Marianne North

Faithfull was still known primarily as a pop singer when she put out North Country Maid, but this is in fact very close to a pure folk album, with a bit of influence from pop, rock, blues, and jazz. Largely overlooked even by Faithfull fans, it's actually a quite respectable effort, and probably her best LP (other than greatest-hits compilations) from the time when her voice was still on the high side. Ably backed by sessionmen including guitarists Jon Mark and Jim Sullivan, she interprets mostly traditional material on this record, including "She Moved Through the Fair," "Wild Mountain Thyme," "Sally Free and Easy," and "Scarborough Fair." There are some mid-'60s covers too, though, including Donovan's "Sunny Goodge Street" and Tom Paxton's "Last Thing on My Mind"…

Marianne Faithfull - Live at the BBC (2008) {Decca 5307959 rec 1965-1966}
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© 1965-66, 2008 Decca Records / BBC / Universal | 5307959
Pop Rock / British Invasion / Folk-Rock / Baroque Pop

This is a really fascinating collection, for all devotees of Marianne, but especially for those fans that are keener on her early work. All the 60's hits are here except `Is this what I get for loving you?' The collection runs in chronological order, and even includes the interviews Marianne gave prior to the live sessions which are interesting in their own right, with Marianne coming across as shy and well spoken.

Few stars of the '60s reinvented themselves as successfully as Marianne Faithfull. Coaxed into a singing career by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham in 1964, she had a big hit in both Britain and the U.S. with her debut single, the Jagger/Richards composition "As Tears Go By" (which prefaced the Stones' own version by a full year)…

Any Marianne Faithfull collection from her Decca years that doesn't include "As Tears Go By" is of special interest, as some listeners have never been convinced of her version's merits, regardless of its chart position. In this case, there are 40 songs here in a distinctly folk and pop/cabaret vein, mastered in state of the art sound, that capture some of Faithfull's best moments on various singles and her LPs, alas not in chronological order – she became a better, less self-conscious singer as she went on, and the material here, running right up to her 1967 Decca single "Is This What I Get for Loving You," embodies some of her best work, nicely annotated and well mastered, and the price is definitely right as a budget double-CD set.

Few stars of the '60s reinvented themselves as successfully as Marianne Faithfull. She began her career as a pop thrush who scored an international hit with her version of "As Tears Go By," which was released well before the Rolling Stones recorded it, and a string of successful singles followed in the U.K. Initially, Faithfull was known as much for her blonde beauty and her relationship with Mick Jagger as she was for her gentle voice and talent as an interpretive vocalist, though she recorded a fine folk album, 1966's North Country Maid, that showed her gifts stretched beyond polished pop.