Before The Poison - Marianne Faithfull
Before The Poison Image
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.9 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 14 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Faithfull's latest comes with some all-star assistance: P.J. Harvey wrote, produced and performed on over half of the tracks, with Damon Albarn and Nick Cave contributing to others.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Stylus Magazine
    100
    Before The Poison isn’t flashy, and it’s likely to get overlooked, but it may just be the single best album Marianne Faithfull has ever put her name to.
  2. Uncut
    80
    Probably the most potent album she's made since Broken English. [Nov 2004, p.102]
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  3. Playlouder
    80
    If anything this year's model raises the stakes on its predecessor.
  4. Blender
    60
    Faithfull could use more stories to work with: she's a better singer of narratives than exotic phrases. [Mar 2005, p.140]
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See all 25 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. TimQ
    10
    This is the best album she has done since "Broken English". Both of course are excellent !!
  2. GREGW
    10
    Before The Poison is as addictive as Marianne is Fabulous!!! The more I listen to and connect to her tracks- The higher I become..... Go MARIANNE!!!!!!!… Expand
  3. Mack
    8
    Songs where her voice is "bleeding" are magnificent. The rest is just OK.
  4. KervinH
    6
    Her haunting voice sounds older than before, but the songs are well writen, as one would expect from P J Harvey, Nick Cave and (to a lesser extent) Damon Albarn. Cave's tracks sit comfortably alongside his 'The Boatman's Call' album, Harvey doesn't surprise, but thats not necessarily a bad thing, while Albarn continues his lyrical yearn to join Ray Davis' 'Village Green Preservation Society.' However, in my opinion, each track would be better suited to the unique vocal talents of those who wrote them.… Expand

See all 11 User Reviews

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