My intention with this thread, starting Tuesday, January 24th, is to discuss the music of Sinead O'Connor. I will be going through all of Sinead O'Connor's songs, one by one, day by day: not only her originals, but her covers too. This will include B-sides, bonus tracks, and other side projects, including guest vocal spots and songs that she wrote for others (if any.) I will not to pretend to be the most knowledgeable expert of all of Sinead O'Connor's catalogue - not even the foremost expert on this forum! But I do think I can reliably post one song per day and hopefully any experts presentwill chime in with any relevant information. I will also be rating songs on a 1-5 scale, 5 being the best. I like doing this simply because, a) for some reason it helps me to focus my mind critically when I'm listening and b) although individual users' ratings mean nothing, collectively, when averaged, they are an interesting statistic. And I like to make playlists from the more highly-rated songs! Having said that one does not have to rate songs to participate in the thread. The main thing is to discuss the music of Sinead O'Connor, song-by-song and learn more about the music of this incredibly talented musician from Ireland -- for my money, unquestionably one of the the most talented musicians of her generation. One more thing: I do not plan on holding up unreleased/bootleg songs for rating; that does not mean that they cannot be discussed or referenced in their appropriate era by those who know about them; it only means that I won't make a separate entry for them. Let me be clear: Sinead O'Connor has a knack for making headlines. This is not a thread to dwell on Sinead's personal life, politics or various struggles, but to focus on the music -- personal issues may intersect with the music, but otherwise have only a peripheral place in this discussion. For clarity's sake, the albums I plan to go through are as follows: The Lion And The Cobra I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got Am I Not Your Girl Universal Mother Gospel Oak Faith And Courage Sean Nos Nua Throw Down Your Arms Theology How About I Be Me (And You Be You) I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss No Veteran Dies Alone Any live albums will be included in one day only discussions. Bonus tracks, non-album singles, B-sides, soundtrack songs, songs from compilations (Collaborations and She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow Of The Almighty and other rarities will be discussed after the album they are associated with or came closest too-- see any of my other song-by-song threads for a template.
This is going to be interesting. I have to admit that I don't consider "She Who Dwells ... " a compilation but an album of one studio disc and one live disc, no matter that the studio disc comprises songs which were not meant to necessarily be on the same album when they were recorded.
It might be simpler for me to treat it as a standalone album after all, particularly since there are so many songs on it whose vintage I'm unsure about. I'm going to have to do some research between now and before the thread starts. If I can't date most of the songs I will simply have to do most of the songs together at once.
Sinead is one of those artists whom I've only had the pleasure of hearing live one time but the show was so powerful (both the band and her voice!) that I vowed I'd drive across the state of Texas to see her again in concert, if the opportunity ever comes up. I only have a small handful of her albums (everybody bought "Lion and Cobra" but now that I look for my copy, I can't find it) so will be interested in learning about most of these when this thread takes off later.
Same here. I am going to lurk here. Maybe I’ll pipe up for the music I know, but I will follow along afterwards and get to know some of her later releases. Sinead has a great voice, and I adored her first album. I’m not sure why she fell off my radar.
She fell off my radar for a long time too; I think it's just that she became kind of unfashionable with all her personal issues and other celebrities like Madonna and Joe Pesci dissing her back in the 90s for her political views, which seems more and more petty and small-hearted with each passing year to me. I think that her stuff probably wasn't all that promoted after a point. I've recently re-discovered her and delved deep and I'm blown away. She has one of the best all 'round discographies of any artist of the last thirty years in my book, stunningly consistent -- at least her original songs. She's an amazingly personal singer with a once-in-a-lifetime voice and if she happens to be a little mad, well, so what? I know that involvement on this thread will probably be limited, as she is not particularly that popular on this forum; but as long as one or two fellow fans join me, I'm fine with that: exploring her very broad and wide-ranging discography, which is much bigger than one would expect, is a treat. She has an amazing amount of non-LP material and her love for traditional folk as well as sort of modern rock gives her stuff a sort of variety.
AS a the first part of a two-part "Prelogue" to the thread which will start on Tuesday, I'm going to hold up a song today and tomorrow. Today's song is "Take My Hand", written by In Tua Nua and Sinead O'Connor; produced by Steve Cooney. Background: "Take My Hand" is a real curiosity in Sinead O'Connor's career. At age 14, in the midst of a rather troubled childhood, and having run away from her abusive mother's home to live with her father, Sinead was enrolled in a variety of schools, including one school reserved for girls with "behavioural problems." That year she sang the song "Evergreen" at the wedding of one of her teachers and the brother of the bride, Paul Byrne, who was forming a new band was floored by the young girl's voice. Byrne and his new bandmates had recorded a few instrumental demos looking for a voice, and he asked if she'd like to record some with them and gave her a tape. Paul Byrne: Sinéad: The version above is a re-recording of the song Sinéad had recorded with the band, released on the Take My Hand EP by In Tua Nua in 1984. (I'll link to the the demo is below.) Line Up: Leslie Dowdall: vocals Ivan O'Shea: guitars Martin Clancy: synthesisers Vinny Kilduff: uillean pipes, tin whistle Steve Wickham: electric violin Jack Dublin: bass guitar Paul Byrne: drums The version above is a re-recording of the song Sinead had recorded with the band, released on the Take My Hand EP by In Tua Nua in 1984. (I'll link to the the demo is below.) A nine minute "12 inch version" was released on In Tua Nua's 1986 Italian compilation album Somebody To Love.
Take My Hand I’ve never heard either of these before, and I have to say I’m blown away. The demo version is amazing, and vastly superior to the longer, slower version. The song gives me chills, and the lyrics are deeply emotional - deeper than one would expect from a 14-year-old. Sinéad must have been a very special teenager. Her voice is lovely already and sounds very much like the “soft” voice she uses as an adult. I have always thought of Sinéad as an unusual amalgam of hard and soft at the same time, both in her singing and in her lyrics, sometimes in the same song. This is what makes her so interesting to me. These lyrics and this voice are clearly from “soft” Sinéad. I know I said I was going to lurk here, but this song really moved me, so I had to speak up. I will probably go in and out of lurkdom. Gotta give this 5/5. (Demo only.)
I never knew about the In Tua Nua connection, either - I mainly know Coming Through, which was a minor hit in Ireland in 1984. Their released version of Take My Hand is interesting but doesn't grab me too much. The Sinéad demo gives some hints of what was to come - nascent and unformed talent, but definitely present. Looking forward to this thread - I'm relatively familiar with Sinéad's discography and while it can be quite variable, there are plenty of masterpieces along the way (and a few horrors!). There were also a few albums that I either didn't spend a lot of time with (Theology) or where I had only minimal-if-at-all interest in the genre (Sean-Nós Nua and Throw Down Your Arms), so it'll be interesting to revisit and reappraise. Plus she has so many off-shoot collaborations, soundtrack songs, etc., to discuss - it's easy to forget just how much material she's released.
"Take My Hand"-- I also had not heard either of these versions until today -- the demo is unreleased and the "slow version" is a rarity, though not unfindable. I too find the demo far superior to the completed Steve Cooney produced version. The released version does have a strikign atmosphere and is really a complete reimagining of the song: it's wide spaciousness is lovely to listen to and I see what they were going for. Leslie Dowdall performance is pretty but my problem with it (when compared to the demo) is that the folky beauty of the melody seems kind of lost in this slow-motion atmospheric exercise; and I don't think the message of the words comes through. 3/5 for that version The words are very interesting indeed for a 14 year old; they lack the soul-baring directness of much of Sinéad's later work, but they are firmly embued with the spiritual mysticism that permeates so much of her work. But mainly the melody, simple and lovely just works for me. Sinéad's voice, while still in very developing mode, lacks the deep technique and the many hues and moods that she would have developed by the time of her debut in 1987. But it's still breathtaking, pure and simple, and the melody soars when she sings and the words make themselves known in a way that Dowdall doesn't seem to make happen (though the slowed-down arrangment may be to blame for that) There's a sort of indefinable magic on this demo that transcends the (frankly) dodgy cassette-sounding sound and murkiness. 5/5 for the demo.
I have not heard those yet, to be honest. They may be brilliant, but I especially love her original songs. But I will be going through those as well. You are right: she has a huge amount of non-album songs on soundtracks and compilations. It would be nice if one day they were compiled on some release; many of them are not available on streaming platforms.
I would place them both far from brilliant! Although I’m sure they have their fans, too. The last things I needed from Sinéad were trad Irish folk songs (I’m fine with the odd track or collaboration, but a whole album including some real cheese? No, thanks…) and extended roots reggae jams. Maybe I’ll find something appealing in there this time around.
Following. I know the first few albums and then like many, lost track. I don't judge here never have. Its an artist's muse to be 'different'.
I'm not a Sinead fan, so I'm not sure I should be posting here, but I stopped in to check things out because Lance has orchestrated some threads on other artists that I've enjoyed a lot. I love the song she did with the Edge, "Heroine". But the only album of hers I have is Sean Nos Nua, which is really good, but her hits never did anything for me. If I find I'm negative about everything, don't worry, I'll drop out. Anyway, take what follows with that in mind. "Take My Hand" - I couldn't finish this, it was so incredibly boring. Nine minutes of dripping water would be more interesting. 1/5. "Take My Hand (demo)" - This is better, but it's marred by the funk bass and the washed out music in the "Take My Hand" part. These are good lyrics for a 14 year old, but they aren't particularly interesting in and of themselves. Anyway, less boring but still boring. 2/5
This is exactly it, at least in the U.S.A. I remember there was some kind of anti-Sinead protest here in which her CDs/cassettes/LPs were crushed by a steamroller. Just...dumb. I'm mostly familiar with her first two and Lay Down Your Arms. What an amazing voice.
I agree; and the performance was so stunning! but personally I think Am I Not Your Girl? is what put me off more than anything now that I think back.A record of covers? For some reason that made me uninterested: not a comment on the record because I didn’t even listen to it at the time; and in fact I like it now! But at the time I found the idea so boring that I stopped paying attention. Maybe I thought she was creatively bankrupt. Nowadays, however, I realise that Sinéad is as much a creative interpreter of songs as she is a songwriter and cover albums are just kind of how she rolls every once in a while. There is a sort of folk singer facet to her talent and those albums reflect that. She really wants to sing the songs she sings and she has something to say with them, in a way.
Just popping by to say that my earliest concerts included In Tua Nua at the Summit Inn in Howth. They had such promise, with sprawling, melodramatic, atmospheric songs that, in hindsight, were always going to be difficult to capture on record. Fabulous musicians (Steve Wickham before the Waterboys, Vinnie Kilduff on pipes and tin whistle, the great Jack Dublin on bass) but Leslie Dowdall, as lovely as she was (and is), is perhaps too mannered a singer. I hadn't heard the demo of "Take My Hand" before - I agree it's better than the dragged out than the Island version.
Glad to see you’re doing one of these for Sinead. I have 5 of her CDs and loved them all but also skipped or didn’t know about others, it’ll be good to here some that I missed. Those first 2 albums tho.. wow! The above Take My Hand.. I’d love to hear Sinead sing that Steve Cooney produced version. It might have had a bit more of an interesting edge to it. It is beautiful though and the first lines almost sound like Sinead. 4/5 But the demo is pretty amazing for what it is- the ending here is very similar to the ending of Troy. She sure hit the ground running! 5/5
Take My Hand — the produced version doesn't get my attention at all, but I think that demo with Sinéad is a good 3.4/5. In advance I will say I was really into the records thru Am I Not Your Girl? and then after that the balance of material seemed to shift away from the intensity that really drew me in, so my interest waned and also I think the quality becomes more variable, though Universal Mother really struck me as solid. After Gospel Oak, which I also liked, I stopped getting her albums upon release, waiting til I saw a used CD or whatever, and there will be a lot of stuff I have heard maybe only once or twice which should make for interesting listening.
