DVD Review: Marianne Faithfull - Dreaming My Dreams

So whatever happened to Marianne Faithfull?

How exactly did the girl with the sweet and innocent coquetittsh good looks in the sixties progress (or as some would say, digress), to the heroin-addicted casualty of the seventies? After all, students of rock history probably most remember Faithfull as Mick Jagger's girlfriend in the sixties.

Right?

In what is probably the most famous pop star drug bust of the sixties, Marianne Faithfull was the girl found wrapped nude in a rug. And just like that, Marianne Faithfull went from aristocratic royalty to England's most infamous slut.

To be honest, this one hour documentary from Eagle Vision doesn't really reveal all that much that isn't already known. Marianne Faithfull's journey from the girl who came from aristocratic beginnings to become a pop star in the sixties with the Jagger/Richards-penned "As Tears Go By" has already been well documented.

The good news here is that Marianne Faithfull seems to have come out of all this in one piece.

In the interview segments here, Marianne Faithfull actually looks astonishingly good. What makes this such a good documentary is the way the filmmakers document
Faithfull's descent from the virginal pop princess of the sixties, to the artist who confessed all of her sins so nakedly and brilliantly on the 1979 album Broken English.

On this DVD, the entire story is recounted in interviews with everyone from the Stones' Keith Richards, to Faithfull's one-time husband John Dunbar.

For those who don't already know the whole story, this is as good a retelling of that tale as it gets. For those who do, this is a fascinating ride down the road of how Marianne Faithfull went from the virginal, manufactured pop star of "As Tears Go By," to the cigarette-voiced rasp of 1979's brilliant Broken English.

She still looks pretty damned good, too.

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Article Author: Glen Boyd

You'll find Blogcritics assistant music editor Glen Boyd sharing his Thoughtmares on his personal blogs The World Wide Glen, and The Rockologist. In a previous life, Glen was a music professional and journalist whose work has appeared in The Rocket, SPIN, Pulse!, and The Source. …

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  • Marianne Faithfull - Dreaming My Dreams Marianne Faithfull - Dreaming My Dreams

    One of the most famous and infamous artists of our time, Marianne Faithfull is an icon of the Sixties. This videography takes us through Marianne's entire life, from her hit single at age 17, "As Tears ...

  • Broken English Broken English

    Aussie reissue combines her landmark 1979 album, 'Broken English' with the 1994 compilation, 'Faithfull A Collection of Her Best Recordings', together in one package. Standard jewel case & digipak ...

  • Memories, Dreams and Reflections Memories, Dreams and Reflections

    Anecdotal, conversational, intimate, and revealing, this is the iconic artists's raw and honest account of her life, her friends, her triumphs, and mistakes. A wry observer of her slightly off-kilter ...

  • Marianne Faithfull - Dreaming My Dreams Marianne Faithfull - Dreaming My Dreams

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