Few stars of the 1960s have reinvented themselves as successfully as Marianne Faithfull after a 17 year drug addiction. Coaxed into singing by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham in 1964, she had a big hit with her debut single "As Tears Go By" composed by Jagger / Richards which prefaced the Stones' own version by a full year. Audiophile remaster by Bernie Grundman for Original Recordings Group sounds amazing!

Michael Fremer (Analog Planet) Rated 10/10 for Music and 10/10 for Sound

• Numbered Limited Edition
• Limited to 2500 Units Worldwide
• Deluxe Laminated Gatefold Cover
• Double LP Audiophile 180 Gram Vinyl Pressed at RTI
• Mastered by Bernie Grundman
• Mastered from the Original Analog Master Tapes

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.

"In portions of this album, the fabulous Marianne Faithfull takes up where Lotte Lenya and Marlene Dietrich leave off.  In fact, she might well be called the 'Rhythm and Blue Angel'.  And if she is not, it is surely because her extraordinary range places her far beyond any such limitation.  A single instance may suffice: being an old 'Billie-head' myself, I found it presumptuous in the extreme that someone else, anyone else, should attempt a rendition of her fables "Yesterdays".  Imagine my astonished delight then, upon hearing Ms. Faithfull's fantastic version - actually bringing to the song a new dimension of throat and soul.

However, why be content with a single instance? Her renditions of the black spiritual "Sign of Judgement" and Leadbelly's remarkable a cappella "I Ain't Goin' Down to the Well No More" are little short of miraculous in their affirmation of this singer's phenomenal scope and depth.

And one must not overlook the exquisitely haunting Kurt Weill / Budapest / Cafe / gypsy-violin magic in "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", Tom Waits' and Kathleen Brennan's "Strange Weather" - and, of course, the blues masterpiece, "Love, Life, and Money", featuring th epiano artistry of the legendary Mac Rebennack.  Rounding out this outstanding collection are the campy/surreal "Penthouse Serenade" (with its "hinges on chimneys for stars to go by"), Doc Pomus' and Mac Rebennack's 'Hello Stranger", and the lyrically wistful "As Tears Go By".  It is most fitting that this final selection be included; it may be recalled that it was this very song which the 17-year old Marianne first recorded, and which established her overnight, among rockers and cognoscenti alike, as the super talent she remains." - Terry Southern

"Ferla’s impeccable engineering and mixing tastes compliment the instrumentation by putting everything on a spacious, deep and somewhat dark and mysterious soundstage. Instruments glide and hover on the deep stage and have just the right amount of body to be solid, yet sufficient lightness of being to feel as if any of them could simply drift away at any moment. Bill Frisell’s guitar floats delicately in an echo balloon.Of course the centerpiece is Faithfull’s deepened, coarsened voice and while the older tunes are well-served and her take of “Yesterdays” is arguably equal to Billie Holiday’s, its her performance on the Waits title song that lingers long after the stylus has reached side four’s lead out groove. The recording quality is superb and the double 45 format perfectly suits the material: you might not want to consume this in greater quantities than a few tunes at a time." - Michael Fremer

Musicians:

Marianne Faithfull, vocals
Bill Frisell, guitar
Michael Levine, violin
Sharon Freeman, piano
Fernando Saunders, bass
Chris Hunter, flute, alto saxophone
Steve Slagile, alto saxophone
Robert Quine, guitar
J.T. Lewis, drums

Track Listing:

01. Stranger Intro
02. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
03. I Ain't Goin' Down To the Well No More
04. Yesterdays
05. Sign of Judgement
06. Strange Weather
07. Love, Life and Money
08. I'll Keep It With Mine
09. Hello Stranger
10. Penthouse Serenade
11. As Tears Go By
12. A Stranger On Earth

Click here to listen to samples on YouTube.com ♫