MIXED MEDIA : *** “BLAZING AWAY” Marianne Faithfull, <i> Island Visual Arts videocassette ($19.95)</i> : <i> Items in this periodic survey of pop-related books, videocassettes and laser discs are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to five (a classic). </i>

A church turns out to be a fine theater for Marianne Faithfull’s drama. There is something quasi-religious in the ferocity of her emotions as she strives for transcendence, and when she descends into the fires of guilt and degradation, the sanctuary offers a welcome refuge. In this 1989 performance at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, Dr. John and Garth Hudson beam in to join her regular sidemen, and director Larry Jordan keeps finding new visual perspectives without forcing it or losing unity. The concert unfolds like the chapters in a book--a good book.