Album Review

Marianne Faithfull – Horses And High Heels

• 15th Feb 2011

I was intrigued when I heard that Marianne Faithfull was to release a new album. So I got hold of an advance copy and found it to be an eclectic collection of music that grows on you the more you listen to it.

Faithfull’s voice may have a more world weary and edgy quality than it did back in the day, but is that really surprising? She is one of the great survivors of the music world with a career that now spans an incredible 47 years.

It was in 1964 that she released her first single, As Tears Go By, which was written by two young musicians called Jagger and Richards. Wonder what happened to them?

Since then there have been several hit singles and 22 solo albums, not to mention a fine career as an actress, both in films and on stage, many high profile relationships and a decades long battle with drug addiction. And in recent times Faithfull has also beaten cancer. A survivor, indeed.

This album was recorded in New Orleans with a fine cast of local musicians, and several special guests. John Porter plays guitar on several tracks and there are also cameos from Lou Reed, Dr John and MC5’s Wayne Kramer.

There are some fine pieces of music, not least the title track with its Celtic folk feel and a story that takes us from Dublin to Paris. A great cover of Carole King’s Goin’ Back sees Faithfull sing over a haunting piano as she defiantly recalls past glories. And Past, Present and Future is a wonderful, almost spoken word, version of a Shangri-Las song from 1966.

Perhaps my favourite song on the album is Why Did We Have To Part, one of the four new songs amidst the covers. Detailing the end of a long relationship it has a surprisingly upbeat feel, with great vocal harmonies backing a voice that tells more of defiance than loss.

The final track is a slow and atmospheric ghost story called The Old House, with lyrics written for Faithfull by Irish playwright Frank McGuinness. It closes the album nicely, leaving a feeling of loss and melancholy with a fine guitar coda that stops much too soon.

This album is unlikely to make the top of the charts, but that does not take away from the touches of real quality that it offers. And the ultimate rock chic has shown that age is no barrier if you have the right attitude and the desire to make music.