Sinead O'Connor - Theology
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Free Music Notes for Theology
Free Music Review: No Apologies.
Hit: 3 Stars
I went back and listened to songs from each of O'Connor's cds, and the one thing that struck me was that her vocals on "Theology" are not up to the standards she set on "The Lion And The Cobra" or "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got". Just listen to "Mandinka", "Three Babies" or "Black Boys On Mopeds" and you'll hear what I mean.
Still, there's no one who can emote quite like O'Connor can. She knows how to pull a wide range of emotional strings even on her worst days. So her singing aside, what you're left with is two discs of soul searching hymns to God. Many of these songs are written by O'Connor herself, which makes them more compelling. If you're expecting pop or reggae music, well Sinead doesn't give you what you want. What you get instead is one disc of stripped down tracks and one disc of more orchestrated, full band tracks. She repeats the same 10 songs on each disc. I found that I liked certain versions from both discs rather than either disc in its entirety.
My choice cuts are as follows: From the Dublin sessions: "Something Beautiful" is richer, more direct than the London sessions version, and same goes for "Out Of The Depths". "If You Had A Vineyard" is more nuanced in its stripped down form along with "The Glory Of Jah" and "Whomsoever Dwells".
From the London sessions: "Out Of The Depths" is the only song I liked on both session discs. "33" and "Watcher Of Men", and unlike others, I liked her version of the Jesus Christ Superstar song "I Don't Know How To Love Him".
In total, I have 9 songs out of the 22, or a little less than half, thus the three star rating. I like O'Connor, but the whole doesn't add up to the parts. Again, I don't think "Theology" showcases O'Connor's strength as a vocalist.
Free Music Review: Her Best Since "I Do Not Want..."
Hit: 4 Stars
My headline may seem like an overstatement, but this is how I see it. Every effort Sinead has put forth since 1990 has been uneven with moments of brilliance. Universal Mother is about 1/3 brilliant, 2/3 middling to terrible. Faith and Courage is a muddled, overproduced mess with too few moments where Sinead's true voice makes it to the surface...not a bad album, but not a classic. Am I Not Your Girl and Throw Down Your Arms are a conundrum: Sinead fans don't want big band music or reggae; and fans of those genres probably don't have much use for Sinead, good as those albums may be. These two decade have given us many highs..."Release," "Fire on Babylon," "It's all Good," "Full Circle." Some of the best recordings of her career.
But with Theology, she finally emerges with an album of mostly original material and you can tell she's writing and singing from the heart. It mostly works. There are a few duds here, but nothing all out worthless. The clunky lyrics and droning tune of "Out of the Depths" is redeemed by the conviction in her soaring voice, and the gorgeous decrescendo: "I long for you as watchmen long for the end of night." A few too-literal clunkers aside, some of her lyrics here are the best of her career...the songs are poetry.
"Whomsoever Dwells" is the classic here. The lyrics are amazing, her voice powerful, the tune and production are uniquely Sinead. Other high points are "Glory of Jah," "Something Beautiful," and "Watcher of Men."
This album is definitely not the dud may have judged it to be (Rolling Stone, with it's 1-star review, clearly didn't bother playing the whole thing). And I'm not even Christian. This is just an enjoyable, heartfelt album, and Sinead really hasn't lost her integrity.
Simply put, I never thought she'd put out an album I liked this much again. I saw her new releases as obligatory purchases, not reasons to be excited. I'm thrilled to be proven wrong.
Free Music Review: keep on surprising me!
Hit: 5 Stars
To read the reviews here, one would wonder if everyone was listening to the same album. I have to feel sorry for the people who have such trained ears that all they can hear are the negatives. I also have listened to her music since the mid 80's and can remeber being awe struck by her. I also long for an album that is more like her older albums, but this album, like all of her previous, finds it way to shine bright. I am not a reader of the bible nore a fan of that faith, but she has a way of capturing the meaning of faith without preaching. I can not stop singing the songs in my head or out loud in my car. I can not wait to hear these songs live and to feel her energy envelope the room again. I agree 100% with the reviewer that said this album commands your attention, it is not background music. This is one of her best albums.Free Music Review: Sinead brings us religion
Hit: 5 Stars
"Theology" is just what the CD title delivers: Sinead O'Connor's religious songs, mostly paraphrasing psalms and the Song of Solomon. Curiously, it is presented as a double CD. The first is the Dublin studio recordings and the second is the London studio recordings of, for the most part, the same 10 songs. The Dublin sessions includes one extra track, 'Hosanna Filio David'. And, the London sessions includes one extra track, Weber and Rice's 'I Don't Know How to Love Him'.
Sinead's voice is in good form, but some may not understand the religious lyrics and be disappointed with her revision of the traditional 'Rivers of Babylon' and cover of 'I Don't Know How to Love Him'.
Free Music Review: A long time fan
Hit: 1 Stars
and I'm sad I have to write this. I have everything she's recorded that I can get my hands on and have seen her in concert a few times. She is close to being my all time favorite singer. I was so looking forward to this CD. Though I love everthing else she has done I was hoping so hard for another Gospel Oak or Universal Mother.
I had it on my Ipod five minutes after I opened it. I'm such a fan I actually buy the CD to have the liner notes and pictures instead of downloading. From the very start what a disappointment. I even waited to write a review hoping it would grow on me. It didn't.
It truly sounds like a High School garage band. Amateurish is not even the word to describe it. Its just bad. So bad I actually removed it from my Ipod.
I'm still a fan and will support her in the future and I'm hoping this is a one time horror.