Before the Poison
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''Before the Poison'' is the 17th album by British singer
Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...
, recorded in 2003 and released in 2004.


Overview

The album has a dark and fatalistic mood, which Faithfull attributes partially to the post- 9/11 world. Faithfull enlisted musicians PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, as well as Damon Albarn and producer
Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...
, with whom she had collaborated on her previous release, ''Kissin Time''. * Besides producing and performing on five tracks, Harvey gave her three songs ("The Mystery of Love", "My Friends Have" and "No Child of Mine"—an excerpt of the last one appears on Harvey's album, '' Uh Huh Her'') and co-wrote another two with Faithfull. * Cave co-produces with
Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...
the three tracks on which he wrote the music over Faithfull's lyrics ("Crazy Love", "There Is a Ghost" and "Desperanto") and had his supporting band, The Bad Seeds, performing on all of them. * Albarn, who appears with Blur in a song on Faithfull's previous album, '' Kissin Time'', co-wrote "Last Song" with her. Another version of the song, with different lyrics on the verses, was later released as " Green Fields" on
The Good, the Bad & the Queen The Good, the Bad & the Queen were an English art rock supergroup composed of singer Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, guitarist Simon Tong of the Verve, and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. They released t ...
's 2007 album, ''
The Good, the Bad & the Queen The Good, the Bad & the Queen were an English art rock supergroup composed of singer Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, guitarist Simon Tong of the Verve, and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. They released t ...
''. *
Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...
, also featured on ''Kissin Time'', shares with the singer the songwriting credits of "City of Quartz", the last song of the album.


Charts

''Before the Poison'' reached number 37 at '' Billboard'' Top Independent Albums in 2005. It peaked at number 31 in France, number 36 in Denmark and number 61 in Switzerland. In 2014 it was awarded a gold certification from the
Independent Music Companies Association The Independent Music Companies Association (IMPALA), originally the Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association, is a non-profit trade association established in 2000 to help European independent record labels represent their agenda a ...
, which indicated sales of at least 75,000 copies throughout Europe.


Reception

''Before the Poison'' received favorable review upon release, with an average score of 76/100 on Metacritic, indicating favorable reviews.
Robb Webb from the
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...
described the album as a "''career high for Ms Faithfull and a timely release''".
'' Billboard'' described the album as a "''winning collaborative combination
hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
makes "Before the Poison" even stronger than its 2002 predecessor, "Kissin' Time", but with production and arrangements that are minimalist, dark and desolate''".
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
described the album as "''poetic and unnerving; it stands alone in her catalog in the same way that Broken English did—but this time, on the other side of the mirror''".
In his review for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', Jon Pareles wrote that "''Most of the songs are elegiac, and Ms. Faithfull infuses them with desolate memories''".


Track listing

# "The Mystery of Love" ( PJ Harvey) – 3:53 # "My Friends Have" (PJ Harvey) – 2:48 # "Crazy Love" (Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave) – 4:04 # "Last Song" (Marianne Faithfull, Damon Albarn) – 3:19 # "No Child of Mine" (PJ Harvey) – 6:15 # "Before the Poison" (Marianne Faithfull, PJ Harvey) – 4:10 # "There Is a Ghost" (Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave) – 4:32 # "In the Factory" (Marianne Faithfull, PJ Harvey) – 3:51 # "Desperanto" (Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave) – 4:22 # "City of Quartz" (Marianne Faithfull,
Jon Brion Jon Brion is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and composer. He performed with the Excerpts, the Bats, 'Til Tuesday and the Grays before becoming an established producer and film score composer. Brion has ...
) – 4:04


Charts


Production credits

* Tracks 1, 2, 5, 6 & 8: ** Produced by PJ Harvey (June–July 2003) ** Recorded and mixed by Head ** Vocals and handclapping: Marianne Faithfull ** Electric and acoustic guitars, bass, synth, backing vocals, piano, slide bass: PJ Harvey ** Drums, piano, percussion, glockenspiel, handclapping: Rob Ellis ** Synth bass, electric guitar, bass:
Adrian Utley Adrian Francis Utley (born 27 April 1957) is an English musician and producer, and a member of the band Portishead.Jurek, ThomAdrian Utley Biography, Allmusic. Retrieved 31 December 2016 Career Born in Northampton,Mejia, Paula (2015)In Search ...
* Tracks 3, 7 & 9: ** Produced by Nick Cave and
Hal Willner Hal Willner (April 6, 1956 – April 7, 2020) was an American music producer working in recording, films, television, and live events. He was best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical sty ...
(October 2003) ** Recorded and mixed by Rik Simpson ** Vocals: Marianne Faithfull ** Musicians: Nick Cave,
Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...
,
Martyn P. Casey Martyn Paul Casey (born 10 July 1960) is an English-born Australian Rock music, rock bass guitarist. He has been a member of the Triffids, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Grinderman. Casey plays either his Fender Precision Bass or Fender Jazz Ba ...
and Jim Sclavunos * Tracks 4 & 10: ** Produced by Rob Ellis and Head (September 2003) ** Recorded and mixed by Head ** Assistant engineers: Andrew Rugg and Rik Simpson ** Vocals: Marianne Faithfull ** Drums, piano, percussion, vibraphone, sound effects, string arrangements: Rob Ellis ** Acoustic guitar, bass, toy piano, sampling: Adrian Utley ** Violin: Catherine Browning ** Cello: Andy Nice ** Piano: Diana Gutkind * Mastering: John Dent * Photos:
Jean Baptiste Mondino Jean-Baptiste Mondino (born Aubervilliers, France on 21 July 1949) is a French fashion photographer and music video director. He has directed music videos for Madonna, David Bowie, Sting, Björk, Don Henley, Neneh Cherry, Axel Bauer and Les Rita M ...


References

{{Authority control 2005 albums Marianne Faithfull albums Albums produced by Hal Willner Anti- (record label) albums Albums produced by Nick Cave