Marianne Faithfull

★★★★ Vagabond Ways BMG. CD/DL/LP

Deluxe reissue of Faithfull’s 1999 album with six bonus tracks.

It says something for an album when its most uptempo song’s a Leonard Cohen cover (Tower Of Song). Marianne’s 13th album is a dark one, reflecting what was going on in the four years since A Secret Life: writing a memoir and singing Kurt Weill. The Faithfull-penned lyrics of the title track/opener read like memoir but make the dark truth blacker still. For Wanting You – written for her by Elton John and Bernie Taupin – is dramatic Euro beauty, while closer After The Ceasefire is spoken word. Producers Mark Howard and Daniel Lanois added all sorts of atmospheric strings and FX – so it’s great to hear four demo versions, all of which I prefer. The other two bonus tracks: Drifting, a noir, latenight co-write with Lanois; and Blood In My Eyes (from the Japanese album release), cool blues, nightclubby, and a touch Dylan-esque.