Dangerous Acquaintances is an 1981 album by British artist Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Faithfull

Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....

. The work 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

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 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

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos was a French novelist, official and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses ....

 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses

Les Liaisons dangereuses

Les Liaisons dangereuses is a French epistolary novel by Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782....

.

The main singles of the album were "Intrigue", penned by the singer's then-husband, Ben Brierley, and "For Beauty's Sake", written by Faithfull and Steve Winwood

Steve Winwood

Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...

.

Reception

In their retrospective review, Allmusic repeatedly criticized the album for backing down from the musical and lyrical boldness of Broken English in favor of more conventional and accessible material.

Track listing

1. "Sweetheart" (Marianne Faithfull, Barry Reynolds) – 3:17
2. "Intrigue" (Ben Brierley) – 4:31
3. "Easy in the City" (Faithfull, Reynolds) – 3:16
4. "Strange One" (Joe Mavety, Terry Stannard) – 2:52
5. "Tenderness" (Faithfull, Reynolds) – 3:53
6. "For Beauty's Sake" (Faithfull, Steve Winwood
   Steve Winwood
   Stephen Lawrence "Steve" Winwood is an English international recording artist whose career spans nearly 50 years. He is a songwriter and a musician whose genres include soul music , R&B, rock, blues-rock, pop-rock, and jazz...
   
   ) – 3:32
7. "So Sad" (Faithfull, Reynolds, Steve York) – 4:32
8. "Eye Communication" (Faithfull, Reynolds, Fuzzy Samuel, Stannard) – 3:36
9. "Truth, Bitter Truth" (David Courts, Faithfull, Reynolds) – 7:22

The single "For Beauty's Sake" featured the non-album b-side "Over Here."

Personnel

• Marianne Faithfull – vocals
• Barry Reynolds – guitar
• Steve York – bass
• Joe Maverty – bass
• Frank Collins
  Frank Collins (composer-singer)
  Frank Collins is a British composer, singer and arranger who was a leading light with the bands The Excels, Arrival, and Kokomo...
  
   – vocals
• Denis Haines – keyboards
• Pickford Sykes - Keyboards
• Neil Hubbard
  Neil Hubbard
  Neil Hubbard is a British guitarist who performed with Juicy Lucy , The Grease Band, Bluesology, Joe Cocker, Roxy Music, Kokomo, B.B. King, Kevin Rowland, and Tony O'Malley; and played on the original 1970 concept album, Jesus Christ Superstar....
  
   – guitar
• Martin Drover – guitar
• Julian Diggle – guitar
• Calvin "Fuzzy" Samuel – bass