"The Memory Remains" | ||||||||
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Single by Metallica featuring Marianne Faithfull | ||||||||
from the album ReLoad | ||||||||
B-side |
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Released | November 10, 1997 | |||||||
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Recorded | 1996 | |||||||
Genre | Heavy metal | |||||||
Length | 4:38 | |||||||
Label | Elektra | |||||||
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Metallica singles chronology | ||||||||
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"The Memory Remains" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica, with British singer and songwriter Marianne Faithfull singing backup. It was the lead single from their seventh studio album, ReLoad, released in 1997. It was first performed live in a "jam" version on July 2, 1996. Faithfull was brought in as James Hetfield felt her "weathered, smellin'-the-cigarettes-on-the-CD voice" fit what he described as "the whole eeriness of the Sunset Boulevard-feel of the song", given the lyrics tell the story of a faded artist who goes insane from losing her fame. The spoken words "Say yes, at least say hello" during the outro, are a reference to The Misfits, which is the last movie Marilyn Monroe starred in.
The song was written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Part of the intro riff is similar to Black Sabbath's song "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". It can be heard playing in the strip club Bada Bing! in the episode of The Sopranos, "The Knight in White Satin Armor".
The song's demo was also called "Memory" and was recorded in Lars Ulrich's home musical studio "Dungeon" on March 6, 1995 (take 1) and March 17, 1995 (take 2).
The band, with Marianne Faithfull, performed the song on the December 6, 1997 edition of Saturday Night Live. A live version of the song was released as B-side to the single "The Unforgiven II". It was later performed with the San Francisco Symphony (conducted by Michael Kamen) on S&M. Another live version was included on Orgullo, Pasión y Gloria. According to a post on Metallica's Facebook wall, they performed the song again with Marianne Faithfull on December 7, 2011, at the Fillmore in San Francisco.