Gritty Authenticity

While this album sounds like it’s out of the sixties, it can’t be called a throwback because singer and songwriter Marianne Faithfull is the real deal. Her latest album, Give My Love to London marks the 20th installment in her 50-year music career. Though it was her connection with Mick Jagger that first got people’s attention, Faithfull stands on her own with raw, gritty and unflinching honesty in Give My Love to London.

Faithfull’s vocal timbre is distinct–a deep, raspy tone, which borders on sing-speak with a little more musicality. Her band’s dirty, loose grit matches hers, and the pairing demonstrates Faithfull knows who she is as a musician. She doesn’t pretend to be somebody she’s not. Her identity prevails in her lyrics: “A child breaks the ice and peers into the hidden depths / To try to untangle the whole of this unholy mess / Well I have no doubt they will figure it out one day.”

Lacking the crisp, cleanness of a typical modern studio recording, the album maintains the sound of an earlier time and her own modernized authenticity. Faithfull picks instruments which best support her gravely singing voice and down and dirty honesty. For example, a violinist jumps in on tracks such as “Late Victorian Holocaust” and adds a grungy, glorious solo which fits perfectly. The driving, angry rhythmic movement in “Mother Wolf” reflect lyrics like, “You treat your dogs better.”

Each tune demonstrates a knowledge of effective song structure. “Sparrows Will Sing” builds from an almost screechy, dissonant opening, to a very heavy instrumental section driven by snare drum hits on every beat. The tension and intensity of this finally dissolves to just voice and lighter accompaniment for an emotionally complete experience. Just when the wash of sound seems too much, Faithfull inserts a stripped down track such as “Love More or Less,” which features only acoustic guitar and a more vulnerable vocal line, to effectively mix things up.

There is something unapologetic about Marianne Faithfull’s newest album, Give My Love to London. She clearly proves–not that she has to–who she is as a musician. Her gritty vocals and loose band are the perfect pair, complemented by threadbare, no-nonsense lyrics. With no shortage of sounds from the beginning of her career in the 1960’s and 70’s, Faithfull sure has no trouble translating her music in this decade either.