Before the Poison

Before the Poison
Studio album by Marianne Faithfull
Released	25 January 2005
Recorded	June–October, 2003 The Fallout Shelter and Mayfair Studio, London
Genre	Rock, Alternative rock
Label	Anti Records/Naïve
Producer	PJ Harvey Nick Cave Hal Willner Rob Ellis Head
Marianne Faithfull chronology
Kissin Time (2003) Before the Poison (2005) Easy Come, Easy Go (2008)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	(7.9/10)[2]
Rolling Stone	[3]

Before the Poison is the 17th album by Marianne Faithfull, recorded in 2003 and released in 2005.^[4][5]

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, with whom she had collaborated on her previous release, Kissin Time.^[4][6][7][8]

• 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.^[7][9]
• Cave co-produces with Hal Willner 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.^[7][9]
• 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 his unnamed band's 2007 album, The Good, the Bad and the Queen.^[7]
• Jon Brion, also featured on Kissin Time, shares with the singer the songwriting credits of "City of Quartz", the last song of the album.^[7]

Charts

Before the Poison reached position #37 at Billboard Top Independent Albums in 2005. It peaked at #31 in France, #36 in Denmark and #61 in Switzerland.

Track listing

1. "The Mystery of Love" (PJ Harvey) – 3:53
2. "My Friends Have" (PJ Harvey) – 2:48
3. "Crazy Love" (Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave) – 4:04
4. "Last Song" (Marianne Faithfull, Damon Albarn) – 3:19
5. "No Child of Mine" (PJ Harvey) – 6:15
6. "Before the Poison" (Marianne Faithfull, PJ Harvey) – 4:10
7. "There Is a Ghost" (Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave) – 4:32
8. "In the Factory" (Marianne Faithfull, PJ Harvey) – 3:51
9. "Desperanto" (Marianne Faithfull, Nick Cave) – 4:22
10. "City of Quartz" (Marianne Faithfull, Jon Brion) – 4:04

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
• Tracks 3, 7 & 9:
  • Produced by Nick Cave and Hal Willner (October 2003)
  • Recorded and mixed by Rik Simpson
  • Vocals: Marianne Faithfull
  • Musicians: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis, Martyn P. Casey 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

References