Few stars of the 1960s have reinvented themselves as successfully as Marianne Faithfull. Coaxed into a singing career by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham in 1964, she had a big hit in both Britain and the U.S. with her debut single, the Jagger/Richards composition “As Tears Go By” (which prefaced the Stones’ own version by a full year). Considerably more successful in her native land than the States, she had a series of hits in the mid-’60s that set her high, fragile voice against delicate orchestral pop arrangements.
Faithfull’s 1987 release of Strange Weather recast her as a nicotine-stained chanteuse, approaching such standards as “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” and “Penthouse Serenade” with a ravaged, world-weary demeanor that recalls the latter-day recordings of Billie Holiday. She also tackles some blues and jazz material and turns “As Tears Go By” into the gut-wrenching torch ballad neither the Stones nor Faithfull could ever have done in the ’60s. A dark, challenging masterpiece.
| Lado 1 | |
| 1 | Stranger Intro |
| 2 | Boulevard of Broken Dreams |
| 3 | I Ain’t Goin’ Down To the Well No More |
| 4 | Yesterdays |
| Lado 2 | |
| 1 | Sign of Judgment |
| 2 | Strange Weather |
| 3 | Love, Life and Money |
| Lado 3 | |
| 1 | I’ll Keep It With Mine |
| 2 | Hello Stranger |
| 3 | Penthouse Serenade |
| Lado 4 | |
| 1 | As Tears Go By |
| 2 | A Stranger On Earth |