Memories, Dreams and Reflections [ MEMORIES, DREAMS AND REFLECTIONS BY Faithfull, Marianne ( Author ) Jul-07-2008

by Marianne Faithfull

This book is a more personal history than has ever before been written by or about Marianne Faithfull. Anecdotal, conversational, intimate and revealing, this is her no-holds-barred account of her life, her friends, her triumphs and mistakes.A decade after the publication of ‘Faithfull’, one of the most acclaimed rock autobiographies of all time, Marianne Faithfull is back, vowing periodically leave her wicked ways behind and grow up, but finding that somehow strange things keep happening.A wry observer of her slightly off-kilter world, Marianne muses nostalgically about afternoons languishing on Moroccan cushions at George and Pattie's, getting high and listening to new songs. She fondly recalls the outlandish antics of her Beat friends Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs; is frequently baffled at her image in the press (opening the paper to read of her own 'Sixties Star in Death Plunge'); terrified by the curse sent by Kenneth Anger; mortified by her history of reckless behaviour; not to mention her near-death experience in Singapore while looking for an opium den.Marianne peoples her anecdotal memoir with legendary characters one can imagine only Marianne assembling around her, both the eccentric and the beautiful, from Henrietta Moraes and Donatella Versace to Sofia Coppola, Juliette Greco, and Yves St. Laurent's dog. Here is Marianne on the dark side of the sixties and the bright side of the nineties, which saw her collaborating with the likes of Blur and Jarvis Cocker; compelling recollections of an unconventional childhood in her father's orgiastic literary commune to a hilariously decadent few days at Lady Caroline Blackwood's deathbed. Here she is her blossoming movie career, on her records as subliminal autobiography. This is as intimate a portrait as we've ever had of Marianne, as she meditates on sex and drugs, confronts her alter-ego, the Fabulous Beast, and faces her own mortality in her battle with breast cancer.Since her last book Marianne has, in her own words, 'made quite a few records, gone on many tours, tried to play it straight, and… Well, the rest is the subject of this book.'

Genres: Music, Biography, Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Autobiography, British Literature

Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

About the author

Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 5 single "As Tears Go By" and became one of the leading female artists of the British Invasion in the United States.
Born in Hampstead, London, Faithfull began her career in 1964 after attending a party for the Rolling Stones, where she was discovered by Andrew Loog Oldham. Her 1965 debut studio album Marianne Faithfull, released simultaneously with her studio album Come My Way, was a huge success and was followed by further albums on Decca Records. From 1966 to 1970 she had a highly publicised romantic relationship with Mick Jagger. Her popularity was enhanced by roles in films, including I'll Never Forget What's'isname (1967), The Girl on a Motorcycle (1968) and Hamlet (1969). But her popularity was overshadowed by personal problems in the 1970s, when she became anorexic, homeless and addicted to heroin.
During her 1960s musical career, Faithfull was noted for her distinctive melodic, high-register vocals. But, in the subsequent decade, her voice was altered by severe laryngitis and persistent drug abuse, which left her sounding permanently raspy, cracked and lower in pitch. The new sound was praised as "whisky soaked" by some critics and was seen as having helped to capture the raw emotions expressed in her music.
After a long absence, Faithfull made a musical comeback in 1979 with the release of a critically acclaimed seventh studio album, Broken English. The album was a commercial success and marked a resurgence of her musical career. Broken English earned Faithfull a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and is regarded as her "definitive recording". She followed this with a series of studio albums including Dangerous Acquaintances (1981), A Child's Adventure (1983) and Strange Weather (1987). Faithfull wrote three books about her life: Faithfull: An Autobiography (1994), Memories, Dreams & Reflections (2007) and Marianne Faithfull: A Life on Record (2014).
Faithfull received the World Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 Women's World Awards, and in 2011 she was made a Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the government of France.

Reviews

[Lord Beardsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This further confirms how much I would love to be her friend. It's like reading a brilliantly witty and self-deprecating conversation with a good friend who has a lot of fascinating knowledge, humour, and life experience.

[Ned Thacker · Rating 1 out of 5]

One paragraph is sufficient to sum up this dire drivel: “Gene Pitney died. I liked Gene, he was a great shag and all that, but why did he die so young? ...The odds of Gene dying in Cardiff - poor sod - are astronomical. I give him all honour and credit for the work he did, but what a place to shuffle off your mortal coil.”

[Jan C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly interesting. Even though I hadn't read her first book, which this is supposed to be a follow-up of. Oh, well, maybe I'll pick it up yet. That's what I did with David Crosby, read his second book, obtained the first book and stuck it on a shelf.

Too much drugs here, although that's probably what her body was telling her. Hard to believe that at one time she was homeless, living on a brick wall and being a junkie. A friend got her straight.

This is the story of her life since then. A lot of touring and singing and how she put albums together. I even have one of those albums and I think she may have inspired me to buy a red convertible.

[Alex Sarll]

"The saddest thing about getting old is the passing of your friends and lovers. Gene Pitney died. I liked Gene, he was a great shag and all that, but why did he die so young?"

That's at the top of page 3, in an opening chapter which supposedly catches us up with what's happened since Marianne's first memoir, Faithfull, one of my favourite pop/rock autobiographies. Really, it more establishes the tone. Faithfull was a more-or-less chronological account of her life, if one which would often – and much to its benefit – get distracted by sidebars. This is more The Thoughts Of Chairman Marianne, a transcript of an afternoon spent with the world's coolest aunt, one who has an utterly winning stock of shocking old stories, who is not ashamed to feel things strongly but also harnesses that with a firm no-nonsense streak. So when Kenneth Anger, outraged by his portrayal in Faithfull, sends her a curse in the post, Night Of The Demon-style? She's in quite a state about it, as you might be, especially if you feel that playing Lilith in his Lucifer Rising was a big part of what went wrong in your life. But with a little distance, she can see that his curse was...well, it was a little de trop, darling. Just went on and on. "I mean, does the Devil rant you to death?" Which is far from the only wonderfully English encounter with the occult here, and indeed, the book carries some of that same casual, mild spookiness with it. So, I'd been vaguely meaning to read an Iris Murdoch next, but that didn't feel quite right, and then I spotted this on the shelf – and lo and behold, the odd commune/university establishment where Marianne grew up gets discussed as being very Murdoch, maybe even inspiring The Bell. So, occasional mention is made of Caversham, near Reading, as somewhere very English and not terribly rock'n'roll – despite the fact that it had also just cropped up as the source of Charles Shaar Murray in an entirely different thing I'd been reading.

Of course, Faithfull was never quite the English rose she looked, but a descendant of the Sacher-Masochs, and that Mitteleuropan strand also appears, feeding into the music as she gets into performing Brecht & Weill. She insists her life isn't nearly as glamorous as everyone thinks – indeed, one chapter is a dialogue with the Fabulous Beast, as she calls her persona. But then she'll quite unselfconsciously start talking about the time she had Anita Pallenberg nicking John Boorman's coal, or hanging out in a replica Nero's palace with Donatella Versace, Rupert Everett, Kate Moss and Cher. Even when she's laid up with a broken shoulder watching TV, deciding that Sabrina The Teenage Witch is better than Buffy, she has John Hurt getting the shopping! And yet it never feels the least bit gauche; she is, as per one of her finest songs (and one she talks a fair bit about here), sliding through life on charm. And talent, of course. But such charm!

If the book has a fault, it's an excess of charity; often she'll be talking about people who sound like absolute nightmares, while insisting that the pluses outweigh the minuses. In something like Julian Cope's memoirs, this can feel like a deliberate move, though none the less effective for that – he wants you to think these guys are bell-ends, but knows it's going to be much more effective if he still plays the genial cove as he tells the story and lets them hang themselves. With Faithfull, not so much – it reads like she genuinely has a lot of time for the Beats, say, even though they all sound (as they usually do) like utter wankers. In that specific instance, part of it may be that, just as to us she represents a fabulous bygone age, so she says she feels she came along a little late, would much rather have been part of the truer bohemia of the fifties. Despite which, obviously the sixties loom large, the beautiful people and beautiful clothes, with some chapters reading like sketches for a Vile Bodies update: "we dressed up like medieval damsels and princes, pirates, pre-Raphaelite Madonnas, popes, hussars, mad hatters and creatures visiting from other planets". And isn't it terrifying to think that they were closer to those twenties than to these ones? But even as someone who could happily never hear another story about a Beatle turning up at some groovy bash or other and acting all faux-modest about having a copy of their latest recording (especially if, as here, it's Hey sodding Jude), I still loved it.

[Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful, honest, globe trotting memoir. Helped me get through many lunch breaks in the plague year. I'm sorry I finished.

A very intelligent, worldly woman. I'm now going to go back through the book and collect all her references to authors and books I want to read.

[Marie (UK) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate biography / memoir keep getting directed to them by challenges. This is not the worst i have ever read but is not really great either

[Pete daPixie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I seem to possess the uncanny knack of reading a persons published works backwards, i.e. the most recently released, first. The result here being that I've missed out on Faithfull's 1994 biography and selected this 2007 addition of 'memories, dreams & reflections.' Both these books have been written with the help of David Dalton.
Such is the casual conversational style of the text here that I get the impression that Marianne simply poured her memories, dreams and reflections into Mr Dalton's recording equipment while D.D. poured the wine. In actual fact, the relaxed easy flow of the composition gives the memoir an intimate and personal feel. Even though she states in the very first paragraph here that; "One thing I've learned from my last book is, it's quite dangerous to summon up the past", dangerous or not, for the next three hundred pages, as in any biography, she does just that. Without being any kind of principal mover or shaker of the decadent decade, Marianne was close enough to all the major dudes of the beat/pop/hippy/trippy generation floating through the haze of the swinging sixties that makes her memories, dreams and reflections worth reading. She was there and she does remember.

[Tosh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Icon Marrianne Raithfull's first memoir is a Rock n' Roll classic, and this one is very much like the promised second album that doesn't fully deliver. It's a book without a purpose, but even with that it does have moments of interest - but then there is a lot of dead space.

Unlike the first book, this is basically a series of snapshots that really doesn't hold up by themselves. Faithfull lives in a fascinating world of really interesting people, yet by reading this book, I don't get the feeling that they are special. The best chapter for me is when she talks about the painter Francis Bacon who fed and talked to Faithfull when she was in full-mode heroin addiction.

She also covers the Beats, but it rings of surface than depth. Very disappointing book.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reads much like diary- remembrances of friends and events, as though Ms. Faithfull is reconstructing the puzzle of her life. She holds nothing back- neither the joys of her relationships nor the guilt she seems to carry, observing what can only be seen in clearly in the mirror of hindsight. She writes as though she is telling her story for posterity, a letter to her inner child,. One hopes that writing this book has been cathartic, as Ms. Faithfull writes honestly, facing her imperfect humanity in a way most of us never will.

[serpentine tuberose * · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do tend to stay away from celebrity memoirs, autobiographies, etc. as a whole, really. But Marianne’s death earlier this year shook me, frankly, and more than a bit embarrassingly, as a 30-something fan who just happened upon her life and art and work before my teen years, and wound up feeling oddly and invisibly connected in relating to her all round. Not something I like to admit! It feels egotistical and self-aggrandising.

In this book she is exactly frank in conveying the want to avoid coming off in similar ways. It reads familiarly, as in, with a familiarity, a casual connected conversation over cigarettes - or more likely, and more aspirationally, the discussion of cigarettes. As one does of old lovers who were left in the past for good and beneficial reasons, but the feeling, the love and occasional pull, is still there.

This is not a book everyone is going to love, or even like. I get the sense it is polarising. But then, shouldn’t it be? Marianne herself was, and owned that, dammit! It reads like a good friend recounting their own tales, as I said, over the wistful nostalgic ideas of cigarettes; in reality, interspersed with a back-and-forth of the reader/friend recounting their own. For that, for its casual way (tone, perhaps, but I’ll own my autism here and frankly admit I’ll never grasp that concept), some readers may find themselves put off a bit. Do not mistake a casual, conversational approach for a lack of gravity, though. There is no lacking there. This balance or combination of heft and familiarity is exactly the reason I cannot do anything but love it. My own life experience surely factors in and is a bias in my perception and reception as a reader, but if one must have lived in at all relatable ways, then one must find some laughter or comfort in feeling connection upon reflection by it. That’s what I would say this book is. Recalling what has been and is heavy whilst laughing.

This book was relatively hard to come by at this point in time, possibly due in part to my location as well. If you find yourself intrigued and aren’t finding my review abhorrent in some capacity, I’d suggest considering giving this book a read.

[Sean Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clearly, Marianne deliberately chose a book title that is almost the same as Carl Jung's autobiographical "Memories, Dreams, Reflections". Perhaps a trifle grandiose considering Jung's intellectual stature but she did at least use all lower case letters in the title, perhaps in deference. I read this on my laptop by borrowing a copy from the OPEN LIBRARY (link: https://openlibrary.org/books/OL26334...). It's free, you just sign up and borrow whatever you like if it's available. The loan period is two weeks. This book I think was written about ten years after her autobiographical "Faithfull" (also available for loan from the same source) and it certainly held my attention. She's led an interesting and at times tumultuous life and befriended some very famous characters including Ginsberg, Corso and Burroughs. Anyone who grew up in the sixties will find this an especially "good read".

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perhaps unsurprisingly for someone who has lived such a varied and disjointed life, this memoir doesn't follow a neat linear chronology. In fact, it's less an autobiography, and more a series of mini essays about love, art, and life in bohemia. Whether it's nights round at the Beatles' houses getting high, or breakfasts with the Beats (Burroughs - boiled eggs, Ginsberg - porridge), this is packed with interesting detail.
There's as much sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll as you'd expect, but there's also an intellectual peep behind the curtains to a particularly vibrant time in popular culture.

Never one to shy away from honesty - no matter how messy - Ms Faithfull tells a compelling tale of ups and downs; from cavorting with rock royalty and endless parties, to homelessness, heroin addiction, and cancer.

Oh, and the story of the Mars Bar at Redlands? A complete fabrication according to the author, but the reason that she doesn't feel able to live in Britain anymore.

[Harry Burnside · Rating 3 out of 5]

A moderately good read, I would have preferred if she had stuck more to show biz tales, Mick ,Keith and Brian get a couple of fleeting mentions. She concentrates more on the beats and philosophers of the 50's and 60's.Her taste in greatness is quite esoteric Juliette Greco, Gregory Corso, William Burroughs and Alan Ginsberg.
She appears to be very friendly, honest and talented person. I liked it.
She ends the book by discussing contracting cancer and her remission. Glad to say, ten years after the book was published we still don't have to say to her 'So Long Marianne'.
Must get round to reading her autobiography some time soon.

[Don Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

(2 1/2). Not the best written memoir in the music world, but there certainly was lots of interesting information here. Who knew how amazingly literary Marianne Faithfull was? Incredibly well read, ever curious, and much more educated than the media would ever have us know. Yes, here personal life was a mess at times, way too many drug and health problems, and her relationships are not really addressed in this book at all. I was not aware of the extent of her acting career either. Draggy at times, this is still a good addition to my quest for all things of the rock music world. Reasonable stuff.

[Yasminespills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some part of it just rumbles on too much, and cliches about celebrity and 60s inevitably came out - but nevertheless like her previous autobiography it’s worth reading. One can almost hear the voice of this fascinating lady talking about her experiences, her memory of people and an age, the madness and the decadence as well as some heart-warming tales. It’s much more than a tell-all kind of celebrity memoir, with all it’s understanding and sympathy towards the characters who made their appearance

[Dan Ream · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picked this up from a friend’s book giveaway pile, not realizing it was a sequel to her first autobiography, “Faithfull” which I haven’t yet read. By reading this book first , you’re dropped into the middle of the story, as this primarily covers her life in the 1990s and 2000s, with some reflections on her earlier life and career. Perhaps that is why I kept wondering as I read who she was talking about- because they had been introduced in her earlier book that I haven’t yet read.
So, this book may be far better than my rating suggests if you have read her earlier autobiography.

[Rala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Good read, stories and Interesting references. Reading Marianne Faithfull’s book was extremely valuable. Not a traditional memory book, worth the time to read. I liked especially the making of her songs and also relationship with the Stones and other musicians. Thanks.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

While a little anecdotal, and ran out of steam at the end, nevertheless a fascinating insight into a remarkable woman. Dogged by heroine addiction and smacked down by the "establishment" in the sixties, she has outstayed many of her contemporaries. An entertaining glimpse into the world of fame, drugs, art, poetry and music.

[Clare Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting account of some of her reflections. Would love to listen to some more of her music, a real survivor with so many connections.

[Madge A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disjointed, badly written drivel .

[E. B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of a repeat of her autobiography with a little extra. Only for the true fans.

[Sherri]

An established fan already, of her music, I became even more enchanted by Ms. Faithfull's writing...she writes in dreams and songs.

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, Marianne. You never really disappoint. You are still one of a kind and I always enjoy hearing from you. When I was a young girl I wanted to be you. That lovely blond hair and those Carnaby Street clothes. The London Scene. So trippy and hip. We are of an age, and life didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I guess you feel the same way, judging by this book. You are older and wiser and who knew you (we) would live this long? A blessing or not, here we are. Did I say I am glad? I enjoyed these musings and postscripts of yours. Although not as cohesive as your biography, I found much to think upon and smile about here. You have been cursed (or blessed?) with an interesting life. :) Thanks for sharing.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as cohesive as her first memoir, but every bit as engaging. For fans of Faithfull (both the book and its author), this is a charming little companion piece filled with miscellaneous memories that either didn't find their way into her proper autobiography, or else the stories are updates from the years since the publication of her first book. For those unacquainted with Ms. Faithfull, read Faithfull first, then come back to this one. This doesn't quite stand on its own as a memoir, but it's a welcome second act.

[Kavanand (Reading for Two) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't an autobiography in the traditional sense. Faithfull already wrote one of those, back in the 90s. This book is a series of vignettes about her friends, her music, and anything else that strikes her fancy. Her voice is funny, self-deprecating, and original, and this is an enjoyable read. It's probably most appropriate for the more devoted fan. If you're interested in a more linear approach to Faithfull's fascinating life, her autobiography Faithfull is absolutely worth a look.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the very casual way this book was written - like you were sat over a table having coffee and listening to her talk -Felt there was a lot of name dropping in the beginning and wanted to know more about Marianne but then realised that these people were a huge influence on her life and were important players in her story.
Enjoyed the later chapters much more.

[Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

not as cohesive as faithfull - almost seemed like she was just writing things as they occured to her over a period of time - every chapter seems like an aside while reading her first book. but some good gossip. and funny, of course.

[Cheyenne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book before her first memoir simply because I don't own her first book. I have yet to read the first one but this was a great memoir, even for someone who only knows the basics about Marianne Faithfull.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of fragmentary, but also conversational. An easy read. Heavy on the name dropping, but that's what you would expect from someone who has lived the life she has lived. Some great stuff about the rock and roll royalty that she is part of. Great suggestions for further reading too.