MFBTP
Marianne Faithfull, Before The Poison – This is the amazing CD that Ms Marianne Faithfull put out in 2003 in collaboration with PJ Harvey, and on some songs Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds! What’s not to love about that!! And even better… the collaborators bring in the goods!!! It’s not a disappointment – it actually really really rocks!!!! Oh Lord, yeah!!!!! PJ Harvey wrote four songs on the album (and co-wrote one more with Faithfull), while Nick Cave wrote one and co-wrote two with Faithfull. Filling out the album, there’s one song by Damon Albarn, and one more song by Jon Brion. The Bad Seeds back up Faithfull on the three songs that Cave wrote or co-wrote.
The first song “The Mystery Of Love” is a pretty little song that is more in the usual Marianne Faithfull vein, but the second one, “My Friends Have”, could have been a PJ Harvey rocker. Very nice indeed – short, sweet, rocking, and you get that unmistakable PJ Harvey background vocal effect too; both of these songs were written by PJ herself. “Crazy Love” has music by Nick Cave and lyrics by Faithfull, it’s a nice storytelling piano-driven tune with gorgeous fiddle in the middle. “Last Song”, written by Damon Alborn, is a beautiful guitar tune, and you really get Marianne’s gorgeous voice full on, with spooky piano kicking in mid-way. Not sure the orchestration was really necessary, though… “No Child Of Mine” is a cool little guitar and piano tune, very spooky, but it quickly gets quite dramatic, with handclaps and plenty of percussion. “Before The Poison” is largely a guitar song, with some percussion, and very melancholic. It also rocks!! “There is a Ghost” is a fantastic Nick Cave track that sounds like an outtake from “And No More Shall We Part”, probably his best album, so this is a very nice “forgotten” find for Bad Seeds fans. “In The Factory” is a strumming little tune that rocks nicely. “Desperanto” is a rambling near-rap collaboration with Cave that features the full roar of The Bad Seeds rocking and making unholy noise, somewhat like “Babe, I’m On Fire”, the superior closing number to Cave’s Nocturama of the same year that deliciously just roams on and on – this one does too, but for only four minutes! Closing track “City Of Quartz” is a light lullaby-like tune by Jon Brion,
One small complaint – the release is simply too short! These talented collaborators could have pulled off a few more numbers, or even a double album! The cover photo, of our lovely junky posing with a sweet young girl in a colonial mansion, is also stunning. The booklet has a pretentious introduction by Will Self (“Cuntish cantor, ululating underwriter, it has the front to sell you insurance at the very door to your burning heart.”), and closes with a thank-you note by Faithfull.