Marianne Faithfull - Come My Way

Her pure and folksy side

With an early show of artistic strength and resolve, Marianne Faithfull agreed to cut a pop album to follow As Tears Go By on the condition that she was allowed to record this folk album for simultaneous release. With minimal guitar and double bass back-up, she delivers a mix of originals and covers with an assurance beyond her years.

As you’d expect, Faithfull’s husky voice carries most of the more successful tracks, seeing her definitely at her best and most expressive in the lower registers. The title track, House Of The Rising Sun, Bells Of Freedom, and the brooding Black Girl (aka In The Pines) are among the most successful recordings from the original album. Four bonuses include a forgettable Blowin’ In The Wind, a strong and theatrical Et Maintenant (Gilbert Becaud’s original of What Now My Love), and her own Sister Morphine, which takes Marianne firmly into territory at odds with her then-convent image. Not an essential folk album, but one that holds plenty of interest for folk fans.

Rev-Ola | CRREV 229

Reviewed by Kingsley Abbott
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