When she debuted as a pop singer in '60s Swinging London, Marianne Faithfull was like the choir girl who fell into bad company as she sang lovely versions of Rolling Stones songs. She re-emerged from heroin-induced seclusion 10 years later with Broken English (1979), an adult album inspired by the rise of punk.
Her latest CD is classic work from a chanteuse a little too world-wise to be entirely world-weary. The lyrics are infused with haggard cabaret sophistication. Produced by Hal Willner, Easy Come, Easy Go draws influences out of Baroque pop, New Orleans jazz, Weimar Berlin blues and darkness-before-dawn lounge in a well-chosen collection of songs by everyone from Duke Ellington to The Decemberists.
