As the sleeve notes more or less admit, this album is no 'best of'. It's a selection of Marianne Faithfull's recordings for Decca up to about 1969. The sleeve notes point out that (at the time they were written) she'd been recording for thirty years since then.
And actually Marianne Faithfull's voice changed distinctly — for the better — in the later part of the career. Decades of smoking gave it much more character. I'd played about three-quarters of this album before Lucy asked me who it was, and she couldn't believe it was Marianne Faithfull.
The version of House of the Rising Sun here isn't as good as Bob Dylan's or the Animals'. Scarborough Fair isn't as good as Martin Carthy's or Simon and Garfunkel's. Monday Monday isn't a patch on the Mamas and Papas. Four Strong Winds isn't as good as Neil Young's version (I don't know the original) and Sunny Goodge Street isn't as good as Donovan's. I think you get the picture.
 MusicBrainz entry for this album
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