On Marianne’s latest, 22nd album, she went for the Johnny Cash-grab and covered a whole bunch of other artists. Nick Cave joined her in giving “The Crane Wife 3″ a slight Triple A rock lilt, but really your enjoyment hinged on the lead vocal swap: Colin’s nasality for Faithfull’s aged rasp. KR said “Her brokedown voice adds even more character to the song. Its ugly pretty.”Jake said “Am I the only one who thinks she just disgraced this song?” Etc. Jake and KR should both watch her performance of the tune on Letterman last night.
Easy Come Easy Go is out via Decca. If you like, this tracklist is for you:
01 “Down From Dover” (written by Dolly Parton)
02 “Hold On, Hold On” (written by Neko Case, Feat. Chan Marshall and Sean Lennon)
03 “Solitude” (written by Billie Holiday)
04 “The Crane Wife 3″ (written by The Decemberists, Feat. Nick Cave)
05 “Easy Come, Easy Go” (written by Bessie Smith)
06 “Children of Stone” (written by Espers, Feat. Rufus Wainwright)
07 “How Many Worlds” (written by Brian Eno, Feat. Teddy Thompson)
08 “In Germany Before the War” (written by Randy Newman)
09 “Ooh Baby Baby” (written by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Feat. Antony Hegarty)
10 “The Phoenix” (written by Judee Sill, ft. Sean Lennon)
11 “Dear God Please Help Me” (written by Morrissey)
12 “Sing Me Back Home” (written by Merle Haggard, Feat. Keith Richards)
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faithful needs another “l”
It was kind of like watching that old Jewish from Garden State sing “Three Times A Lady”.
Ugly Pretty? Nah… Pretty Ugly.
this is why i never let my grandma have my copy of the crane wife.
Am I the only that laughed really hard at Letterman’s “And how about that guy!?”
That was rough. I like what the band did with it though.
I think you meant “old Jewish lady from Garden State” and I agree. This cover is just the worst.
1:39
I lol’d
this sounds like the worst twitter ever
Great cover! Marianne is wonderful.
Did not enjoy that at all. I can’t stand her voice
i never thought the decemberists could sound this good.
APRIL FOOLS!
So that’s what it sounds like when Nico has sex with an old jewish Walrus and their offspring tries to cover a Decemberists song.
it’s marianne-f’in-faithful you haters. you all probably like the killers.
for the non-haters: extended version of easy come easy go comes out 4.7.09
her choices for covers are pretty solid: Neko, Brian Eno, Espers, JUDEE SILL!!
I don’t understand why people think Marianne Faithful is so fucking ugly.
old faithfull ROCKS!
once u guys grow up there’s a real strong chance you’ll be the same dweebs u are now. that’s unfortunate. have u seen the little piggies?
I tend to like Faithfull, but she doesn’t really bring much to this one. Might be the arrangement, though – it’s like the tempo’s too fast for her to do much with it, although it suited Marc Ribot’s little guitar flourishes nicely.
Oh well, you’re only as good as your source material.
was that Bob Dylan in drag
No thank you.
This might have been even better than the original if anyone but Marianne Faithful was singing.
Didn’t your mothers’ teach you little ingrates not to say anything unless you have something nice to say?
Mine didn’t either. That sucked.
I’ve never heard of this Marianna Faithfull woman, but the Crane Wife is one of my favorite albums. She sounds old, but I didn’t think it was terrible. Not as good as the original, but, I thought the music sounded pretty good. I did hate that background singer during the chorus.
This kind of statement shows you know NOTHING ABOUT MUSIC.
ouch. That was terrible. Proof that 40 years of Paul Mall’s will catch up with you…
it’s pell mell dweeb.
It’s ‘Pall Mall.’
Said to say…the Killers would’ve done a much better job.
marianne faithful is an awesome performer. my god, there would be no decemberists without people like marianne faithful. and her version is awesome. the whole arthur russel sad thing is replaced by the marianne faithful sad thing (if she copies anyone, it’s lotte lenya). if only you could let your ears hear, instead of hearing with your eyes and ignorance. music is not about age. it’s about feeling. and marianne faithful has got feeling. one of the best performers going. never settling. always diving into the new with wisdom. unlike her closest 60′s peers, the rolling stones, she has got dignity. a female johnny cash.
I kinda liked it.
If it was Tom Waits, you would all would be more fair.
Sexist or just tasteless?
If I gave a shit about great singers I’d listen to Celine Dion. I’m here for interesting voices and creative decisions.
Tom Waits voice is not nearly as grating as hers. He also changes the timbre of his voice to fit the song and subject matter. Marianne Faithfull, not so much. She always sings as if she just finished smoking 100 cig’s in an hour. This is just bad!
Wat?
Do you pretend to like Tom Waits or have you actually seen his live performances?
You get this whenever a woman doesn’t “sing pretty”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duZZkWg77Ec
Can’t see how this is any less “grating” opinions are fine, but being mean is silly when the performance is completely fine and the woman is something of a legend.
I would love to hear Tom Waits cover the Crane Wife 3… Just sayin’.
I would’ve liked to hear Kim Carnes instead. This woman sounds like a dying Irishman.
Get your fucking hands and voice off the Decemberists’ shit, you goofy old lady!
Why’d ya do what you did, Marianne?
Since when did Diane Rehms start singing? Geez, listening to her was like cleaning my ears with a sandpaper cotton swab!
well it was terrible, but at least it was FAITHFUL!
If you’ve drank koolaid your whole life, then kick-ass whiskey comes as quite a shock.
Get your ass out of your ears and realize that every grain in that sandpaper voice bespeaks more experience, harshness and wisdom than you’re ever likely to ever encounter in your lifetime.
Or at least, be more funny!
she sounds like Cat Stevens
That was kinda cute?
I think Dave has a crush on her. hee hee..
Marianne has soldiered through four decades of struggling against radio, record companies, and narrow minded listeners. Anyone who thinks they are “independent” in their tastes or their presentation owes an enormous debt to this woman’s forthright and earnest musical efforts. She does’t cover just any song: it is indeed an honor that she chose to perform this number. You kids keep challenging the future with a profound lack of history and see how far you get…
thanks to Suzanne Vega for the quote.
Actually, it’s Pall Mall. Nice try at correcting someone else, though.
In reality, the following is true:
1. Marianne Faithfull looked luminous, shockingly beautiful;
2. The band’s performance was vibrant and inspired, directly due to Marianne’s commanding and nuanced vocals;
3. Until I encountered Marianne’s cover of this song on her outstanding new album, I assiduously avoided the Decemberists ever since hearing “Her Majesty’s Asscrack” or whatever it’s called; it was playing in AKA Music in Philadelphia in 2003. I had to tell the clerk, “This is the very worst music I have ever heard.” Because of Marianne Faithfull, I can now say: perhaps I was wrong about The Decemberists.
http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/ryan-adams-marianne-faithfull/7025
Nice interview with Marianne done by Ryan Adams….
I’m sure she’s a great legend, and a wonderful artist, but I don’t like this. At all. This is one of my favorite song by the Decemberists, and in my opinion she just couldn’t do it.
Just caught this cover being performed on Jools Holland, and the first thing I did was check on the internet to see if this was a joke or something,
I figured this had to be a comic relief special or something, surely no one could actually call this music’?
I listen to a great many genres of music and have a great respect for all attempts but…this is just embaressing, Maybe i’m over reacting as a Decemberists fan but…wow, that was tough to sit through.
hmm, i dont know what to think about this performance. Here voice isn t very good and the guitarists play false notes. But overall she is an legend.