release date: Feb. 21, 2012
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,60]
producer: John Reynolds
label: One Little Indian - nationality: Ireland
Track highlights: 1. "4th and Vine" - 2. "Reason with Me" - 3. "Old Lady" - 4. "Take Off Your Shoes" - 5. "Back Where You Belong" - 6. "The Wolf Is Getting Married" - 7. "Queen of Denmark" - 9. "I Had a Baby"
9th studio album by Sinéad O'Connor follows 4½ years after the double album Theology (Jun. 2007). Back on this, is producer, drummer and co-composer (and O'Connor's first husband) John Reynolds, and that alone has been some sort of guarantee of a more coherent and better album in the discography of Sinéad O'Connor. The album also welcomes back guitarist Marco Pirroni, who played on O'Connor's first two albums and on Universal Mother.
The album is a return to the music most people will associate with the artist's name. It's pop / rock and it's more uptempo than any of her recent albums - in fact, since her great 1990 international breakthrough. There are no reggae or traditional Irish folk songs here, and for those who thought O'Connor was all over with, this might be something to check out. Lyrically, she hasn't changed one bit, as it's very personal songs about lived life, life as a mother, a lover, and it's also quite private songs about being in love, having babies with someone else, and not knowing where to turn to when life makes you stumble along the way. In that way, not much has changed in O'Connor's lyrical universe, but what's important here, is her ability to turn the songs into catchy melodies, again.
It's a mighty difficult job to try to rank her albums after the first two "wonders". This is defintely one her better attempts in finding back to whatever worked in the beginning of her career. There's a fine balance of soft and hard, uptempo and slow, and in that way the album comes through as a diverse and fulfilling experience. It becomes evident that O'Connor no longer possess the same singing voice, which allowed her to reach extreme high pitches, but there's an underlying force when instead she expresses deeper emotions, whether it's done with a near whisper, a rasp, or by yelling out forcefully.
To me, this was a nice surprise as I didn't expect much - and it's actually a lot. Imo, this is simply her fourth best album overall, which really makes it worthwhile. My personal top 5 by Sinéad O'Connor goes like this: 1) I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990), 2) The Lion and the Cobra, 3) Faith and Courage (2000), and after this one 5) Sean-Nós Nua (2002).
Recommended.
