release date: Oct. 3, 2002
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,57]
producer: Sinéad O'Connor, Dónal Lunny, Alan Branch, Adrian Sherwood
label: Hummingbird Records - nationality: Ireland
Track highlights: 1. "Peggy Gordon" - 2. "Her Mantle so Green" - 3. "Lord Franklin" - 5. "Óró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile" - 6. "Molly Malone" - 9. "The Parting Glass" - 12. "Lord Baker" - 13. "I'll Tell Me Mam"
6th studio album by Sinéad O'Connor following nearly 2½ years after Faith and Courage (Jun. 2000). The 2000-album really came out as a strong reminder to everyone not to forget the artist Sinéad O'Connor, however, that album was her only album on Atlantic and her final on a major label, and it appears that private affairs often sat an impact on her music career. Up until the release of her fine 2000 album, O'Connor had only just ended a relationship, and she had been ordained priestess and 'Archdeacon'. In the Summer of 2001 she married British journalist Nick Sommerlad - a marriage which didn't last long as it came to an end some 11 months later - during which time this album was recorded. In the liner notes to the album, O'Connor writes: "This record is my heart. It is dedicated to my husband" - the album came out in Oct., 3-4 months after their marriage had ended. But somehow, the album still reflects a sort of stable period in her life, you could argue. At least, she looks quite happy. The album has been made with several folk instrumentalists, including acclaimed Irish folk artist Dónal Lunny, who is credited as co-producer and for playing acoustic guitar, bouzouki, keyboards, bodhran, and he contributes on backing vocals. The two never married but apparently they had an on / off relationship at a time when Dónal was in a marriage, and in 2004 O'Connor gave birth to Shane whose father is Dónal Lunny.
The album is far from the newfound form she delivered with her 2000 album. Instead, this is entirely what it says in Irish: 'Sean-Nós Nua' which translates to 'New Old Style', or: 'Old Style New' and it refers to the content with old Irish traditionals in new arrangements. And it's by no means made in an attempt to turn these national songs into modern pop / rock songs as they're keenly held in an Irish folk-tradition where bouzouki, bodhran, banjo, acoustic guitar, whistle, violin, and percussion are accompanying instruments to O'Connor's vocal. It's actually quite refreshing, and her vocal does fit the lamenting old lyrics quite nicely. It's a rather lengthy album running for more than 65 mins - track #12 exceeds all other tracks here in a near 12 minutes version.
Again, I didn't catch up on this when it came out, and it is a quite original release, although, you could argue that there's plenty of Irish folk out there, but fronted by O'Connor, I think this still has its own qualities to it, and in her discography it surely betters her vocal jazz and standards album from '92. In the discography of Sinéad O'Connor, counting ten studio albums, I list this as her fifth best, which still makes it a recommended listen.
[ allmusic.com, Record Collector 4 / 5, 👉Mojo 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, The Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]
