About a hundred years ago (well maybe not quite that long) there was a film in the cinema which I watched as a ten-year-old boy. The film was called Wayne’s world and at one point the boys meet their hero Alice Cooper and after a moment of gaping at their idol they fall to their knees crying “we’re not worthy!” That feeling returned to haunt me when reviewing Marianne Faithfull’s album. Marianne Faithfull who has been recording for some 47 years; Marianne Faithfull who guested on Metallica’s “the memory remains” (the only guest that Metallica have had on any of their official albums) and remained utterly unbowed by the metallic storm raging around her; Marianne Faithfull who has enough pull in the music world to feature Nick Cave, Keith Richards, Jarvis Cocker and Rufus Wainwright on one of her albums and Mariane Faithfull who has, to date, released 23 solo albums. It all makes you wonder who is worthy. Still, we’re here to assess this latest addition to the great lady’s catalogue and that is what we shall do, albeit with just a hint of nervousness kept firmly in the background.
‘Horses and High heels’ is a varied and compelling record comprising 13 tracks, only four of which are original, that were recorded in New Orleans at the tail end of last year. The record opens with the dark, brooding ‘the stations’ (written by Greg Dulli and Mark Lanegan) which proves to be a beautiful, atmospheric work that utilises gentle instrumentation as a backdrop for Marianne’s soulful, smoky croon and the telling lyric “oh mama, ain’t no time to fall to pieces…” which perfectly reflects the strength of an artist who’s successfully beaten everything life has thrown at her from addiction to cancer and who is still producing remarkable records a considerable way into her career. It’s a stunning, downbeat and yet hopeful start to an album that rarely dips below that level and the second track ‘why did we have to part’ (one of the Faithfull originals) is more than its match even while stylistically it’s more of an acoustic lament than the atmosphere rich opener with vocals that reflect the feelings that we all experience from time to time in a straightforward and poignant way. Moving into a more laid back sphere, ‘that’s how every empire falls’ has a simple, laid back feel to it while Marianne’s tender croon has a chance to shine over the quiet backdrop while better is the bluesy, funky ‘no reason’ which simply drips with soul and feeling and which would provide a great soundtrack for a road trip.
‘Prussian blue’ sees Marianne return to a more laid back soft-rock sound that recalls ‘loaded’ era Velvet Underground (the one where they went pop… well, sort of) with its classic sound, reverb-heavy guitars and driving beat. Then there’s the remarkable ‘love song’ which recalls Pink Floyd’s ‘breathe’ with its gentle arpeggio and languid slide guitar that is pure David Gilmour. It’s easily a highlight of the album thanks to the remarkable and beautiful music, while Marianne’s voice gives it a slightly battered and yet emotionally honest feel that will keep you coming back to the track time and time again. ‘Gee baby’ has a laid back and impressive Rolling Stone’s vibe with its honky tonk piano and skeletal blues riffs offering the perfect foil to the more intense ‘love song’ and then ‘going back’ slips on with only Marianne’s yearning-for-the-past vocal and the most gentle of orchestrations. It’s a heart-breaking song that is lent a real sense of loss by Marianne who sings with a depth of feeling that few artists can match. The downbeat atmosphere generated by the song is not alleviated much by the spoken word misery of ‘past present and future’ which conjures up images of a fading Blanche Dubois, trapped by memories of a grandeur she can never again attain. It is a remarkable achievement that Marianne can conjure up so much imagery with the most simple of backdrops and the musicianship of her accomplices is second to none, switching from rock and roll to such moody territory with an enviable ease.
Fortunately Marianne decides to break up the downward spiral of the previous two tracks with the epic ‘Horses and high heels’ which has a chorus to die for and some excellently autobiographical lyrics. Written with Doug Pettibone, it’s another of the original tracks and another highlight of an album that is varied, challenging and unerringly interesting. ‘Back in baby’s arms’ is reinvented as a gentle, soulful swing with Marianne’s voice raised above the music with powerful authority before ‘eternity’ (another original) offers up a folk-rock edge to proceedings that is as entirely welcome as it is unexpected. The final track, ‘the old house’ is slow, beautiful and rounds things out nicely and with a touch of class.
It’s taken some time to review this album with repeated listens at different times and it occurs that this is one of those timeless albums that will mean different things to different people at different times of the day. Take, for example, the energetic ‘no reason’ as a song for embarking upon a day of work and the tragic sense of loss present in ‘goin’ back’ as that dip in the evening when you sit all alone contemplating the mistakes of the past while the closing ‘the old house’ leaves you with just enough of a sense of hope and strength to continue after all. Marianne Faithfull is the ultimate survivor, a powerful singer and, on the strength of the music here, a songwriter of significant note and this album is a beautiful piece of work that will appeal to all those interested in their classic rock, pop and soul and who enjoy a record that requires both patience and attention. A strong, intelligent and often beautiful work of art, this is highly recommended.
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