Negative Capability (album)

Negative Capability is the twenty-first studio album by British singer Marianne Faithfull. It was released on 2 November 2018, and produced by Rob Ellis, Warren Ellis and Head. Described as her "most honest album", songs on Negative Capability deal with themes of love, death, as well as terrorism and loneliness. She revisits three old recordings: "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" from Rich Kid Blues, recorded in 1971 under the title Masques, which is her 'lost' album and was not released until 1985; "Witches Song", from 1979's comeback album Broken English; and "As Tears Go By", which started her career as a 17-year-old. Faithfull recorded it for the second time aged 40 on 1987's Strange Weather. The rest of the songs are, with one exception, all new and co-written by Faithfull with help from some of her long time collaborators like Nick Cave and Ed Harcourt. The "Loneliest Person" is a cover of a Pretty Things composition from their 1968 album S.F. Sorrow.

Negative Capability
A photo of Faithfull seated, wearing a robe and holding a cane
Studio album by
Marianne Faithfull
Released2 November 2018 (2018-11-02)
RecordedJanuary 2018
StudioLa Frette Studios, Paris
Genre
Length42:30
LabelPanta Rei
Producer
Marianne Faithfull chronology
No Exit
(2016)		 Negative Capability
(2018)		 She Walks in Beauty
(2022)
Singles from Negative Capability
  1. "The Gypsy Faerie Queen"
    Released: 14 September 2018

The lead single, "The Gypsy Faerie Queen", was released on 14 September 2018.

Background and development

The album was first announced in December 2017 in Faithfull's interview with Uncut.[1] The album's title is a reference to the famous phrase "negative capability" used by Romantic poet John Keats in 1817 in a letter to his brothers.

Music and lyrics

Described by Faithfull as "the most honest record she's ever made", Negative Capability has a "folky" feel. "They Come at Night" was written with Mark Lanegan following the November 2015 Paris attacks. Faithfull said she got the idea from producer Hal Willner, and his theory that every seventy years the Nazis return in some form or another. She debuted the song during her concert at the Bataclan theatre in November 2016, a year after the terrorist attack took its place there.[2]

Artwork and packaging

Shot by Yann Orhan, the cover art for the album was released on 5 September 2018.

Singles

On 13 September 2018, "The Gypsy Faerie Queen" was serviced to several radio stations in Europe as the album's lead single. It was released to online music stores on 14 September 2018 along with the album becoming available for pre-order.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.3/10[3]
Metacritic88/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
The 405(8.5/10)[5]
AllMusic[6]
Clash(9/10)[7]
Crack Magazine(8/10)[8]
The Guardian[9]
MusicOMH[10]
NME[11]
Pitchfork(8/10)[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Vice (Expert Witness)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[14]

Negative Capability was met with "universal acclaim" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 88 based on 14 reviews.[4]

Writing for AllMusic, Mark Deming explained: "The performance on Negative Capability comes from a vocalist who has learned a lot more about love, heartache, and the good and bad places that fate can take you than the 18-year-old ever imagined she could know. It's more than a little rueful, but also full of hard-won wisdom, and the rough edges of her voice only add to the resonance of the performance."[6] Cameron Cook of Crack Magazine wrote: "On her 21st solo album Negative Capability, her husky voice grazes atop a pruned collection of 10 songs, some new, some revisited, but all bearing her trademark haunting aura."[8] Mark Beaumont of NME said: "Marianne husks in a last love letter to old friends and lovers. It doesn’t define ‘Negative Capability’, however; the record might read like a last testament, but it bristles with warmth and life, a 40-minute reason to stay positive."[11]

Track listing
Negative Capability[15]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Misunderstanding"
4:04
2."The Gypsy Faerie Queen"
3:40
3."As Tears Go By"
3:52
4."In My Own Particular Way"
4:21
5."Born to Live"
  • Marianne Faithfull
  • Ed Harcourt
3:39
6."Witches Song"
4:57
7."It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" (Re-recorded)Bob Dylan5:01
8."They Come at Night"
3:40
9."Don't Go"
  • Marianne Faithfull
  • Ed Harcourt
4:20
10."No Moon in Paris"
  • Marianne Faithfull
  • Ed Harcourt
4:56
Negative Capability — deluxe version (bonus tracks)[16]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Loneliest Person"
2:52
12."No Moon in Paris" (radio edit)
  • Marianne Faithfull
  • Ed Harcourt
3:26
13."They Come at Night" (alternative version)
  • Marianne Faithfull
  • Mark Lanegan
3:36

Personnel
  • Marianne Faithfull – vocals
  • Nick Cave – backing vocals (1), additional vocals (2), piano (2)
  • Rob McVey – guitar (1–4, 7–13), piano (7), synthesiser (7), backing vocals (2)
  • Ed Harcourt – piano (1, 3, 5–6, 9–12), bass guitar (2, 10–12), baritone guitar (3, 8, 13), keyboards (4), wurlitzer (5, 6), rhodes (7), organ (7), harmonium (10, 12), backing vocals (2, 4, 9, 10, 12)
  • Warren Ellis – viola (1, 2, 10, 12), synthesiser (1, 7–9, 13), violin (3, 7, 11), keyboards (4, 11), piano (4, 7), synthesiser bass (4), alto flute (5, 6, 9), backing vocals (1, 2, 4), producer
  • Rob Ellis – drums (2, 4, 8, 11, 13), percussion (2–4, 7–9, 11, 13), synthesiser (4, 8, 13), piano (4, 7), bass synthesiser (5, 6), glockenspiel (10, 12), thumbjam synthesiser (13), backing vocals (1, 2, 4), producer
  • Head – producer

Charts

References
  1. "De 'Negative Capability' van Marianne Faithfull". daMusic. 23 December 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  2. "'I'm not afraid to return to Bataclan', says Marianne Faithfull". Malay Mail. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  3. "AnyDecentMusic Review". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. "Metacritic Review". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  5. McMullen, Chase (7 November 2018). "Marianne Faithfull delivers a crushing late career masterwork with Negative Capability". The 405. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  6. Deming, Mark. "AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  7. Smith, Mat (29 October 2018). "Clash Magazine Review". Clash. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  8. Cook, Cameron (2 November 2018). "Crack Magazine Review". Crack Magazine. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  9. Aroesti, Rachel (2 November 2018). "Negative Capability review – staggering meditation on ageing and death". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. Horton, Ross (2 November 2018). "MusicOMH Review". MusicOMH. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  11. Beaumont, Mark (2 November 2018). "NME Review". NME. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. Osmon, Erin (19 November 2018). "Pitchfork Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  13. Grow, Kory (7 November 2018). "Marianne Faithfull Delivers Another Late-Career Masterwork on 'Negative Capability'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  14. Christgau, Robert (11 January 2019). "Robert Christgau on The Delines' Depth and Kacey Musgraves's Quiet Sell". Vice. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  15. "Negative Capability by Marianne Faithfull". Marianne Faithfull. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  16. "Negative Capability by Marianne Faithfull on Apple Music". iTunes. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  17. "Austriancharts.at – Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  18. "Ultratop.be – Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  21. "Lescharts.com – Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  23. "Irish Albums Chart: 9 November 2018". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  24. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 45, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  25. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  26. "Top 100 Albumes: Semana 45". Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  27. "Swisscharts.com – Marianne Faithfull – Negative Capability". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
  28. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
  29. "Jaaroverzichten 2018". Ultratop. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
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