 Sinéad O'Connor Here's an album that I always forget I like so much. Perhaps because I played it to death when it came out, it's not an album I put on to listen to almost ever. It's very tied to 1990 for me, although I wouldn't say it's dated – if anything, it sounds more relevant now that Fiona Apple and Sarah McLachlan have become superstars with similar music. Sinéad was a genuine radical back in the day, and listening to this CD now, I appreciate the feat of bringing such a stark album way the hell into the mainstream. Her songwriting was always catchy, but the intensity of her singing and the poetic honesty of her lyrics really should have precluded anything but cult status. Certainly her public foibles should have marginalized her even further, yet this album was enormous and probably continues to sell pretty well. She hasn't ever again reached this kind of commercial or artistic peak, which is a shame, because I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got seemed to promise more. She took a left turn with the big-band album that followed this and just kept on going. I thoroughly admire Sinéad O'Connor's integrity, although I wish she'd make another great one like this. Part of me wants to downgrade this album simply because it's well-regarded as a "harrowing masterpiece" (and if I EVER use that phrase to describe ANYTHING except for maybe a bottle of barbecue sauce, please take me out back and whip the bejesus out of me). Even so it's impossible to deny the power of these songs, which are at times very bitter, at times very beautiful, at times quite angry, at times political, and at times quite haunting. As with Fiona Apple and Tori Amos, you don't want to be on the other side of a bad breakup with Sinéad O'Connor, or else you can count on having your relationship detailed in great but very personal songs. I don't buy into the "angry" angle with Sinéad, although anger is definitely a component to her lyrics. That's just honesty, though. You'll find just as much anger directed at herself as anyone she seems to be attacking in these songs. Another aspect to the album that I never see discussed is its sonic quality, which is very dirty and almost underground-feeling despite loads of strings here and there. It's very uncompromising. The voice is amazing, capable of extreme beauty as well as shock, while never getting into Yoko-land. Of course, "Nothing Compares 2 U" was the reason 95% of the people bought the album, justifiably so, but you have to give Sinéad props for getting a hit single out of "The Emperor's New Clothes" – there's not too much anyone can relate to in that one, but it's a brilliantly catchy song. "Feel So Different," which opens the album, is probably my favorite listening now – moody strings and Sinéad's vocal working to build up a tension that doesn't really get relieved until a few tracks later when "The Emperor's New Clothes" finally kicks things in. Most of the songs are slow, but they're not samey, and each one counts. The sheer beauty of "Nothing Compares 2 U" is nearly matched by "Three Babies," and "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance" is just fantastic. "You Cause as Much Sorrow" is one that is always a treat to rediscover; "Black Boys on Mopeds" nearly teeters into "rock star gets political" but never goes overboard, and is sustained by a very pretty melody and super-simple acoustic arrangement. Probably the only song I'd say isn't up to snuff here is "Jump in the River," which I like, but just don't think is as good as the rest of the material on here. It should have been called "Jump 'N the Saddle" and been an epic "American Pie"-style song about the band that gave us "The Curly Shuffle," don't you think? What a beautiful loon Sinéad was and is. I bet she won't be correctly understood for 50 years. I say, get rid of all the media hype and the many stupid things that have been said about her (not always unwarranted, admittedly) and you're left with one of the most original musicians to have emerged in the last 15 years. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got is a bold and incredible album, worth a revisit if you haven't heard it in awhile. Hopefully the kids who are like 10 or 12 now will be able to get into Sinéad in a few years without any of the baggage those of us who were there have had to see attached. Ultimately, none of the extra-musical shenanigans will matter, and she'll be rightly hailed as cool and visionary.
Review by Tammy Whynot |