Thursday, January 7, 2010
There are books about Marianne Faithfull. Check the addresses below.
Memories, Dreams And Reflections with David Dalton published by London, Fourth Estate, October 2007 (image) is available at our library [English 782.42164092 FAI - (ART)] but it's not on loan. Strange isn't it?
Anyway, the book is anecdotal, conversational, intimate and revealing the iconic artists's raw and honest account of her life, her friends, her triumphs, and mistakes. As an example she, "muses nostalgically about afternoons languishing on Moroccan cushions at George (Beatle) and Pattie Harrison's, getting high and listening to new songs."
She is frequently baffled at her image in the press because when she opens the newspaper she reads of her own demise: Sixties Star in Death Plunge and "mortified by her history of reckless behavior; not to mention her near-death experience in Singapore while looking for an opium den (Reviewed at: amazon.com)."
An earlier 1991 book, Mark Hodkinson's, Marianne Faithfull: As Tears Go By, reviewed by Pieter 'Toypom' (Johannesburg) reveals the Swinging Sixties, then moves into her family history, her childhood and school years. She enters the pop scene in 1964 with the single As Tears Go By which is followed by a series of pop-folk hits. The author does a splendid job of describing her early recordings and the impact they made on the UK and USA charts.
Then came Mick Jagger and the scandals that plagued Marianne from that time forward. Her stage and film acting took precedence over the music and "it seems to be professional rivalry that led to her separation and divorce from Jagger". The song Wild Horses on the 1971 Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers preserves Mick's love for Marianne and feelings of regret in a moving way.
Blogger has not read any of them but some titles could be available in the bookshops. Perhaps some copies could be available for loan? Must be the 'opium den episode'. Not good for youthful minds. Staining our clean image? Comment anyone?
