07-11-2018, 20:53
MARIANNE FAITHFULL - Negative Capability
![[Image: 220px-Marianne_Faithfull_-_Negative_Capability.jpg]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/72/Marianne_Faithfull_-_Negative_Capability.jpg/220px-Marianne_Faithfull_-_Negative_Capability.jpg)
Started listening to this with no expectations whatsoever having not listened to anything much of hers since Broken English (more or less). Well – never mind broken English, Ms Faithfull’s voice is decidedly shot and to my surprise, sucked me right in. I’m not sure whether I would have felt as drawn had she not been who she is – would I have wanted to listen had this been a random older woman with an exceedingly careworn sound? Who can say? And it’s a moot point. I don’t think it’s a great musical masterpiece (although there’s a lovely violin permeating the whole affair, courtesy of Rob Ellis), and she doesn’t actually have a singing voice any more, there are only remnants, however those remnants remain instantly recognisable - her sound could never be mistaken. She revisits “As Tears Go By”, and “Witches Song”, does a rendition of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”, and holds forth in social commentary on Mark Lanegan’s “They Come at Night”.
Mostly, this seems to be intensely personal. There is something of the tone of Gavin Bryar’s "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" (sans the naïveté – she’s hardly an unknown tramp after all!), a piece that holds a weird fascination for me; add Nick Cave and Warren Ellis into the mix and at going on 72, Ms Faithfull’s latest release is nothing short of alt and quite sombre which is no surprise given the company and unremitting subject matter. The doyenne image on the album cover is appropriate – this is one direct, gritty lady with a whole lot of living under her belt and what she projects is a combination of pithiness and pathos. I kinda like that she is a crone (and I don't mean that in an insulting way) and is still laying herself bare.
I’d have chosen the same track they did as a single.
Started listening to this with no expectations whatsoever having not listened to anything much of hers since Broken English (more or less). Well – never mind broken English, Ms Faithfull’s voice is decidedly shot and to my surprise, sucked me right in. I’m not sure whether I would have felt as drawn had she not been who she is – would I have wanted to listen had this been a random older woman with an exceedingly careworn sound? Who can say? And it’s a moot point. I don’t think it’s a great musical masterpiece (although there’s a lovely violin permeating the whole affair, courtesy of Rob Ellis), and she doesn’t actually have a singing voice any more, there are only remnants, however those remnants remain instantly recognisable - her sound could never be mistaken. She revisits “As Tears Go By”, and “Witches Song”, does a rendition of Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”, and holds forth in social commentary on Mark Lanegan’s “They Come at Night”.
Mostly, this seems to be intensely personal. There is something of the tone of Gavin Bryar’s "Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet" (sans the naïveté – she’s hardly an unknown tramp after all!), a piece that holds a weird fascination for me; add Nick Cave and Warren Ellis into the mix and at going on 72, Ms Faithfull’s latest release is nothing short of alt and quite sombre which is no surprise given the company and unremitting subject matter. The doyenne image on the album cover is appropriate – this is one direct, gritty lady with a whole lot of living under her belt and what she projects is a combination of pithiness and pathos. I kinda like that she is a crone (and I don't mean that in an insulting way) and is still laying herself bare.
I’d have chosen the same track they did as a single.
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson
