Sinead O'Connor - Faith & Courage
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Sinead O'ConnorEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2000-06-13
Music Label: Atlantic
Soundtracks:
- The Healing Room
- No Man's Woman
- Jealous
- Dancing Lessons
- Daddy I'm Fine
- 'Til I Whisper U Something
- Hold Back the Night
- What Doesn't Belong to Me
- The State I'm In
- The Lamb's Book of Life
- If U Ever
- Emma's Song
- Kyrie Eleison
Free Music Notes for Faith & Courage
Free Music Review: Classic Piece of New Millennium Music
Hit: 5 Stars
It seems hard to believe that Sinead's big "comeback" on Atlantic took place two years ago, with this incredibly diverse and musically brilliant album. I still listen to it more than I have listened to most of my other CDs, and part of the reason is that the emotional impact of this song collection is as vital as the immaculate, sparkling musical production. Sinead has always been experimental and courageous with her spare sort of melodies, but on this work, she allows new styles to weave a little enchantment around the edges of her phrasing, her tones, her lyric twists and turns. Here we find everything striking a gorgeous balance. She doesn't abuse the ambient, electronic, Celtic, reggae, and hip-hop influences at work here--she makes them service the songs, and the songs are often startling. Why Atlantic didn't bother to really promote more than just the first single in this set stuns me: with its virtually unanimous critical acclaim,'Faith & Courage' deserved the full studio push. "The Healing Room," with its trancey, trippy electronics and the assured, spell-casting quality of Sinead's lyric and vocal, represents the classic "new" Sinead in all her glory. "No Man's Woman," co-written with Scott Cutler and Anne Preven is probably her best "direct impact" rock hook ever, but the choice as first single was a misfire (why "ease" Sinead O'Connor back into the spotlight by putting big money behind a song that will divide people right off-the-mark, and set a considerable amount of folks *against* even giving the rest of the album a listen?!? I'm not questioning the artistic value or power of this churning, massive tune, just the waste of record company money). "Jealous" is positively the most elegant piece of musical treacle and vocal prowess we've seen from her in years--preserving all of her emotive powers and integrity in a song that could have encountered immense mass-appeal had it been given a real chance at radio. Sadly, by the time it was released, Atlantic no longer had the budget to make those nasty radio-station pay-offs needed to get a song into suitable rotation. They could have bet their chops on this one first thing and the record would have gained the mass audience it deserves. The rest of the record is almost spectral in its floating elegance: Sinead charming your pants off in the Wyclef Jean-produced "Dancing Lessons"; Sinead punk-thrashing what is likely her best-written song ever, "Daddy I'm Fine" (Another better choice for a first single); Sinead laying back for an astonishing Celtic-club groove with "Whisper"; Sinead raising gooseflesh with a heart-rending power ballad, the Hogdens-penned "Hold Back the Night." This song, though a cover, should have been the first single. Part of Sinead's magic is her ability to cover as powerfully as she can perform her own material, and it was a cover that gave *more" people a chance to know who she was to begin with. "Night" is an astonishing, unforgettable song. Atlantic had a worldwide hit with this and they blew it. After this tune the record slips just a notch, but only because it loses a touch of its cohesiveness. Sinead starts going all over the place. The songs are great, but perhaps the sequencing of the album could have been a bit more micro-managed. "Stae I'm In" (another Cutler/Preven work) is Sinead in pure AAA Radio pop mode, and though it's a strong track, a highly effective track, it's not really Sinead O'Connor at all. Not believable. But it works because her vocal performance nails the original mood of the composition with technical perfection. "Lamb's Book of Life" is bombastic and very well orchestrated, but about three verses too long. "If U Ever" (a Celtic country weeper about Sinead's deceased mother)is a four star effort for the sheer emotion alone, even if Sinead's writing here is very, very lazy (.."you got into your car, and you drove as far...as you could and even FARther..." [disappointing]). The next two tracks stamp the finished product with the brilliance that it deserves: "Emma's Song" is a soaring Sinead classic if there ever was one, and her idiosyncratic rendering of "Kyrie Eleison" against a chaotic reggae loop is pure genius. A moving, bewitching, shockingly good record overall, on a par with her first two albums (but perhaps not quite quite as musically brilliant as her second), this one will have legs for years to come, as the word-of-mouth cult status of 'Faith and Courage' is already legendary. It will end up selling more in the long-run than it ever did during Atlantic's brief but high-profile media blitz. By the way: the word is out now that O'Connor is soon releasing a stirring new album of irish traditionals crossed with electronica: the fusion promises to be a winner: how could a return to her deepest soul-roots combined with all she has learned musically over the years NOT be an instant classic? Looking well forward to that one when it arrives. But buy 'Faith & Courage' and add it to your collection. You'll never forget it, and you'll never stop being haunted by its sounds.
Faith & Courage Poster
Australian version of the long awaited fifth album from thecontoversial lesbian priest with 1 exclusive bonus track 'Emma's Song' (Adrian Sherwood Mix). Includes the first single'No Man's Woman'. *Now available for $2 less thanpreviously advised! 2000 release. Standard jewel case.As a controversial artist who's confounded and even repelled fans, Sinead O'Connor returns with a pop triumph. Demonstrating an ability to move fluidly from raucous rock to ethereal reggae, O'Connor's pop sensibilities sparkle without sacrificing her hard-won wisdom and spiritual enlightenment. Faith and Courage shows us both. --Kevin Cole
Throughout much of her career, Sinéad O'Connor's personal torments and passions have been played out in public, frequently overshadowing the poetry of her music. The tabloid-fueling antics that led up to Faith and Courage created the perception of a woman on the fringe, but this album redirects attention back on her considerable talents. Faith and Courage unveils the rebellious Irishwoman as a sexy, vulnerable, emotional artist who's stared down her demons and is ready to revel in her triumphs. The album's you go, girl sentiment is pumped up by strong R&B and hip-hop elements. Its crisp acoustic guitar arpeggios and air-tight beats (think TLC's Fanmail) snap like the crack of a belt on "Daddy I'm Fine," "'Til I Whisper U Something," and "Dancing Lessons." Brian Eno, Eurythmic Dave Stewart, bassist Jah Wobble, and Wyclef Jean help O'Connor leverage the album's radio-ready rhythms into everything from power pop to Celtic mysticism. Lyrically, O'Connor acknowledges her periodic lack of judgment, but makes no apologies, opting instead to carry the torch for feminine sexuality, financial independence, soul searching, and her right to shave her head, wear leather boots, rock out, and still be a good mother. In other words, Sinead brings home the bacon and fries it up in a pan, millennium style. --Beth Massa
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