Marianne Faithfull - Easy Come Easy Go

Marianne Faithfull has just about done it all. Drug busts and addictions, affairs with Rolling Stones and living on the streets, directly or indirectly (depending on whose story you believe) as a result of these experiences.

At the height of her pomp, as the First Lady of Rock n’ Roll, Faithfull sang like an angel, an angel with broken wings and a penchant for the wild side admittedly, but an angel nonetheless. Fast forward to 2009 and Jagger’s former flame returns with Easy Come Easy Go, a double album inundated with special guest stars doing their bit for an old friend.

Faithfull no longer sings like an angel. Indeed, in parts singing actually sounds hard for her to do. The hoarse, barroom voice which emanates from Faithfull tells a story in itself, as years of fags, booze and God knows what else have obviously taken their toll. In some places this deep, weary voice serves the album well. Title track Easy Come Easy Go and Sing Me Back Home, a duet with old sparring partner Keith Richards, do benefit from being sung by a woman with a battered soul. In other places however, Faithfull’s voice acts as a hindrance. A cover of The Decemberists The Crane Wife 3 proves to be a step too far for the reformed fallen angel. A useful and interesting take on Black Rebel Motorcycle Club’s Salvation starts Disc 2 and keeps things interesting and is followed by Black Coffee in all its depression-era saloon blues, which is perfect for 2009’s Marianne Faithfull.

The album’s length in truth is a tad overblown but as our protagonist sings in Dear God Please Help Me, “The heart feels free”, and this is an honest and raw showing from the singer. It’s not perfect, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s ballsy, and that’s just Marianne Faithfull all over isn’t it?