''Blazing Away'' is a live album by British singer

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...

, released on the

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

label in 1990.Marianne Faithfull discography
, accessed November 29, 2013

Reception

In his review for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Ned Raggett notes that "Fully established as a dramatic, innovative singer with astonishing appeal and energy thanks to her string of excellent '80s releases, Faithfull concluded her renaissance decade with ''Blazing Away'', an excellent live album... Faithfull and the players fit hand in glove track for track, with the emphasis on subtler arrangements and performances suiting the hushed, striking atmosphere of the performance".

Track listing

# "Les Prisons du Roi" (Michel Rivgauche,

Irving Gordon Irving Gordon (February 14, 1915 – December 1, 1996) was an American songwriter. Early life and education Gordon was born in Brooklyn, New York City, to a Jewish family, and later lived on Coney Island. He was named Israel Goldener but later ...

) – 6:46 # "Strange Weather" (

Kathleen Brennan Kathleen Patricia Brennan (born 1955) is an Irish-American musician, songwriter, record producer, and artist. She is known for her work as a co-writer, producer, and influence on the work of her husband Tom Waits. Biography Brennan was born in ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...

) – 5:12 # "Guilt" (

Barry Reynolds Barry Reynolds (born 27 October 1949, in Bolton, Lancashire) is a British guitar player, songwriter, composer and producer, best known for his long-lasting collaboration with Marianne Faithfull. Reynolds first emerged with the band TTPS://www. ...

) – 7:51 # "

Working Class Hero "Working Class Hero" is a song by John Lennon from his 1970 album '' John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band'', his first album after the break-up of the Beatles. It was released as the B-side to the single " Imagine" in Britain on 24 October 1975. The ...

" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

) – 6:07 # " Sister Morphine" (Marianne Faithfull,

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...

) – 7:25 # " As Tears Go By" (Jagger,

Andrew Loog Oldham Andrew Loog Oldham (born 29 January 1944) is an English record producer, talent manager, impresario and author. He was manager and producer of the Rolling Stones from 1963 to 1967, and was noted for his flamboyant style. Early life Oldham's f ...

, Richards) – 4:25 # "Why'd Ya Do It?" (Faithfull, Reynolds, Terry Stannard,

Heathcote Williams John Henley Heathcote-Williams (15 November 1941 – 1 July 2017), known as Heathcote Williams, was an English poet, actor, political activist and dramatist. He wrote a number of book-length polemical poems including ''Autogeddon'', ''Falling ...

, Steve York) – 6:31 # "When I Find My Life" (Faithfull, Reynolds) – 2:59 # "

The Ballad of Lucy Jordan "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" is a song by American poet and songwriter Shel Silverstein. It was originally recorded and released as a single, on the CBS label, in 1974 by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, with the name spelled "Jordon". The song al ...

" (

Shel Silverstein Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...

) – 5:08 # "Times Square" (Reynolds, Faithfull) – 4:57 # "Blazing Away" (Faithfull, Reynolds) – 4:10 # " She Moved Through the Fair" (Traditional; arranged by Marianne Faithfull) – 2:09 # "Broken English" (Faithfull, Joe Maverty, Reynolds, Stannard, York) – 7:37

Track listing of concert

#"Les Prisons du Roi" #"Falling from Grace" #"The Blue Millionaire" #"Strange Weather" #"Guilt" #"Sister Morphine" #"Working Class Hero" #"When I Find My Life" #"The Ballad of Lucy Jordan" #"As Tears Go By" #"Why D'Ya Do It?" #" Boulevard of Broken Dreams" #"Broken English" #"Times Square"

Personnel

*Marianne Faithfull – vocals *

– guitar, backing vocals (tracks 1–10, 12 & 13), musical director, associate producer *

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, Rock music, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notab ...

– guitar (tracks 1–10, 12 & 13) *

Garth Hudson Eric Garth Hudson (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025) was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for The Band. He was a principal architect of the group's sound and was described as "the mo ...

– keyboards,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

(tracks 1–10, 12 & 13) *

Lew Soloff Lewis Michael Soloff (February 20, 1944 – March 8, 2015) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor. He was a founding member of the band Blood, Sweat & Tears. Biography From his birth place of New York City, United States, he studie ...

– trumpet,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet, but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B♭, though ...

(tracks 1–10, 12 & 13) *

Mac Rebennack Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. His music combined New Orleans blues, jazz, R&B, soul and funk. Active as a session mus ...

– piano (track 10) *

Fernando Saunders Fernando Saunders (born 17 January 1957) is an American musician, singer and record producer from Detroit, Michigan. He is perhaps best known for his longtime partnership with rock musician Lou Reed, from 1982 to 1987 and again from 1996 to 20 ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, backing vocals, guitar *Dougie Bowne (tracks 1–10, 12 & 13),

Charley Drayton Charley Drayton is an American multi-instrumentalist and producer, known primarily as a drummer. Artists he has recorded or performed with include The Cult, Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones, Paul Simon, Neil Young, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancoc ...

(track 11) – drums *Kevin Savanger – keyboards (track 11) *

Don Alias Charles "Don" Alias (December 25, 1939 – March 28, 2006) was an American jazz percussionist. Alias was best known for playing congas and other hand drums. He was also a capable drum kit performer. He played drums on the song "Miles Runs the V ...

– percussion (track 11) *Gib Wharton –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings, enabling more varied and complex music to be played than with other steel guitar designs. Like all steel guitars, it can play ...

(track 11) *Nelson Stump – cowbell, kick drum (track 14) ;Technical *Kevin Patrick – executive producer *Joe Ferla – engineer, mixing * Tony Wright – art direction, cover artwork *Dana Shimizu – design *George DuBose – cover photography

Charts

References

{{Marianne Faithfull Island Records live albums Marianne Faithfull live albums 1990 live albums Albums produced by Hal Willner