CULT CLASSIC: MARIANNE FAITHFUL- LOVE IN A MIST.

dereksmusicblog ♦ September 6, 2020 ♦ Leave a comment

Cult Classic: Marianne Faithful-Love In A Mist.

By March 1964, it was apparent that pop music wasn’t just a passing fad. By then, The Beatles were a global phenomenon and the British Invasion of the American charts had just begun. Britain was a now musical powerhouse that the world envied. Despite this, many labels weren’t resting on their laurels.

Record companies in Britain were constantly on the search for ‘the next big thing.’ Surely they reasoned, there was another Fab Four somewhere in Britain? It was all a matter of finding them. Some labels put more effort into this than others.

Decca Records had an enviable network of A&R executives and talent scouts across Britain. Their finger was on the pulse of the local music scene. Night after night, talent scouts headed out to local pubs and clubs, where they listened to new bands and singers. Promising artists were signed to contracts before other labels even had a chance to hear them. Helping Decca Records add to their already enviable roster were various producers and music ‘impresarios.’

They were the trusted ears of some record companies. This included the Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham. He was by 1964, was managing the second biggest band in the world. The Rolling Stones only rivals were The Beatles. So when Andrew Loog Oldham recommended a new, unknown artist to Decca Records they took notice.

The artist Andrew Loog Oldham was unlike any he had come across. Even her background was unlike that of any artist he had encountered. Sh was an eighteen year old former convent girl who the daughter of an Austrian aristocrat and a former British Army officer, who was now a professor of psychology and Italian literature at Bedford College of London University. They had met in Vienna, and were living in Hampstead when Marianne Faithful was born on 29th December 1946. However, this would soon change.

The Faithful family had to move to Ormskirk in Lancashire, while her father finished his doctorate at Liverpool University. Later, the Faithful family lived at the commune and institution for social research in Braziers Park, a Grade II listed building at Ipsden, Oxfordshire. This must have seemed an idyllic place to grow up. However, when Marianne Faithful was six her parents divorced.

For Marianne Faithful the Reading years weren’t exactly happy ones. She lived with her mother in Milman Road which she refers to as the “Reading Gaol.” No wonder. It was a far cry from the early years of her life.

Now, money was tight, and Marianne Faithful and her mother were reduced to living in suburbia. To make matters worse, she suffered from tuberculosis and was a subsidised pupil at St Joseph’s Convent School where she was a weekly boarder. It was at school, that Marianne Faithful first took to the stage.

It wasn’t as a singer though. Instead, she was part of the school’s Progress Theatre group. Little did anyone realise, that when Marianne Faithful left St Joseph’s Convent School, she spend much of her life on the stage. Before that, she escaped the drudgery and boredom of suburban Reading.

Very different was London’s social scene, which Marianne Faithful threw herself into. It was as if she was making up for the Reading years. London was different from small-town Reading. Marianne enjoyed the constant round of parties, record launches and gallery openings. She even travelled to Cambridge to attend a University ball, where she met her future husband John Dunbar. By then, she was regular in London’s folk circuit.

For some time, Marianne Faithful had been playing coffee shops, including Cafe Au Lait and Shades. Her career was in its infancy, but through John Dunbar, Marianne Faithful met Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon. They were enjoying a successful career. Not as successful as the two men Peter Asher introduced Marianne Faithful to at a party in March 1964.

Marianne Faithful went along to a party with John Dunbar in March 1964. That was where she was introduced to the leaders of the two biggest groups in the world. First Marianne met Paul McCartney, and then she was introduced to Mick Jagger. Little did she realise the effect this meeting would have on her career.

Through Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithful was introduced to Andrew Loog Oldham. Straight away, he signed Marianne Faithful to Decca Records. Soon, work began on Marianne’s debut single.

For Marianne Faithful’s debut single, As Tears Go By, which was penned by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards was chosen. It was produced by Mike Leander, and released in the summer of 1964. As Tears Go By reached number nine in Britain; twenty-two in the US Billboard 100 and thirty-five in Australia. The eighteen year old had enjoyed a hit single on three continents. However, the followup single wasn’t as successful.

Having chosen to cover a Jagger-Richards song for her debut single, Marianne Faithful decided to cover Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In The Wind for her sophomore single. When it was released later in 1965, it failed to chart on both sides of the Atlantic. Surely Marianne Faithful wasn’t a one hit wonder?

Decca Records didn’t think so, and decided that Marianne Faithful should begin work on not just one album, but two albums.

Come My Way.
It was a case of striking while the iron was hot. Many artists weren’t didn’t enjoy a long shelf life. So as soon as they had a single under their belt, they were sent into the studio to record an album. Decca Records decided that Marianne Faithful should record two quite different albums, Come My Way and Marianne Faithful. Of the two albums, Come My Way would only be released in Britain.

For Come My Way, Marianne Faithful chose fourteen tracks. Many of the tracks were traditional songs. This included Come My Way, Jaberwoc and Spanish Is The Loving Tongue, Fare Thee Well, Down In The Salley Garden, Full Fathom Five and Bells Of Freedom. Other tracks included Lee Hayes’ Lonesome Traveller and Ian Tyson’s Four Strong Winds. These songs were recorded at IBC Studio, London with producer Tony Calder.

On Come My Way, Marianne Faithful concentrated purely on folk music. This was what Marianne had been singing up until then. She sang and played her acoustic guitar against John Mark’s spartan arrangements. This would prove successful when Come My Way was released.

It wasn’t until 15th April 1965 that Marianne Faithful released Come My Way. The album was well received by critics, and reached number twelve in Britain. However, Come My Way wasn’t released in America. Instead, Marianne Faithful’s eponymous sophomore was released on both sides of the Atlantic the same day as Come My Way.

Marianne Faithful.
Marianne Faithful was recorded at the same time as Come My Way, and would be released in America and Britain. However, Marianne Faithful was a very different album to Come My Way. Gone was the folk sound of her debut album which was replaced by pop, chanson and ye-ye. Already, she was showing that she was a versatile singer.

For Marianne Faithful, fourteen pop covers had been chosen. This included Jackie DeShannon’s Come and Stay With Me; Bacharach and David’s If I Never Get to Love You; Tony Hatch’s Downtown; Jagger and Richards’ As Tears Go By; Jackie DeShannon and Jimmy Page’s In My Time of Sorrow; and Lennon and MCartney’s I’m A Loser. Marianne Faithful also made her songwriting debut, cowriting Time Takes Time with Barry Fantoni. These songs were recorded in two London studios.

At Lansdowne Studios and Decca No. 2 Studio, London, Marianne Faithful recorded another fourteen songs with producer Tony Calder. This time, a band accompanied Marianne, as she flitted between musical genres. Then Plaisir D’Amour became one of the first songs that Marianne would record in French. The London born chanteuse was about to become one of the ye-ye girls, while enjoying commercial success on both sides of the Atlantic.

Just like Come My Way, Marianne Faithful was released on 15th April 1965. Reviews of the album were positive, with critics remarking that some of the song’s were perfectly suited to Marianne Faithful. She brought life and meaning to the songs. So it wasn’t a surprise that Marianne Faithful reached fifteen in Britain, and twelve in the US Billboard 200. This wasn’t the end to the success.

Come And Stay With Me was released as a single from Marianne Faithful. It reached number four in Britain, and twenty-six in the US Billboard 100. Then This Little Bird was released later in 1965, and reached number six in Britain, and thirty-two in the US Billboard 100. For Marianne, this was a fairytale. A year after signing to Decca Records, she was a star on both sides of the Atlantic.

Less than a month after the release of Come My Way and Marianne Faithful married John Dunbar on the 6th of May 1965, in Cambridge. After the wedding, the pair lived in a flat in Belgravia, in London. What looked like a fairytale continued.

Go Away From My World.
Although newly married, and expecting her first child, Marianne Faithful had to record a new American album. It featured twelve tracks, which were a mixture of traditional songs and cover versions.

Among the traditional songs were Come My Way, Mary Ann, Scarborough Fair and North Country Maid. Cover versions included Lennon and McCartney’s Yesterday and Tom Paxton’s The Last Thing On My Mind. Marianne also decided to cover Francis McPeake’s Wild Mountain Thyme and Cyril Tawney’s Sally Free and Easy. These songs were produced by Mike Leader, and scheduled for release in November 1965.

Reviews of Go Away From My World were mainly positive. However, looking back with the benefit of hindsight, it’s an album that’s appealing to everyone. There’s songs for people who like folk and pop music; while Marianne Faithful had been a much more pop oriented album. Maybe Go Away From My World fell between two stools?

After the success of Marianne Faithful in America, Go Away From My World reached a disappointing eighty-one on the US Billboard 200. The only crumb of comfort was that when Summer Nights was released as a single, it reached number ten in Britain and number twenty-four in the US Billboard 100. Then Marianne’s cover of Yesterday reached number thirty-six in Britain. Her last single from Go Away From My World was the title-track, which reached a lowly eighty-nine in the US Billboard 100. Little did Marianne know, that Go Away From My World would be her last American hit. That would’ve been the least of her worries.

In December 1965, Marianne Faithful left her husband of seventh months, and went to live with the Rolling Stones’ frontman Mick Jagger. Little did she realise this decision would change her life, and people’s perception of her forever more. That was still to come. Before that, Marianne Faithful began work on her next album North Country Maid.

North Country Maid.
As 1966 got underway, Marianne Faithful and Mick Jagger through themselves headfirst into swinging London’s social scene. They epitomised swinging London, and were seen at the smartest parties. Soon, it was time for Marianne Faithful to return to the studio. 

North Country Maid would become her third British album. However, six of the songs had featured on the now ironically titled American album Go Away From My World. This included traditional songs like Scarborough Fair; How Should I Your True Love and North Country Maid. The other tracks included Cyril Tawney’s Sally Free and Easy; Jon Mark’s Lullabye and Francis McPeake’s Wild Mountain Thyme. This left Marianne to record six new songs.

They were a mixture of traditional song and cover versions. The traditional songs included Cockleshells; She Moved Through The Fair and How Should I Your True Love Know. Other tracks included covers of Tom Paxton’s Last Thing On My Mind; Ewan McColl’s The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Donavon’s Sunny Goodge Street. These tracks were recorded with producer Mike Leander.

When the recording the six songs began, Marianne Faithful was joined by guitarists Big Jim Sullivan and Jon Marks. He had worked on all of Marianne’s albums, arranging the tracks. Joining them in the studio was an up-and-coming engineer, Gus Dudgeon. Soon, the six songs took shape, and the release of North Country Maid was scheduled for spring 1966.

Before the release of North Country Maid on 1st of April 1966, critics had their say on Marianne Faithful’s third album. The consensus was, that North Country Maid was the finest album of her nascent career. That however, was no surprise.

Great care had gone into choosing the twelve songs that became North Country Maid. These songs seem tailor made for Marianne, as she flits seamlessly between musical genres. Although primarily an album of folk music, blues, country, acid folk and even pop can be heard on North Country Maid. It’s the perfect showcase forMarianne Faithful’s versatility as a singer.

Playing an important part in the success of North Country Maid, were Mick Taylor and Jon Mark’s arrangements. Jon Mark and Big Jim Sullivan accompany Marianne Faithful on arrangements that although they’re mostly understated and spartan, allow her vocals to take centre-stage. She’s equally comfortable singing traditional songs and cover versions.

Despite the undoubted quality of the album and the positive reviews  North Country Maid failed to chart when it was released on 1st April 1966. For Marianne Faithful this was a huge blow. Her two previous albums had sold well in Britain, and she had enjoyed several hit singles. However, the warning signs were there when Go Away From My World failed to chart. This made her next album a crucial one.

Love In A Mist.
For her fourth British studio album, Love In A Mist Marianne Faithful decided to change tack. It was a case of needs must. Not only had her career stalled, but acoustic folk music was no longer as popular. Even Bob Dylan had plugged in, and gone electric in 1966. So Marianne Faithful decided to reinvent herself on Love In A Mist.

She had started to reinvent herself on her American album, Faithful Forever. It was released in September 1966, but failed to chart. Despite this, half of the tracks that featured on Faithful Forever, found their way onto Love In A Mist. Along with the other seven songs, a total of fourteen tracks found their way onto Love In The Mist.

Among the tracks on Love In The Mist were a trio of tracks from Donovan, In the Night Time, Young Girl Blues and Good Guy. Marianne Faithful covered Jackie DeShannon’s You Can’t Go Where the Roses Go and With You In Mind. She also covered Tim Hardin’s Don’t Make Promises and Reason To Believe. Other tracks included Lennon and McCartney’s Yesterday; John D. Loudermilk’s; This Little Bird; Bob Lind’s Counting and Bernstein and Sondheim’s I Have A Love. Ne Me Quitte Pas and Coquillages allowed Marianne Faithful to show her versatility on a couple chanson songs. Love In The Mist was shaping up to be her most eclectic album.

With seven tracks to record, Marianne Faithful entered the studio with a band. This was a first. They played on Love In The Mist but took care not to overpower her vocals. They veer between elegiac and ethereal to melancholy and wistful. Sometimes they sound hopeful, but often sound worldweary. Marianne it seemed, had lived some of the lyrics. On several tracks, there’s a return to the understated sound of previous albums. However, Mike Leander decided to orchestrate parts of Love In The Mist. He even added subtle horns on several tracks. They work well, and should’ve played an important part in the reinvention of Marianne Faithful.

Melancholy describes Marianne Faithful’s  rendition of Yesterday. She’s accompanied by elegiac harmonies and doesn’t so much deliver the lyrics but lives them. It’s followed by the wistful sounding You Can’t Go Where The Roses Go that heads in the direction of baroque pop. Then Our Love Has Gone is a tale of a love lost with a beautiful orchestrated arrangement that’s punctuated by a French horn. In The Night Time  head in the direction of baroque pop before Marianne Faithful’s transformation to baroque chanteuse is complete on This Little Bird. Then  on Ne Me Quitte Pas and Coquilages Marianne Faithful turns her attention to chanson pop. 

Counting is one of the highlights of Love In A Mist, and features a vocal that’s deliberate and a mixture of theatre and drama. Delivered against a dramatic, orchestrated backdrop it’s a potent mix. Marianne Faithful combines folk and pop on Reason To Believe which features a lush orchestrated arrangement. The lyrics are poignant and take on a new meaning as if she can’t find a Reason To Believe. With You In Mind is a quite beautiful but wistful mixture of theatre and baroque pop. Equally beautiful, thanks to the orchestrated arrangement and a vocal that wistful, thoughtful and sometimes almost despairing is Young Girl Blues. Then on Good Guy, Marianne Faithful  breathes life and meaning into the lyric while the arrangement where blues, country, folk and pop melt into one. It’s without doubt one of her finest hours. She closes Love In A Mist with I Have a Love, which becomes a lush, heartfelt ballad and shows yet another side to Marianne Faithful.

Sadly, by the time Love In The Mist was released Marianne Faithful was embroiled in a scandal that made front page news across the world. Her decision to befriend the Rolling Stones had backfired on her badly. This could be traced back to 1965, when she left husband John Dunbar in December, and moved in with Mick Jagger not long after this. By 1965, she had befriended another member of the Rolling Stones’ inner circle…Anita Pallenberg.

They became friends in 1965 and soon they were smoking marijuana together. Then in 1966, Marianne Faithful decided to take her son to stay with Anita Pallenberg and Brian Jones. By then, she  was a familiar face with Mick Jagger at swinging London’s smartest and wildest parties. The time they spent with with Anita Pallenberg and Brian Jones passed off without incident. If only the same could be said of the events of 12th February 1967.

By then, it was less than a month before Marianne Faithful would release her fourth album. On Sunday 12th February 1967, she was relaxing with members of the Rolling Stones’ inner circle at Redlands, Keith Richards country estate. That night, the Sussex police raided Redlands looking for drugs. The claimed to have been tipped off that a drug were being consumed on the premises  When they entered Redlands, they discovered Marianne Faithful covered by just a fur rug. This would come back to haunt her.

After a search of Redlands, various tablets and substances, including amphetamine and cannabis were discovered. This lead to the arrest of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. They were charged, and were facing imprisonment. However, as the story became front page news, so did the details of how the police discovered Marianne Faithful . This shocked many little Englanders, who viewed not just Mick Jagger and Keith Richards with distaste, but Marianne Faithful too.

Suddenly, the press were raking over her private life, serving up every salacious piece of petty gossip for the titillation of the little people in their two up, two downs. They stood in judgment of Marianne Faithful who was about to release a new album.

Love In A Mist was a genre hopping album where Marianne Faithful flitted between folk, chanson and pop to country, acid folk, baroque pop and blues. It was captivating emotional roller coaster where the music was melancholy, rueful and poignant. Other times, the music was full of hurt and sadness as Marianne Faithful lays bare her soul. Under normal circumstances it would’ve transformed her career.  

Just over three weeks later, Marianne Faithful released her fourth album, Love In A Mist on the 2nd of March 1967. Despite the quality of the music on Love In A Mist, the album never came close to troubling the charts. Sadly, very few people heard the album when it was released in 1967.   Whether the unwanted publicity affected sales of Love In A Mist is a matter of speculation?

Following the release of Love In A Mist in 1967, Decca Records and Marianne Faithful parted company. By then was just twenty-one and had already released four albums in the UK for Decca. The genre-hopping North Country Maid is the finest album of her Decca Records and a reminder of the early part of Marianne Faithful’s career. North Country Maid is the finest album of her Decca years. It’s an underrated hidden gem that’s one of the most accomplished and eclectic albums of Marianne Faithful’s career and nowadays is a cult classic that is gradually starting to find the audience it so richly deserves.

Cult Classic: Marianne Faithful-Love In A Mist.