Versions:
CD
LP
Tracklisting:
1. The Mystery Of Love
2. My Friends Have
3. Crazy Love
4. Last Song
5. No Child Of Mine
6. Before The Poison
7. There Is A Ghost
8. In The Factory
9. Desperanto
10. City Of Quartz
Best Tracks:
The Mystery Of Love
There Is A Ghost
Last Song
Before The Poison
Currently listening to: CD
Before The Poison might just be my favourite Marianne Faithfull album. Like many before me, my introduction to Marianne was, of course, Broken English, which I got for my 16th birthday (and more on that one later). I would have though that Broken English would always be my favourite - as much as it irks me that every record she's put out since has consistently been compared to Broken English, it's not entirely unfounded. Broken English was such a landmark - and so fucking good - that it's hard not make the comparison. And, if I'm being honest, I never thought Marianne would surpass it. A Child's Adventure, Strange Weather, A Secret Life and Vagabond Ways are all very good records. While they prove that Marianne Faithfull has more to offer the world than that one landmark album, there's no escaping that none were quite as brilliant as Broken English.
Then, in 2002, she put out Kissin Time. And, fuck me. Unexpectedly, Kissin Time was - to me, at least - just as good as Broken English. I was suitably blown away by just how good it was. Thanks, in no small part, to the collaborators she chose to work with - Beck, Billy Corgan, Jarvis Cocker and Blur, among others.
So, imagine my immense joy when - sometime in 2002, not that long after Kissin Time came out - Marianne happened to mention that she was working on new material with PJ Harvey. PJ Harvey! For me, this was a match made in heaven. It felt too good to be true. Especially, when news of their collaboration trickled slowly. While Harvey was slowly working on the anticipated follow-up to her highly successful Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea, sparse interviews I'd read with Marianne would mention that they were still working on the record. But, man - it felt like a long wait. Once Harvey finally released Uh Huh Her in 2004, it featured a track called, 'No Child Of Mine'. In an interview, she stated that she wrote it as an outro for a song she'd done with Marianne. Apparently, Marianne hated it, but Polly liked it enough to include it on her album.
Before The Poison finally came in early 2005 - 5 songs were done with PJ Harvey, 3 with Nick Cave & The Bads Seeds and 1 with Damon Albarn. To say that I was excited to hear this record would have been the understatement of the fucking century. And, I'm happy to say, it far exceeded my already high expectations.
The devastatingly beautiful 'Mystery Of Love' opens the album. That beautiful, sweeping guitar. Those yearning lyrics. This is pure PJ Harvey. Yet, it's also pure Marianne Faithfull. Marianne, unsurprisingly, completely makes it her own, delivering it with an authority that would have left Polly shaking in her boots. 'The Mystery Of Love' encapsulates everything I love about both artists. It's absolutely stunning. Three minutes and fifty one seconds into the album and the Faithfull/Harvey collaboration is already a rousing success.
'My Friend Have' follows and is, once again, PJ Harvey all over. This one doesn't click quite as well as 'The Mystery of Love' until the middle of the song. The first half has Marianne croaking over Polly's unmistakable guitar and backing vocals. Just when she sounds like she might be getting lost under the weight of it all, suddenly Marianne lifts her vocal register and drives the song to a thrilling conclusion, showing that she can, indeed, keep up with Harvey. Apparently, at Polly's insistence, Marianne had undertaken some vocal coaching before they made the record. It was a wise move. As the joyous 'My Friends Have' shows, Marianne sounds better than she had since the late 70's.
I was surprised to learn that 'No Child Of Mine' was written solely by Harvey, as was 'The Mystery Of Love'. While 'The Mystery of Love' sounds very much like a PJ Harvey song, 'No Child Of Mine', a portrayal of a mother disowning her child, isn't a song I can imagine on any of Harvey's diverse records. Which isn't that much of a surprise coming from a writer as gifted as PJ Harvey. 'No Child Of Mine' still carries an impressive depth, and once again, is perfect for Marianne, who carries it as if it were her own. Which, of course, it now is. The biggest surprise for me, however, was the inclusion of the aforementioned outro to 'No Child Of Mine' that appeared on Uh Huh Her. It's the exact same recording, just with Marianne singing over Polly's vocals. In this context, it makes much more sense. I find it quite odd when I hear it in the middle of Uh Huh Her these days.
'In The Factory' and the title track, the remaining two tracks with PJ Harvey, took me a little more time to appreciate. There's a great chapter about 'In The Factory' in Marianne's second book, which I recommend you read. It certainly made me appreciate the song more than already I did. 'Before The Poison' has become a favourite over the last few years. It's hard to imagine Marianne tackling a song like 'Before The Poison' in the 80's or 90's. Maybe it was the vocal coaching. Or maybe it's that Marianne sounds so invigorated and revitalized. Thanks, I'm sure, to the quality of the material she had to work with.
And, of course, it's not only the PJ Harvey tracks that are great. Damon Albarn's remarkable 'Last Song', which he later recorded as 'Green Fields' on The Good, The Bad & The Queen, is one of the best tracks on both Before The Poison and The Good, The Bad & The Queen. Apparently, Damon didn't want Marianne to have it. Understandably. No respectable songwriter would want to lose a song as good as 'Last Song'. According to Marianne's book, he'd written it around the time they did Kissin Time and forgotten about it - and was none too pleased about giving it away. I must say, I am glad Marianne got it. And, I'm not surprised Damon revisited it a few years later. It's a beautiful song.
The Bad Seeds are the ultimate backing band for Marianne. While many of the songs on Before The Poison feel claustrophobic, the optimistic 'Crazy Love', swathed in Warren Ellis' distinctive violin, feels light and seamless. 'There Is A Ghost', a lament for a dead lover, is another striking highlight. In theory, the subject matter sounds like textbook Nick Cave. Such a description, however, would sell this wonderful song short. 'There Is A Ghost' actually wouldn't sound that out of place on The Bad Seeds' Push The Sky Away, released 8 years after Before The Poison, if not for Cave's distinctive piano - which harks back to And No More Shall We Part. 'Desperanto' comes across like a cross between 'Why'd Ya Do It' and The Bad Seeds' 'Babe, I'm On Fire'. It rocks, and it's a bit of fun, but it doesn't work quite as well as the rest of the tracks on the album. The album closes with 'City of Quartz', a collabaration with Jon Brion, who also worked on Kissin Time. It's a sweet, understated song, consisting of not much more than Marianne singing over a music box.
Like many albums in this blog, I chose to listen to the CD, since it hasn't been played since I got the LP. I actually didn't realise for a long time that the album came out on vinyl. I certainly never saw it anywhere when it came out - not even online. Once I realised, it became imperative that I owned it. I eventually found it on eBay for a reasonable price. It was worth the investment, it's become one of my favourite records to listen to.
I had ridiculously high expectations for Before The Poison when it come out. Too often, albums like this don't quite meet their expectations. If they do, the novelty soon wears off. Before The Poison, though, has only improved with time. Gladly, the collaborations with PJ Harvey and Nick Cave work as well on the record as they do on paper. Marianne's voice sounded better on this record than it had for many, many years. And, yes - Before The Poison is as just good as Broken English. It may not be as bold a statement, nor as important in Marianne's history, but the quality is there. Since Kissin Time came out, Marianne has put out a succession of consistently great records. The quality of these albums, and their steady output over the last 10 or so years, is rather impressive. This late period of Marianne's career has actually become my favourite music that she's put out. Before The Poison is the jewel in the crown.
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