1966: Marianne Faithfull Releases Folksy Album "North Country Maid"

Marianne Faithfull's Album "North Country Maid" Celebrates It's 50th Anniversary!!!

 

Marianne Faithfull has always had a knack for adding bold and unique songs to her repertoire. She displays that talent wonderfully on her 1966 album "North Country Maid". It was originally released in the UK only, and half it's tracks appeared a year prior on her album "Go Away From My World" released only in the US. "North Country Maid" is a perfect blend of Modern American Folk and traditionally influenced World Music. Although the album didn't spawn any hits, there are some recognizable covers such as "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "The Last Thing On My Mind" and "Green Are Your Eyes". Don't allow the laid back nature of this album to fool you, given it's title, Marianne Faithfull tells the sordid tale of a rebelle-ious "North Country Maid" through her wisely chosen song selection. To hear some of my favorite tracks off the album, and a few more fun facts, please follow the link below.

The sordid tale of the "North Country Maid" starts off with one of my favorite tracks "Green Are Your Eyes". This is one of several cover songs on the album that are normally sung from a man's perspective, and Marianne Faithfull always keeps true to the originals in the sense of keeping the pronouns in tact. This can often provide an unusual twist to a song, something she does well throughout her entire career. When she says "Don't be afraid to lie by me my love, your father will not know", it's unclear whether her love is simply afraid to tell their father of their love, or perhaps her love's father is her current lover. Check out this racy Folk song below to decide for yourself!

 

Our Maid next finds herself at the "Scarborough Fair", a traditional Irish Folk song dating as far back as the 1600's. Marianne Faithfull honors the original lyrics of this tale as well, as she sings of giving her female lover impossible tasks to prove her devotion. I like to think of it as her boldly subtle way of making a cultural statement. Marianne Faithfull's voice has seen many radical changes over her 50 plus year career, a fact that i love, as it provides plenty of variety throughout her discography. Her take on "Scarborough Fair" is one of the best examples of the angelic purity her voice once possessed.

 

 "Cockleshells" is a folksy ditty where Marianne Faithfull cheerfully sings of finding true love. A fate almost too good to be true for this adventurous "North Country Maid", she is soon professing her apologies for promiscuity in the Country tinged "The Last Thing On My Mind", a Tom Paxton classic. She follows that many times covered song with "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", a song with as many, if not more covers. Faithfull's version is similar to the folksy originally sung by Peggy Seeger in 1957, as apposed to the later immortalized, stirringly soulful, Roberta Flack cover in 1972. I have always interpreted this song to be the tale of a mother expressing her feeling upon seeing her child for the first time. Maybe our maid has now found herself pregnant! Either way, her version is beautiful. Check it out for yourself!

The saga continues with "Sally Free And Easy", the tale of a vampy seductress using sailors to get by. The song slowly builds, uniquely subtle and intense at the same time, musically and vocally. Marianne Faithfull next sings to us of wild, assumed drug induced, nights in London via Donovan's "Sunny Goodge Street". Her bluesy approach to the song, a perfect duet of her tender vibrato and a heavy harmonica, provides a sadness to the song, even as she sings to "Drink in the sun shining all around you". This combination perfectly expresses the sorrow our "North Country Maid" may truly be feeling. Please treat yourself to a live 1966 performance of this song to experience for yourself  how well she portrays this. As an added bonus, she is undeniably one of the most beautiful women to have graced the music world.

The rest of the album is a sweeping set of traditional songs. First up is "How Shall I Your True Love Know" a song dating back to the early 1600's. A sad, simple, short, tale of finding out your lover is dead, beautifully sung the fair Miss Faithfull. Fair to say our maid will move on, from "Scarborough Fair" to the next song "She Moved Through The Fair" that is. Faithfull's genius in song choice is really highlighted here, as both these songs are traditional Irish Folk songs, this one dating back to the early 1900's, and she again chooses to keep the pronouns in tact, making this song a profusion of love and devotion to another woman. Singing along with our fair maiden in this song is the boldly strum sitar, adding to the traditional World Music influence found throughout the album.

The albums title track comes to play just in time, as Marianne Faithfull's tenderly somber delivery of the traditional song brings a new beginning for our maid. An old tale of a fleeing to London, the regrets of missing home and the Faithfull hope "he that I wed must be north country bred and carry me back to my own country". The next track "Lullaby", is just that, a lullaby. Suggesting maybe her child is still along with her. The album closes with the gorgeous English traditional "Wild Mountain Thyme", a song that dates back to the 1800's. It appears after all of the rebelle-ious affairs of Marianne Faithfull's portrayal of the "North Country Maid" has been through, she has finally found happiness. This shines through in abundance on all aspects of this song, with joyous lyrics, perfectly plucked sitar and most of all, one of the finest examples of the beauty of Marianne Faithfull's ever changing, always intoxicating, voice. She ends an album of sordid tales with a fairy tale.

 

Marianne Faithfull is a what i will be referring to on my blog as a 4 level rebelle, meaning she has contributed her unique brand of music to the world 4 decades in a row to the anniversary of this year. That is an incredible accolade many other artists cannot account for. In addition to her album released in 1976, a soundtrack contribution in 1986, and a collaboration with Oxbow in 1996, she released "North Country Maid" in 1966. Lyrically, it's a very rebelle-ious album, but with it's folksy laid back approach you could feel comfortable enough to play it in the background while the grandparents are over, assuming they didn't buy they album when they were teenagers!