A Child's Adventure

By 1983, the shock waves of Marianne Faithfull’s 1979 punk and new wave-inspired classic *Broken English* had settled into a comfortable acceptance where her weathered croak of a singing voice was an expected force and her collaborations with Barry Reynolds, Ben Brierley and Wally Badarou were routinely held to a high standard but not likely to garner new converts. *A Child’s Adventure* offers no stunning revelations, but is a solid continuation of her adult concerns that contains several of her finest tunes. “Times Square” is a cinematic tour de force of an era when the New York landmark was a dangerous place and not the Disney-endorsed playground of the new millennium. “The Blue Millionaire” hints towards the torch-ballads and smoky resonance she would explore more fully with 1987’s *Strange Weather*. “Falling from Grace,” “Running For Our Lives” and “She’s Got a Problem” express Faithfull’s uneasiness and empathy towards people struggling with sobriety, as she knew the pitfalls all too well.

A Child's Adventure is thus more listenable, but less compelling, than her other albums of the period.