Strange Weather (Marianne Faithfull album)
Encyclopedia
Strange Weather is a 1987 studio album by British singer Marianne Faithfull
.
This album is the first complete studio work recorded by Marianne Faithfull after recovering from a 17-year addiction to heroin in 1986. The album's 3 predecessors on Island Records
were all recorded while Faithfull confronted various personal struggles and contained a majority of lyrics and some music penned by Faithfull herself. In contrast, Strange Weather is a striking mix of Rock
, Blues
and Dark Cabaret
, and though none of the songs were written by Faithfull all are tied together by the spare and nuanced production of Hal Willner
along with a notable group of contributing musicians. The title track has since become a Faithfull concert staple and has appeared live in 3 additional recordings.
, a tribute to the music of Kurt Weill
by various contemporary artists. In response to the success of the project and to favourable reviews for Faithfull's contribution, producer Hal Willner
suggested the potential of an expanded project of classic compositions, but, according to Willner in Strange Weathers liner notes, he believed it was "one of those projects which usually never comes to fruition."
Just prior to her recovery, Faithfull began work on a new album of rock songs, but Island Records scrapped the project though five of the songs would later appear on the 1990s releases Blazing Away and A Perfect Stranger: The Island Anthology. Instead, Willner re-entered the picture and the concept of the album of classic standards was expanded to include not only material contemporary to Weill's Weimar Republic
era, but a more recent song by Bob Dylan, two early folk-era spirituals, traditional piano blues with accompaniment by Dr. John
(credited as Mac Rebennack), and all new material written specifically for the project. The album’s title track was written by Tom Waits
and Kathleen Brennan
, and "Hello Stranger" was written by Rebennack and Doc Pomus
. Faithfull also re-recorded her 1964 hit, "As Tears Go By," in a markedly different arrangement using a slower time signature, and sung a full octave lower than the original.
Strange Weather failed to make it to the US Album charts (it did chart in both the UK and Australia), and never charted its only single.
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
.
This album is the first complete studio work recorded by Marianne Faithfull after recovering from a 17-year addiction to heroin in 1986. The album's 3 predecessors on Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
were all recorded while Faithfull confronted various personal struggles and contained a majority of lyrics and some music penned by Faithfull herself. In contrast, Strange Weather is a striking mix of Rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and Dark Cabaret
Dark Cabaret
Dark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...
, and though none of the songs were written by Faithfull all are tied together by the spare and nuanced production of Hal Willner
Hal Willner
Hal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
along with a notable group of contributing musicians. The title track has since become a Faithfull concert staple and has appeared live in 3 additional recordings.
Overview
In 1985 Faithfull contributed a single track, "Ballad of the Soldier's Wife", to Lost In The StarsLost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill is a 1985 tribute album to German-American composer Kurt Weill. It was executive-produced by Hal Willner and John Telfer, and produced by Hal Willner and Paul M...
, a tribute to the music of Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
by various contemporary artists. In response to the success of the project and to favourable reviews for Faithfull's contribution, producer Hal Willner
Hal Willner
Hal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
suggested the potential of an expanded project of classic compositions, but, according to Willner in Strange Weathers liner notes, he believed it was "one of those projects which usually never comes to fruition."
Just prior to her recovery, Faithfull began work on a new album of rock songs, but Island Records scrapped the project though five of the songs would later appear on the 1990s releases Blazing Away and A Perfect Stranger: The Island Anthology. Instead, Willner re-entered the picture and the concept of the album of classic standards was expanded to include not only material contemporary to Weill's Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
era, but a more recent song by Bob Dylan, two early folk-era spirituals, traditional piano blues with accompaniment by Dr. John
Dr. John
Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
(credited as Mac Rebennack), and all new material written specifically for the project. The album’s title track was written by Tom Waits
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
and Kathleen Brennan
Kathleen Brennan
Kathleen Brennan is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and artist. She was born in Johnsburg, Illinois, as noted by her husband and musical collaborator Tom Waits, in the song of the same name. Brennan and Waits met in 1980 during the filming of the Francis Ford Coppola film One from...
, and "Hello Stranger" was written by Rebennack and Doc Pomus
Doc Pomus
Jerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...
. Faithfull also re-recorded her 1964 hit, "As Tears Go By," in a markedly different arrangement using a slower time signature, and sung a full octave lower than the original.
Strange Weather failed to make it to the US Album charts (it did chart in both the UK and Australia), and never charted its only single.
Track listing
- "Stranger Intro" (Bill FrisellBill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
) – 0:31 - "Boulevard of Broken DreamsBoulevard of Broken Dreams (song)"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" is a 1933 hit song by Al Dubin and Harry Warren , set in Paris. The narrator says "I walk along the street of sorrow/The Boulevard of Broken Dreams/Where gigolo and gigolette/Can take a kiss without regret/So they forget their broken dreams."The song appeared in the...
" (Al DubinAl DubinAlexander "Al" Dubin was an American lyricist. He became known through his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren.-Life and works:...
, Harry WarrenHarry WarrenHarry Warren was an American composer and lyricist. Warren was the first major American songwriter to write primarily for film. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Song eleven times and won three Oscars for composing "Lullaby of Broadway", "You'll Never Know" and "On the Atchison,...
) – 3:04 - "I Ain't Goin' Down To The Well No More"(Huddie Ledbetter, Alan LomaxAlan LomaxAlan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
, John LomaxJohn LomaxJohn Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs...
) – 1:07 - "Yesterdays" (Otto HarbachOtto HarbachOtto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach was an American lyricist and librettist of about 50 musical comedies...
, Jerome KernJerome KernJerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
) – 2:53 - "Sign of Judgement" (Kid Prince Moore) – 4:09
- "Strange Weather" (Tom WaitsTom WaitsThomas Alan "Tom" Waits is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has a distinctive voice, described by critic Daniel Durchholz as sounding "like it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car."...
, Kathleen BrennanKathleen BrennanKathleen Brennan is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and artist. She was born in Johnsburg, Illinois, as noted by her husband and musical collaborator Tom Waits, in the song of the same name. Brennan and Waits met in 1980 during the filming of the Francis Ford Coppola film One from...
) – 4:05 - "Love, Life and Money" (Julius Dixon, Henry GloverHenry GloverHenry Glover was an American songwriter, arranger, record producer and trumpet player. In the music industry of the time, Glover was one of the more successful, and influential, black executives. He gained eminence in the late 1940s, primarily working for the independent King label...
) – 4:40 - "I'll Keep It With MineI'll Keep It with Mine"I'll Keep It with Mine" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964, first officially released by folk singer Judy Collins as a single in 1965. Dylan attempted to record the song for his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde.-Dylan's Version:...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 4:13 - "Hello Stranger" (Doc PomusDoc PomusJerome Solon Felder, better known as Doc Pomus , was a twentieth-century American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of non-performer in 1992. He was also inducted into...
, Dr. JohnDr. JohnMalcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
credited as Mac Rebennack) – 2:30 - "Penthouse Serenade" (Will Jason, Val Burton) – 2:34
- "As Tears Go ByAs Tears Go By (song)"As Tears Go By" is a song written by The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, and their manager Andrew Loog Oldham, and was a popular hit for both British singer Marianne Faithfull in 1964 and The Rolling Stones in 1965.-History:...
" (Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
, Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
, Andrew Loog OldhamAndrew Loog OldhamAndrew Loog Oldham is an English producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of The Rolling Stones from 1963, and was noted for his flamboyant style.-Biography:...
) – 3:42 - "A Stranger On Earth" (Sid FellerSid FellerSidney "Sid" Feller was an American conductor and arranger, best known for his work with Ray Charles. He worked with Charles on hundreds of songs including Georgia on My Mind and worked as Charles' conductor while on tour...
, Rick Ward) – 3:56
Personnel
- Marianne FaithfullMarianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
: vocals - Bill FrisellBill FrisellWilliam Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
- Guitars - Michael LevineMichael A. LevineMichael A. Levine is an American composer born on 20 February 1964 in Tokyo, Japan, and currently based in Los Angeles.-Biography:His Concerto for Pedal Steel Guitar and Orchestra is believed to be the first concerto ever written for the pedal steel guitar...
- Violin - Sharon FreemanSharon FreemanSharon Freeman is a jazz pianist and French hornist. She also writes musical arrangements.Freeman played French horn for the jazz opera Escalator over the Hill, Gil Evans's 1973 album Svengali, and in 1983 she worked on a piece of jazz Christmas music. Since 1982 she is a member of Charlie Haden's...
- Piano - Fernando SaundersFernando SaundersFernando Saunders is a musician, performer, vocalist and bass player from Detroit, Michigan.-Biography:Fernando Saunders has performed all around the world with music legends such as Marianne Faithfull, Joan Baez, Slash, Tori Amos, Jimmy Page, Luciano Pavarotti and Jeff Beck...
- Bass - Chris Hunter - Flute
- Garth HudsonGarth HudsonEric Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. As the organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for Canadian-American rock group The Band, he was a principal architect of the group's unique sound...
- Accordions - Dr. JohnDr. JohnMalcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...
- (credited as Mac Rebennack) - Piano - Robert QuineRobert QuineRobert Wolfe Quine was an American guitarist, known for his innovative guitar solos.A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown in comparison...
- Guitar - J.T. Lewis - Drums
- Chris Hunter - Alto Saxophone
- Steve Slagile - Alto Saxophone
- William SchimmelWilliam SchimmelWilliam Schimmel is one of the principal architects in the resurgence of the accordion, and the philosophy of "Musical Reality"...
- Accordion - Strings Arranged by Michael GibbsMichael Gibbs (jazz composer)Michael Clement Irving Gibbs is a jazz composer, conductor, arranger and producer as well as a trombonist and keyboardist....
- Horns Arranged by J.T. Lewis
- Hal WillnerHal WillnerHal Willner is an American music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles...
- Producer - Assistant Engineers - Various
- Tony WrightTony Wright (artist)Tony Wright is an artist who created album covers such as Bob Marley's Natty Dread and Traffic's The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys and others including Bob Dylan's Saved...
: cover and sleeve photography