Broken English

Mid...only interesting part was that you started to hear a lot of 80's type motifs despite the fact this was a late 70s album. 1.5/5

Good, but not great. After everything she had been through, it's just good to see her still doing ok at this point

This is a decent enough listen. I’m not 100% on her voice, but the songs themselves are good enough. I like the dark synths that crop up on some tracks, along with the more upbeat numbers in general.

Dark moody synths and extremely 80s tone blues guitar set the mood: brooding and sultry. The vocals are nasal and hoarse. It's like Nega-Fleetwood Mac.

Why did I enjoy this? 3.125

Way to speak truth. Brave lyrics. Don't care for it musically.

Her voice is super interesting to me and the lyrics, especially on Why’d Ya Do It are absolutely brutal. This is one I might go back to sometime. Highlights were Broken English, The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan, and Why’d Ya Do It.

More like broken voice. Wailing in the wrong key over simple loops does not make for a good time.

Wtf even is this? She's not a good singer, or maybe I just don't like her nasally voice -- sounds like dive bar karaoke? 1*
This was somehow a worse version of working class hero.
This album has no redeeming qualities for me.

I wasn't even aware of Marianne Faithfull's album. I heard some of it from friends back then, but never felt the need to own the album myself. I think the voice is great, but it can also get on my nerves in the long run. Alongside Broken English and Workingclass Hero, I particularly liked the track Why'd Ya Do It.
4/5

Great album. Had a hard life, our Marianne.
My favourite thing about this album is that the NZ release is missing the best song 'Why'd ya do it' due to that pesky C-word. Still very prudish over here right through the 70's.

With her recovery story in mind, this is quite a gutsy comeback album, you can feel the vocal struggles. I wouldn't say that I enjoyed it, but definitely appreciate the body of work.

Late 70's new wave/electro pop. Apparently Marianne used to date Mick Jagger until she got heavy onto heroin, lost her house and her kid, and lived on the streets for a few years. This is her first album after she got clean again, but similar to Billie Holiday, the years of drug abuse permanantly fucked her voice up. Left it more gravelly and in a lower register. It's a pretty solid album nonetheless. Steve Winwood did the synth parts for the album.

Marianne does a solid cover of John Lennon's song Working Class Hero. Why'd Ya Do It made me laugh. The vulgarities in that song stood out against the rest of the record, but it was still a really solid song. The guitar work on that song in particular was spectacular!

Favourite songs: Why'd Ya Do It, Brain Drain, The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, Broken English, Working Class Hero

Least favourite songs: Guilt

4/5

A little bit punk, a little bit Jean-Michel Jarre, a little bit folk. The last track is FILTH no?

I've somehow never really listened to her before but this album is fantastic. It's got such an edge to it. You can really feel how hungry she is to earn back her acclaim, and apparently it worked. Why'd Ya Do It is insane.

Its pretty cool! Again that song Working Class Hero comes up. Why'd You Do It is a great tune.

Really didnt get the hate, something between 3.5 and 4, good album 👍

This album was not what I was expecting at all. The first track, "Broken English" , was a great piece of New Wave synthpop that I really enjoyed. But most of the subsequent tracks seemed to be in different genres and were nowhere near as good, until "Why'd Ya Do It" at the end, which was great again. 3 stars, but they're almost entirely for the opening and closing tracks.

pleasant listen

fé