- Marianne Faithfull is a survivor. That’s the first impression that comes to mind before even listening to the first bars of her twentieth studio album Give My Love To London. Through the highs and lows of a musical career, and the utter degradation of her battles with drug addiction, Faithfull is still here singing in that now well-accustomed husk of hers. There’s really something quite special about her. Perhaps it is her ability to shine through artistically despite the hardship. Age is definitely no barrier either, and this album incidentally, marks five decades in the business.

Collaboration is at the heart of Give My Love To London, although it’s Faithfull’s words and interpretations that come through strongly. The list of collaborators is a very long one, from Steve Earle to Nick Cave. Ed Harcourt, Leonard Cohen and Anna Calvi, so her individual voice had to be strong to rise above it all. It’s no doubt a skill of hers, in deciding just who she works with, and she’s chosen well again. It’s only after listening to the tracks themselves and then reading the credits that one gets a sense of the other writers involved. Take the title track for instance which was co-written with Steve Earle, it’s quintessentially English and full of Faithfull obsessions such as Pirate Jenny, but it’s only when you break the song down further that you get a sense of Steve Earle within it all too.

It’s a great collection of songs. On the poppier side you have the aforementioned title track, but then also the dramatic Falling Back, co-written with Anna Calvi. They give the album some good counter-balances against ballads such as Love More Or Less, Deep Water and Late Victorian Holocaust. Late Victorian Holocaust in particular, is one of those album-defining songs. Written primarily by Nick Cave it tracks two London junkies, in this case Faithfull and Cave, wrapped up in each other’s arms, in each other’s day. It’s sung beautifully, firmly in the present but tracing a past both of the writers concerned have some experience with. Going Home on the other hand illustrates a sharp wit, a song which has a bit of fun with the Leonard Cohen legend.

All in all, it’s an album to get lost in. It’s an album bristling with fire, but full of redemption as well. There is a real angst at work in this collection of songs that you may not have anticipated, but will absolutely relish once you’re accustomed. Perhaps it is due to the fact Faithfull was bedridden for months with a back injury when writing this, perhaps it is a reflection of the times we all find ourselves in or perhaps it is the perspective of an outsider, someone used to riding out petty judgement. Whatever its source, it’s a more than welcome addition to the Faithfull discography and will quite possibly be judged in the future, alongside Broken English, as one of her most important albums.

- Ian Powne.