A Secret Life

1995’s *A Secret Life* begins with a quote from Dante’s *Divina Commedia* for the album’s “Prologue” and its dark, historical text serves as a warning that this is to be one heavy trip. (The album ends with an “Epilogue” from Shakespeare’s *The Tempest*). Marianne Faithfull hadn’t recorded an album of new material since 1983’s *A Child’s Adventure* and her last studio album, 1987’s masterful collection of blues, torch and pop songs, the Hal Willner-produced *Strange Weather*, left Faithfull stylistically open to many possibilities. She decided to team up with composer and producer Angelo Badalamenti, whose ominous work on David Lynch’s *Twin Peaks* made him an intriguing and worthy collaborator. Together, the two score the perfect soundtrack to a non-existent film noir, with slow, sparse but gorgeously orchestrated settings. Reminiscent in spots of Nico’s electronic work (*Camera Obscura*) with its cold, creepy, futuristic pulses (“Flaming September”) and often deliciously languid (“Sleep,” “Love in the Afternoon”), *A Secret Life* stands as one of Faithfull’s most underrated works.