Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28542 in Books
• Published on: 1995-06-29
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Synopsis
This is a memoir by Marianne Faithfull, recounting her days in the swinging '60s. She recalls her love and life with Mick Jagger, how Bob Dylan wooed her, the Rolling Stones courted her and finally, how drugs trapped her into a world where nothing else mattered but the next fix. She also reveals the contradictions of life as a "star", first as the pop confection she was packaged as, and later as the hard-edged artist who co-authored "Sister Morphine" and shocked the world with "Broken English".

Customer Reviews

Sliding through life on charm
She was the quintessential rock girlfriend in the 60s, the young woman envied by everyone -- men wanted her, and women wanted to be her. Now Marianne Faithfull offers her own side of the story of during and after that time, with dry wit and fractured nostalgia. If you ever heard the stories about Marianne, then hear what she has to say.

Marianne Faithfull was born the daughter of an idealistic British gentleman and a haughty countess, and schooled in a convent that sheltered her from the outside world. All that went out the window when she came into contact with the blossoming rock'n'roll scene, and was recruited by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Oldham into recording pop song "As Tears Go By." Soon afterwards, Marianne was wooed by rock star Mick Jagger, and left her husband to live with Jagger.

At first, it seemed fantastic; Marianne lived in a haze of drugs, music and glamour with Jagger, the doomed Brian Jones, darkly intriguing Keith Richards, and the fascinating Anita Pallenberg. It was a time of rebellion, shifting sexuality, drugs and general strangeness. But criminal trials, addictions and Jagger's dalliances caused cracks in their relationship. After Marianne and Jagger broke up, she descended into heroin addiction, and her son was taken away. But she pulled herself up out of her addiction and released a new kind of music -- music that reflected her past, in all its darkness.

Marianne's memoir is refreshingly just and honest -- she gives people like Jagger their due, only speaking badly when it's called for. She not only speaks out on the sexism of the press toward her (and their revolting, idiotic Mars bar story), but also about the hideous consequences it almost had for her mother Eva. Looking back on the fur rug and the handling of Marianne's presence, it's hard to believe that such ghastly mishandling of the facts could take place and actually be believed for so long. When the press turned on the Stones, they also turned on Marianne.

And she's the first to admit (many times) that she's made mistakes; if anything, she seems harder on herself than anyone else, recognizing when she should have done better, spoken up, acted differently. (Such as when she blasted Jagger during an emotional moment) What's more, she offers greater insight into Richards, Jagger, Pallenberg, Bob Dylan and others -- not just about them, but the effect they had on people around them.

And she doesn't pretend that her post-junkie life and romantic relationships were idyllic -- there are low points and high points, stumbles and falls. But it's inspiring to see her releasing new music and overcoming her past problems.

The writing is wonderfully vivid, reading almost like a novel at times; Faithfull intersperses her rockspeak with literary and mythologic references (the Lady of Shalott is mentioned multiple times) that give "Faithfull" added sophistication. She also doesn't glorify the drug use that almost killed her; it's pretty horrifying for awhile there despite her initial romantic ideas about it. Faithfull also demonstrates a dry sense of humor that made me chuckle. (Lacking a true finale, she ends the book with cooking tips)

A weaker woman than Marianne Faithfull might have been killed by all she's gone through. But her rise again is an inspiring and honest one, and "Faithfull" is a must-read for fans of rock and roll.

Life lived to the full
This riveting biography charts Marianne Faithfull's life from her earliest childhood dream to 1994. Along the way, it also serves as a captivating cultural history of swinging London in the 1960s and the music world in subsequent decades. Marianne describes her family background, dispelling many myths along the way, and provides an interesting account of how she entered the music business.

The recollections of touring with the popular bands of the time are interesting, as is the way she entered the Rolling Stones circle. Her first meeting with Bob Dylan is interestingly described and wonderfully juxtaposed with a much later meeting in the 1980s when she explained every song on Broken English for an admiring Dylan. The glimpses into the interpersonal relations of the Stones are enlightening and poignant, specially the way she describes the decline of the ill-fated Brian Jones.

She talks matter of factly about her relationship with Mick Jagger and the notoriety she gained with various drug busts. Faithfull doesn't spare the reader any of the detail of her long relationship with a breathtaking variety of drugs, but the most interesting parts are when she relates particular events and circumstances to specific compositions by Jagger and by herself.

She discusses all the anarchy and hedonism of the times with a detached air, observing that her generation wanted to see change everywhere, but none of them could quite figure it out and it all ended up as wretched excess. She talks at length about the movie Performance and about her song Sister Morphine. The saddest part of her life was when she spent about 2 years of her life sitting on a wall in Soho, completely spaced out, but notes how kindly people treated her.

The making of her country album Faithless, a big hit in Ireland, is described in detail, as well as her big comeback with Broken English in 1979. I really enjoyed her encounters with various musicians, like the tragic Tim Hardin who co-wrote the song Brain Drain on Broken English with Ben Brierly. There's even an interesting snippet about Cristina Monet, wife of Ze Records founder Michael Zilkha. Why'd Ya Do It, one of the most controversial songs on the Broken English album, was written by poet Heathcote Williams. Marianne had to beg him for hours to allow her to record it, as he wanted Tina Turner to do it!

There is no bitterness in any of Faithfull's writing, but lots of humour and witty observations. She is full of praise for musicians like Barry Reynolds and Van Morrison with whom she has worked. As a great fan of hers and The Stones, I am truly relived that there were no life threatening sexually transmitted diseases in the 1960s and 1970s because then a whole generation of musicians would have been lost, what with all the intercourse between everybody.

This book confirms why Faithfull is a true survivor and has developed into an original artist with growing stature. The text is thoroughly engaging and the scandal is well balanced by observations on the songs, the times, the making of the albums and the films. There are 45 black and white photographs and a thorough index. I highly recommend Faithfull to all her fans, students of the 1960s counterculture and those who enjoy good rock biography. Other great books of the genre include Nico, The Last Bohemian (Songs They Never Play On The Radio) by James Young and Scars Of Sweet Paradise (Janis Joplin) by Alice Echols.

Life lived to the full
This riveting biography charts Marianne Faithfull's life from her earliest childhood dream to 1994. Along the way, it also serves as a captivating cultural history of swinging London in the 1960s and the music world in subsequent decades. Marianne describes her family background, dispelling many myths along the way, and provides an interesting account of how she entered the music business.

The recollections of touring with the popular bands of the time are interesting, as is the way she entered the Rolling Stones circle. Her first meeting with Bob Dylan is interestingly described and wonderfully juxtaposed with a much later meeting in the 1980s when she explained every song on Broken English for an admiring Dylan. The glimpses into the interpersonal relations of the Stones are enlightening and poignant, specially the way she describes the decline of the ill-fated Brian Jones.

She talks matter of factly about her relationship with Mick Jagger and the notoriety she gained with various drug busts. Faithfull doesn't spare the reader any of the detail of her long relationship with a breathtaking variety of drugs, but the most interesting parts are when she relates particular events and circumstances to specific compositions by Jagger and by herself.

She discusses all the anarchy and hedonism of the times with a detached air, observing that her generation wanted to see change everywhere, but none of them could quite figure it out and it all ended up as wretched excess. She talks at length about the movie Performance and about her song Sister Morphine. The saddest part of her life was when she spent about 2 years of her life sitting on a wall in Soho, completely spaced out, but notes how kindly people treated her.

The making of her country album Faithless, a big hit in Ireland, is described in detail, as well as her big comeback with Broken English in 1979. I really enjoyed her encounters with various musicians, like the tragic Tim Hardin who co-wrote the song Brain Drain on Broken English with Ben Brierly. There's even an interesting snippet about Cristina Monet, wife of Ze Records founder Michael Zilkha. Why'd Ya Do It, one of the most controversial songs on the Broken English album, was written by poet Heathcote Williams. Marianne had to beg him for hours to allow her to record it, as he wanted Tina Turner to do it!

There is no bitterness in any of Faithfull's writing, but lots of humour and witty observations. She is full of praise for musicians like Barry Reynolds and Van Morrison with whom she has worked. As a great fan of hers and The Stones, I am truly relived that there were no life threatening sexually transmitted diseases in the 1960s and 1970s because then a whole generation of musicians would have been lost, what with all the intercourse between everybody.

This book confirms why Faithfull is a true survivor and has developed into an original artist with growing stature. The text is thoroughly engaging and the scandal is well balanced by observations on the songs, the times, the making of the albums and the films. There are 45 black and white photographs and a thorough index. I highly recommend Faithfull to all her fans, students of the 1960s counterculture and those who enjoy good rock biography. Other great books of the genre include Nico, The Last Bohemian (Songs They Never Play On The Radio) by James Young and Scars Of Sweet Paradise (Janis Joplin) by Alice Echols.