Green Are Your Eyes
Scarborough Fair
Cockleshells
The Last Thing On My Mind
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Sally Free And Easy
Sunny Goodge Street
How Should I Your True Love Know
She Moved Thru' The Fair
North Country Maid
Lullaby
Wild Mountain Thyme
Frogtoon Music Album Info: North Country Maid
Published: 12 Dec 2014, 23:14
Marianne Faithfull Was Still Known Primarily As A Pop Singer When She Put Out North Country Maid But This Is In Fact Very Close To A Pure Folk Album With A Bit Of Influence From Pop Rock Blues And Jazz. Largely Overlooked Even By Faithfull Fans It's Actually A Quite Respectable Effort And Probably Her Best LP Other Than Greatest-Hits Compilations From The Time When Her Voice Was Still On The High Side. Ably Backed By Sessionmen Including Guitarists Jon Mark And Jim Sullivan She Interprets Mostly Traditional Material On This Record Including "She Moved Through The Fair " "Wild Mountain Thyme " "Sally Free And Easy " And "Scarborough Fair."
There Are Some Mid-'60s Covers Too Though Including Donovan's "Sunny Goodge Street" And Tom Paxton's "Last Thing On My Mind." Sometimes When The Bass Gets Prominent And The Arrangements Swing This Isn't Too Far From Early Pentangle As Unexpected As That Comparison Is. The Use Of Sitar On "She Moved Through The Fair" And "Wild Mountain Thyme" Is Adventurous And She Sings Pretty Well Throughout With Dignity And Purity If Not Utmost Imagination Or Grit. The 1990 CD Reissue On Deram U.K. Adds Three Worthwhile Bonus Tracks "The Most Of What Is Least" From A 1965 EP And Alternate Versions Of "Come My Way" And "Mary Anne" The Originals Of Which Had Appeared On Her 1965 Album Come My Way .
-- Richie Unterberger AMG --