Broken English (studio album)
by Marianne Faithfull

Broken English by Marianne Faithfull
Year: 1979
Overall rank: 2,663rd   
Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 166 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1979 (49th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (480th)
Award Best albums of all time (2,663rd)

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Availability

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Broken English by Marianne Faithfull (CD, 2013)
Condition: Very Good


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Marianne Faithfull – Broken English 1979 Island ILPS 9570 Jacket NM- Vinyl VG+
Condition: Used


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Marianne Faithfull Broken English og 1983 Island Records VG++ why’d ya do it
Condition: Used


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Marianne Faithfull bestography

Broken English is ranked as the best album by Marianne Faithfull.

Marianne Faithfull album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (2,663rd)
Broken English
Lower ranked (7,973rd) »
Strange Weather

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Broken English track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 80 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (850 - 48 votes)
Average Rating: 85 (48 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 75 (25 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 75 (23 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 79 (27 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 76 (24 votes)Comments: View 0
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Average Rating: 83 (36 votes)Comments: View 1
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Average Rating: 82 (29 votes)Comments: View 0
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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Broken English rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 2,663rd | 1970s rank: 480th | 1979 rank: 49th

Broken English collection

Broken English ratings

Average Rating: 
77/100 (from 166 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 166 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
75/100
 !
12/04/2025 14:47 Jakor   4,88269/100
 
75/100
 !
10/29/2025 17:42 markl73   51179/100
 
80/100
 !
10/04/2025 21:24 mrmcrook   99577/100
 
60/100
 !
09/14/2025 21:32 Olli   6,67264/100
 
70/100
 !
06/09/2025 08:44 MemphisDelft   11681/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.1/100, a mean average of 76.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.4/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.5.

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Broken English favourites

Showing all 17 members who have added this album as a favourite

Broken English comments

Showing all 8 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 11/02/2022 21:53 | #290999
Unmistakable voice. Gotta love the smokey huskiness of it. Couple of crackers. Bit of filler. She done well with her rendition of 'Working Class Hero'. For some reasons I had higher expectations for this album. It's good. Just not massively great
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
10/100
From 10/14/2021 18:28 | #275008
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (1 helpful | 4 unhelpful)
From 09/12/2021 17:44 | #273667
This album deserves to be in the top 10 of 79. Brave and angry, there was nothing else quite like it by a female artist that year.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 05/05/2021 09:24 | #269368
I love the electronic touches. Even straight up Kraftwerk-y on The Ballad of Lucy Jordan; probably the best track too. Her singing seems skip at instants, which is interesting at first, the it becomes annoying, and then goes back to interesting.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/29/2018 22:33 | #221853
A lot of post punk, soft rock, blues, and disco influence on what is otherwise a tight and occasionally transcendent record--I mean, that title track. I dig it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/27/2016 15:38 | #171879
Excellent record. Atmospheric and extremely raw in places, especially the vitriolic closing track, why d'ya do it. The rest is fine, with, the ballad of Lucy Jordan, one of the highlights, and used to great effect on the Thelma and Louise soundtrack. Broken English, is probably Marianne Faithful's best album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +4 votes (4 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 03/19/2016 06:10 | #162189
Increíble disco, nunca lo había escuchado, suena como una combinación entre el "Horses" de Patti Smith e Iggy Pop y David Bowie en la época berlinesca. Su voz casi afónica tiene cierto encanto. El cover de "Working Class Hero" de John Lennon es alucinante. La canción "Why D'Ya Do It?" es indecentemente pegajosa y, como broche de oro, la portada es magnifica, esos colores, esa pose. Ni pensar que descubrí esta joya escuchando las recomendaciones que me da Spotify, ¡qué gran sugerencia!
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 06/30/2009 10:06 | #4979
After years as a "pop" star and some awful producers, MF and her musicians finds her voice and tear into new territory. Her own compositions hit the mark with their thoughtful lyrics. (Not many people know that the title track was inspired by the Baader Meinhof Gang.) The covers hit the mark as well; her version of "Working Class Hero" with its simply but ominous bassline brings it to the level of bitterness that John had in mind. In fact, Yoko would compliment her for this rendition.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +6 votes (6 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1979
1. London Calling by The Clash
2. The Wall by Pink Floyd
3. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
4. Fear Of Music by Talking Heads
5. Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
6. Breakfast In America by Supertramp
7. Entertainment! by Gang Of Four
8. Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. Highway To Hell by AC/DC
10. Reggatta De Blanc by The Police
11. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
12. Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
13. Ambient 1: Music For Airports by Brian Eno
14. Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
15. The B-52's by The B-52's
16. Armed Forces by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
17. Specials by The Specials
18. 154 by Wire
19. Singles Going Steady by Buzzcocks
20. Setting Sons by The Jam
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