A posthumous EP from Marianne Faithfull will arrive this Record Store Day. The four-track Burning Moonlight is led by the title track, which is available now. The moving ballad of resilience and acceptance was inspired by the opening line of her debut single “As Tears Go by” (“It is the evening of the day”). A limited edition vinyl EP will arrive as part of Record Store Day 2025 on April 12 via Decca with a digital release on June 6.
“As we grieve the loss of Marianne, we are pleased to announce the release of these songs which she worked on during the year before her death. Marianne lived to create and perform music – it was her driving force and she never stopped. Right up until the end she was looking forward to this release which now completes and celebrates her remarkable artistic career,” says Nicholas Dunbar, her son.
“It’s a good time to look back,” Faithfull said after completing the project “It helps me to remember all the things I’ve done. I can’t say I’m a particularly nostalgic person, but I am enjoying this period of reflection.”
The project was put on hold following Faithfull’s January 30 death. The four songs are inspired by Faithfull’s first two albums, which were released simultaneously 60 years ago on April 15, 1965. Per the EP’s executive producer Andrew Batt: “It was so unusual to start your career this way, so we decided to bring the music full circle. One side of the EP would be inspired by her debut pop LP Marianne Faithfull while the flip would honour her folk roots on ‘Come My Way.’”
The opener “Burning Moonlight” is followed by “Love Is,” an homage to her ‘60s pop sound written with her grandson Oscar Dunbar. Side 2 features “Three Kinsmen Bold,” a traditional folk song learned from her father Glynn Faithfull, and a new interpretation of “She Moved Thru’ the Fair,” which Faithfull performed throughout her life and first recorded in 1966.
The EP is produced by Head, with Rob Ellis, Oscar Dunbar and Andrew Batt. It includes specially commissioned artwork by the acclaimed Australian artist David Frazer. Head first worked with Marianne on her 2004 album Before The Poison and became a trusted friend and collaborator. “I’m so happy we found a time when Marianne felt able to write and sing again,” he says. “When she asked me to produce these songs, we were all aware that her health had made things difficult but, in true Marianne fashion, she persevered, and I think we were able to go in a new direction again – something she always tried to push herself to do throughout her long career.”
Order Marianne Faithfull’s Burning Moonlight now.
