithfull’s take on the traditional song done by so many but arguably most notably by The Animals.

10. The Blue Millionaire (extended 8:23 minute version) . . . A shorter version was released on the 1983 album A Child’s Adventure. This is the extended 12-inch vinyl single later also released on the excellent 2-CD compilation Marianne Faithfull A Perfect Stranger: The Island Anthology released on Island Records in 1998.

11. A Stranger On Earth . . . A heartfelt, hurtin’ torch song from her 1987 album Strange Weather.

12. Strange Weather . . . And the title cut from that album, similar vein. Among the luminaries on the album: Dr. John and the recently departed Garth Hudson of The Band fame – who I honored last week via a Band song set – on piano and accordion, respectively.

13. Falling From Grace . . . From that hot streak trio of albums I mentioned once Faithfull returned to prominence late 1970s – Broken English, Dangerous Acquaintances and A Child’s Adventure. This one’s from 1983’s A Child’s Adventure.

14. I’m A Loser . . . Her 1965 cover of The Beatles’ tune, with Faithfull’s then-pristine, beautiful voice carrying it to great effect.

15. As Tears Go By . . . Not her original cover of the song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, which became (to them) an unexpected hit, No. 9 on the UK charts, such that they then quickly recorded it as a Rolling Stones track and made No. 6. What I’m playing, though, is Faithfull’s more haunting version from her Strange Weather album, released in 1987.

16. Intrigue . . . From Dangerous Acquaintances, the 1981 followup to 1979’s Broken English and critically panned, relatively speaking, even by Faithfull herself at the time as it apparently was a difficult recording due to conflicts among the various musicians yet . . . How can an album featuring a compelling ‘lost love’ song like this plus others like Sweetheart, For Beauty’s Sake and Truth Bitter Truth be anything but terrific?

17. Reason To Believe . . . Back to 1967 we go for this Tim Hardin classic also memorably done by Rod Stewart on his 1971 album Every Picture Tells A Story.

18. For Beauty’s Sake . . . Up tempo number from the Dangerous Acquaintances album, a track co-written by Faithfull and Steve Winwood of Traffic/Blind Faith and solo fame.

19. Sister Morphine . . . Faithfull’s original 1969 version, co-written with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, later to appear as a Stones’ track on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers.

20. Sister Morphine . . . And her 1979 version, recorded during the sessions for the Broken English album and later reworked and released in this studio version on the 1998 compilation A Perfect Stranger: The Island Anthology.

21. Running For Our Lives . . . From the 1983 album A Child’s Adventure, it’s always been one of my favorite Faithfull tracks.

22. Sweetheart . . . Back to Dangerous Acquaintances we go.

23. Bored By Dreams . . . A pulsating rock tune, great drumming by various session players, from Faithfull’s 1995 album A Secret Life.

24. Truth Bitter Truth . . . Another of my favorite Faithfull tracks, from Dangerous Acquaintances.

25. Monday Monday . . . Marianne’s 1967 cover of The Mamas & the Papas’ hit as I look ahead to my Monday show, coming up on February 3, 8-10 pm ET.

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