I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got

I'm of course familiar with the name Sinead O'Connor but I can't say that familiarity extends to any of her music. Even the big single "Nothing Compares 2 U" didn't ring any bells, so all of this was fresh on me.

I've thoroughly enjoyed being served this album today. There's a gentle acoustic intimacy and deep vulnerability entwined with some genuinely interesting rhythmic patterns and instrumentation, where her Irish heritage really shines through. I can absolutely see how this would have appealed on release, touching upon difficult but relatable personal subjects and laying O'Connor's soul searching journey bare for all to see, whilst retaining a strong sense of authenticity and raw unfiltered energy. O'Connor had a wonderful voice packed with character, and she had a great knack for restraint and release between a soft whisper and an almost primal roar.

Such a beautiful voice, which soars on ‘nothing compares 2 U’ and ‘last day of our acquaintance’. Unfortunately the rest of the album just feels a bit flat despite some of the lyrical content.

Nothing Compares 2 U and 9 other songs.

No, that's mean..... but there's certainly an element of truth to it. NC2U is such a difficult song to top.

I loved the orchestration in Feel So Different - it was beautiful as it continued to build over the length of the song. I wish the length of the song wasn't nearly 7 minutes though. Unfortunately, that was followed by I Was Stretched On Your Grave, that was sonically extremely dated (lyrically too, but that's a lot more understandable given it's a 17th century poem).

Three Babies had a really pretty melody. The Emperor's New Clothes reminded me of Belinda Carlisle which wasn't a comparison I expected to make (liked it though). Black Boys On Mopeds was great.

And then NC2U... It turns out I don't like Prince albums. They're long and overly indulgent and too jam-based for me. But dear god, he wrote a good song here. Then gave it away (and subsequently regretted it, recording his own version). It's great, despite also sounding a little dated.

Jump In The River was fairly dull. You Cause as Much Sorrow also not my favourite, and Last Day Of Our Acquaintance was much the same although at least it has a bit of umph to it. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, as the final track, just focusing on Sinead's voice makes logical sense... But it's also my least favourite type of her songs, so a low point for me.

Overall, this is is a 3.5, but there's not enough for me to round up.

3/5

Amazing voice and vocal emotion

This album was on constant rotation in my house and my office and my car and all my friends’ cars when this record first came out. We were all obviously in a bit of a mood.

I hadn’t listened to it in ages, though, until she died a few years ago, and started picking it up again from time to time. The personal (and political) force behind these songs makes them so compelling.

Favorite track: “I Am Stretched On Your Grave,” an old Irish song that by her feels literal, especially how she sings it with just the marvelously harsh bass and drums until it breaks into the trad fiddling. I’ve now got it stuck in my head and I think it popped up in a dream last night. Great record.

It starts out strong, but loses its steam halfway through. Not bad, but not slas timeless as once believed. 3/5

Sinead houdt van het uitsmeren van lettergrepen. Normaal noem ik dat direct zeurend. Maar Sinead smeert het nog wat verder uit dan gebruikelijk, en dan is zeurend niet meer het gevoel wat bij mij wordt opgeroepen. Het lijkt vooral een manier om haar zang te etaleren. Want uiteindelijk draait dit album om de bekende zangstem van mevrouw. Het heeft haar in elk geval de dikke hit Nothing Compares 2 U gebracht. (Waarbij ik mij enigszins verwonder dat iemand met het imago van deze dame een 2 en een U gebruikt.)

Het is onmiskenbaar een eigen geluid. Maar een heel album van dat geluid vind ik wel veel. En niet op elk nummer pakt het even goed uit.

This is a great album. A little slow in parts. But man could this woman sing. And write a song. Nothing Compares 2 U is great and deserving of being the best know of her songs but there is a lot of great stuff on this record.
Poor Sinead O'Connor, she was dealt a terrible hand and the way the industry treated her is so sad. She should have been a much bigger name and known for her music more than (rightly) ripping up a picture of the pope on SNL. Like Yoko Ono, the way that everyone treated her should be seen as one of the times that everyone got it wrong. 4/5

Udara u dubine duše kao i sve što je ova divna žena ikad uradila. Neobičan zvuk, nevjerovatan glas, emocije do daske.

Not really a fan, but ok to listen to once. 2/5

There's something good going on here, I'm sure of it, I just don't have what it takes to appreciate it and I do not want what I haven't got.

An excellent voice, one of the most beautiful and vibrant I’ve ever heard; the way I viewed Sinead changed completely when I saw her tear up the photo of the Pope; seeing her protest and denounce a heinous crime that was taking place behind the Church’s closed doors made my respect for her grow exponentially! From then on, it was never just about the music. I felt pity, anger and frustration at all the suffering they caused her afterwards. I know exactly what I’m talking about, as Pope John Paul II was held in the highest regard, seen by those around me as a true saint – but the truth is that those very same people I dealt with knew what was going on in the Portuguese Church (yes, you read that right: these crimes took place in the Church, with a capital ‘C’, all over the world; no one was spared).

So may this beautiful artist live on forever in our memories, and may we never forget her voice, her energy and her courage.

For all that, a resounding 10/10

PS – the album is also spectacular and her music is marvellous

This feels like a record you need to listen to with context because without it, I don’t think the music stands out very much.

Intensely personal and politically charged, O'Connor raises the confessional to the sublime

Of course, Nothing Compares 2 U is the standout, but Black Boys on Mopeds, Emperors New Clothes, the amazing I am Stretched on Your Grave and Jump on the River all come close to equalling it.

You Cause as Much Sorrow, written, apparently, about her late mother and The Last Day of Our Acquaintance, about the end of her marriage are jaw dropping in their frankness.

The final song, the title track, is achingly beautiful, like a modern folk song sung a capella. Absolute master work. And she was, what, 23 when she made it?

Not sure any album has turned me around so completely. After the first two songs l thought I would have to stretch to give it a two star rating, knowing I would never give only one star to an album containing Nothing Compares To 2 U.
Then suddenly came a cluster of absolutely gorgeous songs. Suddenly it’s easily a four star album and I go back and revisit the first two tracks with a better understanding of the whole. It’s almost five stars worthy. It might get them. Because it’s an easy 4.5, and the song Three Babies may tilt me towards rounding up.
This album may not be perfect but there are moments that are so sublime they make me want to overlook the flaws.

3.8/5

𝗡𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝟮 𝗨 was such a huge hit that it has almost become shorthand for Sinéad O’Connor’s entire career. For many people, it is probably the only song of hers they could name, which is a shame because the album around it is genuinely strong.

O’Connor had a remarkable voice: fragile, intense, and capable of turning very simple arrangements into something emotionally powerful. The record is restrained rather than showy, and even if it never quite reaches the heights of its famous single again, it remains consistently compelling.

I sometimes wonder how differently her career might have unfolded if the controversies surrounding her had not so often overshadowed the music. Whatever one thinks of those public battles, her talent was never in doubt.

I might have to come back to this one. I certainly liked it but didn’t love it.

O'Connor was amazing for standing up to the wicked Catholic Church despite the deleterious effects on her career. Album is a snoozefest though

Sinead has a great voice, and I like the very limited amount of the more upbeat arrangements on here, but most of this is way too adult contemporary for me.