Marianne Faithfull has been a lasting and fascinating figure since the 60s when she first rose to prominence with As Tears Go By. And now UMC have announced the release of Songs of Innocence and Experience 1965–1995, the definitive overview of the first 30 years of Marianne Faithfull’s recording career on the Decca and Island labels. Out now is a previously unreleased alternate take of Donovan’s ‘Sunny Goodge Street’ recorded for Marianne’s 1966 LP North Country Maid, this track is one of five previously unreleased recordings.
It’s the first Marianne Faithfull compilation since 2001’s ‘An Introduction to…’ and the first to contain rare and unreleased material since the Island Anthology ‘A Perfect Stranger’ in 1998. 22 of the 28 tracks on the LP are making their first appearance on vinyl or first appearance since their original release.
The title Songs of Innocence and Experience acknowledges Marianne’s poetic influences with its reference to the work by William Blake, whilst also reflecting the change in style from the orchestral folk-pop and high pure voice of Marianne’s ‘60s career to her new wave punk influenced comeback at the end of the 70s with Broken English.
The front cover features a hand drawn pencil image by Lithuanian artist Aistė Stancikaitė, commissioned exclusively for the project and the packaging also contains many rare and unseen images taken from the original album and single photo shoots. The collection has been remastered from the original tapes by the Grammy nominated compiler Andrew Batt, who also contributes sleeve notes.