A Secret Life (album)

Last updated

A Secret Life
Marianne Faithfull - A Secret Life.jpg
Studio album by
Released21 March 1995 (1995-03-21)
Recorded1994
Studio
  • Excalibur Sound
  • National/Edison Recording Studio
  • (New York City, New York)
Genre
Length35:00
Label Island
Producer Angelo Badalamenti
Marianne Faithfull chronology
Blazing Away
(1990)
A Secret Life
(1995)
20th Century Blues
(1997)
Singles from A Secret Life
  1. "Bored by Dreams"
    Released: 1995
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Billboard (positive) [2]
Entertainment Weekly B [3]
Robert Christgau Rating-Christgau-neither.png [4]
Spin 4/10 [5]

A Secret Life is the twelfth studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 21 March 1995 by Island Records. The album marked her first studio release composed mostly of original material in over a decade. Faithfull collaborated with American composer Angelo Badalamenti after his work on the television series Twin Peaks . Influenced by her interest in classical music, A Secret Life was a musical departure from her previous work and displayed a more tender side to her voice.

Contents

Faithfull also worked with Irish poet and her longtime friend Frank McGuinness and used some of his poems in the songs "Sleep" and "The Wedding". Musically, A Secret Life is an alternative rock album which was inspired by classical music and also incorporates elements of blues. The songs deal with themes such as broken relationship on "She" or secret love affair on "Love in the Afternoon".

A Secret Life received mixed reviews from music critics. Released only months after her successful autobiography Faithfull: An Autobiography and compilation album Faithfull: A Collection of Her Best Recordings (1994), the album was a commercial failure. "Bored by Dreams" was the only single released from the album and also failed to chart.

Critical reception

A Secret Life received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Richie Unterberger at AllMusic gave it three stars out of five, claiming that "Faithfull is still in rippingly fine voice, and her words still penetrate". However, he criticized Badalamenti's orchestral arrangements and noted that "while they can be effectively noirish, they can also create an inappropriately cold and detached ambience". He described the songs "Flaming September" and "She" as standout tracks. [1]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Prologue"2:03
2."Sleep"3:43
3."Love in the Afternoon"
  • Faithfull
  • Badalamenti
3:30
4."Flaming September"
  • Faithfull
  • Badalamenti
5:01
5."She"
  • Faithfull
  • Badalamenti
3:24
6."Bored by Dreams"
  • Faithfull
  • Badalamenti
3:08
7."Losing"
  • Badalamenti
  • David Foreman
  • Duke Levine
3:52
8."The Wedding"
  • Faithfull
  • Badalamenti
  • McGuinness
3:16
9."The Stars Line Up"
  • Faithfull
  • Badalamenti
3:51
10."Epilogue"
3:12
Total length:35:00

Notes

Personnel

Technical

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marianne Faithfull</span> English singer and actress

Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single "As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British Invasion in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angelo Badalamenti</span> American composer (1937–2022)

Angelo Daniel Badalamenti was an American composer and arranger best known for his work in composing for films. He is best known for his acclaimed collaborations with director David Lynch, notably the scores for Blue Velvet (1986), the Twin Peaks television series, The Straight Story (1999), and Mulholland Drive (2001).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Here, There and Everywhere</span> 1966 song by the Beatles

"Here, There and Everywhere" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album Revolver. A love ballad, it was written by Paul McCartney and credited to Lennon–McCartney. McCartney includes it among his personal favourites of the songs he has written. In 2000, Mojo ranked it 4th in the magazine's list of the greatest songs of all time.

Perrey and Kingsley was an electronic music duo made up of French composer Jean-Jacques Perrey and German-American composer Gershon Kingsley. The duo lasted from 1965 to 1967 and both are considered pioneers of electronic music. They released under Vanguard Records two studio albums The In Sound From Way Out! and Kaleidoscopic Vibrations. They also were among the first artists to incorporate the Moog synthesizer, prior to the successful 1968 release, Switched-On Bach by Wendy Carlos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julee Cruise</span> American singer-songwriter (1956–2022)

Julee Ann Cruise was an American singer, songwriter and actress, known for her collaborations with composer Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She released four albums beginning with 1989's Floating into the Night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm a Loser</span> 1964 song by the Beatles

"I'm a Loser" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, originally released on Beatles for Sale in the United Kingdom, later released on Beatles '65 in the United States, both in 1964. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was considered for release as a single until Lennon wrote "I Feel Fine".

<i>Get Lost</i> (The Magnetic Fields album) 1995 studio album by The Magnetic Fields

Get Lost is the fifth studio album by American indie pop band The Magnetic Fields, released on October 24, 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Thompson</span> Musical artist

Daniel Henry Edward Thompson is an English multi-instrumentalist best known as a double bassist. He has had a long musical career playing with a large variety of other musicians, particularly Richard Thompson and John Martyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">As Tears Go By (song)</span> 1964 pop song

"As Tears Go By" is a song written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Rolling Stones' manager Andrew Loog Oldham. Marianne Faithfull recorded and released it as a single in the United Kingdom in 1964. Her song peaked at number nine on both the UK and Irish singles charts. Later, the Rolling Stones recorded their own version, which was included on the American album December's Children . London Records released it as a single, which reached number six in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

<i>Broken English</i> (album) 1979 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Broken English is the seventh studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 2 November 1979 by Island Records. The album marked a major comeback for Faithfull after years of drug abuse, homelessness, and suffering from anorexia. It is often regarded as her "definitive recording" and Faithfull herself described it as her "masterpiece".

<i>Kissin Time</i> 2002 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Kissin Time is the 16th studio album by British singer Marianne Faithfull.

<i>Dangerous Acquaintances</i> 1981 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Dangerous Acquaintances is the eighth studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 1 September 1981 by Island Records. The album was seen by reviewers as a disappointing follow-up to Faithfull's Broken English, as the album trades the angry and controversial alternative new wave arrangements of the previous one for a more mainstream rock texture, using over a dozen session musicians and, for some, giving a certain anonymous feel to the songs. The title is a reference to the Pierre Choderlos de Laclos 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses.

<i>Strange Weather</i> (Marianne Faithfull album) 1987 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Strange Weather is a 1987 studio album by British singer Marianne Faithfull.

<i>Floating into the Night</i> 1989 studio album by Julee Cruise

Floating into the Night is the debut studio album by American singer Julee Cruise. It was released on September 12, 1989, by Warner Bros. Records, and features compositions and production by Angelo Badalamenti and film director David Lynch. Songs from the album were featured in Lynch's projects Blue Velvet (1986), Industrial Symphony No. 1 (1990), and Twin Peaks (1990–1991).

<i>Latin Playboys</i> (album) 1994 studio album by Latin Playboys

Latin Playboys is the debut album of experimental rock band Latin Playboys.

<i>Come My Way</i> 1965 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Come My Way is the second studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released simultaneously with her album Marianne Faithfull on 15 April 1965 by Decca Records. The double release was a result of different creative directions. While the record label pressed Faithfull to record a pop album, she wanted to record an album of folk songs. Even after the label suggested an album containing both genres, Faithfull decided to make two separate albums instead; Marianne Faithfull as the pop album and Come My Way as the folk album.

<i>Marianne Faithfull</i> (album) 1965 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull is the debut studio album by English singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released simultaneously with her album Come My Way on 15 April 1965 by Decca Records. The double release was a result of different creative directions. While the record label pressed Faithfull to record a pop album, she wanted to record an album of folk songs. Even after the label suggested an album containing both genres, Faithfull decided to make two separate albums instead; Marianne Faithfull as the pop album and Come My Way as the folk album. In the United States, it was released by London Records with a slightly different track list and inclusion of the song "This Little Bird".

<i>Faithfull: An Autobiography</i>

Faithfull: An Autobiography is an autobiography by British singer Marianne Faithfull, written in collaboration with David Dalton. It was first published on 1 August 1994 by Little, Brown and Company and reissued as a paperback in July 1995. The book was also accompanied by the release of a compilation album Faithfull: A Collection of Her Best Recordings (1994). Faithfull: An Autobiography chronicles her childhood, career as a teenage pop star during the 1960s, relationship with Mick Jagger, heroin addiction in the 1970s, and her comeback to music industry with her album Broken English (1979).

"Etcetera" is an unreleased song recorded as a demo by Paul McCartney on 20 August 1968, during a session for The Beatles.

<i>Negative Capability</i> (album) 2018 studio album by Marianne Faithfull

Negative Capability is the twenty-first studio album by British singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 2 November 2018, and produced by Rob Ellis, Warren Ellis and Head. Described as her "most honest album", songs on Negative Capability deal with themes of love, death, as well as terrorism and loneliness. She revisits three old recordings: "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" from Rich Kid Blues, recorded in 1971 under the title Masques, which is her 'lost' album and was not released until 1985; "Witches Song", from 1979's comeback album Broken English; and "As Tears Go By", which started her career as a 17-year-old. Faithfull recorded it for the second time aged 40 on 1987's Strange Weather. The rest of the songs are, with one exception, all new and co-written by Faithfull with help from some of her long time collaborators like Nick Cave and Ed Harcourt. The "Loneliest Person" is a cover of a Pretty Things composition from their 1968 album S.F. Sorrow.

References

  1. 1 2 Unterberger, Richie. "A Secret Life - Marianne Faithfull". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  2. Verna, Paul; Gillen, Marilyn (1 April 1995). "Album Reviews: Marianne Faithfull - A Secret Life". Billboard . Vol. 107, no. 13. Nielsen N.V. p. 56. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  3. Mirkin, Steven (24 March 1995). "A Secret Life". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  4. Christgau, Robert (1995). "Robert Christgau: CG: Marianne Faithfull". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  5. Press, Joy (April 1995). "Spins: Marianne Faithfull - A Secret Life". Spin . SpinMedia. 11 (1): 200. Retrieved 11 April 2016.