Customer Reviews

Am I Not Your Girl

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Reading the mostly negative reviews on this page, I simply HAD to come to the defence of this wonderful CD - one of my favorite albums of all time. I first got it on cassette when it was released in Eurasia in 1992, and wore the tape out. This is the perfect CD to wake up to and fall asleep to - probably the only other album with the same tranquil quality is Enya's 'Watermark' though thats a whole different genre of music.

For those not in the know, this album is Sinead O'Connor's only ever album of cover songs. From Andrew Lloyd Webber to American love songs from the 1940s, its a truly diverse field of musical compositions, and Sinead's husky, breathy vocals give these tunes a whole new life. Unfortunately, fans who expected more from her after the success of 1990's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' refused to settle for this strange new turn, which is why 'Am I not your Girl?' is often referred to as 'Sinead's big mistake'. However, a mistake it is not. It really IS a remarkable album, each song more stunning than the previous. Heres a review of all the tracks on the CD:

1. Why Don't You Do Right? : This Marilyn Monroe-esque track opens the album. Picture Sinead in a New York jazz bar in 1952 and you have it down pat.

2. Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered : One of contemporary music's most enthralling tracks, Sinead's version of it is extremely American in its' rendition, but she lends a Euro feel with her Ute Lemper-esque take on the vocal delivery. Brilliant.

3, 4, 5(Secret Love, Black Coffee,Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home) : These are the songs that the CD could have done without, but I'm not complaining. With such beautiful songs available on the CD, its a pity that O'Connor chose to release Track 5 as a CD-Single and Video. Naturally, it failed, as it lacks any kind of appeal.

6. Don't Cry for Me Argentina : If Edith Piaf, Madonna, and Sarah Brightman could cover this classic, why not Sinead? Agreed, this is not the best version (check out Yvonne Elliman's) but the harmony and orchestra are very true to the original.

7. I Want to Be Loved by You : Another lounge track. This one sounds like one of those ditties Marilyn sang for the coming-home troops.

8. Gloomy Sunday : Quite definitely the best song on the album. Combining Goth death appeal with a swoony love ballad is not everyone's talent or cup of tea, but our lady excels at it. This is quite possibly the torch song of the century.

The rest of the tracks are equally splendid, but I recently realized that the Japanese Version of this CD has Three extra tracks that aren't available anywhere else. If you can get your hands on that version, please do so! Its really worth it. The only real sore point of this whole thing is the instrumental version of 'Don't Cry for me Argentina' which is really the most Godawful thing I've heard. Ignore that, and go with the rest.

A sound investment. Highly recommended.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I purchased this CD. I was expecting more of the bitter, raw, politically driven music I have come to love. Boy was this a curve ball! But, behold, it is brilliant.

Sinead, in her oh so beautiful voice, provides a journey back to the swing era. Picture this fair lass in a smoky night club surrounded by a large band, playing music that congers up pictures of couples slow dancing, sipping scotch and wearing their Sunday best.

Ths CD offers a mix of slow and outright hoping tracks. I am thrilled I found this diamond in the rough.

Mix some grandiose orchestration with sultry but oh so soothing vocals. Add some longing, heartbreak and persistent hope. Spice it with seducing, Monroe-ish charm. There you have it: Sinead with a successful example of Big Band jazz. From the childish joy in "Secret Love" to the sweet melancholy in "Gloomy Sunday", she conveys an exquisite blend of emotions with her better-than-ever, "breathy" voice. She is a lost swan, really, singing the enchanting songs of a distant era, breathing them a new life. Even if you think that Sinead is not for you, this is one to have. Because it is pure gold, a tour de force!..

I don't know who decided that this album would be a strong follow-up to "i do not want what i haven't got", but they made a terrible marketing mistake that will likely leave Sinead a one-album wonder. (Okay, okay, some of her antics likely had a hand in her decline in popularity, but I digress).

This album is one of the most relaxing albums I have heard in a long time. Not afraid to stretch the range of her voice, O'Connor allows her voice to show vulnerability as well as passion. When I first saw the playlist I thought that she must have chosen this as a quick way to throw out an album after her commercial success, but her interpretation of these songs shows both practice and perseverance.

Once you start listening, you will first marvel that it is Sinead, then forget that it is and simply enjoy.

Just lookit that CD cover photo - it's practically Diane Arbus; you just KNOW there's something going on UNDERNEATH.

And there is, some of the time.

O'Conner's big band blowout does wear itself out - the better tunes are frontloaded - but when she's on, she's pretty white hot.

"Why Don't You Do Right?" has the right sass - fat saxes, floozy vocals, thumping drums; cool cat jive. "Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered" sports outrageous, sleazy lyrics but, with the most sensitive arrangement on the disc, the combination is emotionally giving; putting out (to borrow a term from the era), perhaps. "Love Letters" and "Secret Love" are nice enough - somewhat short of immortality, alas. "Success Has Made A Failure Of Our Home" rectifies that, though, with a rippingly apocalyptic vocal this side of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

At her best - and worse, too - Sinead O'Conner always delivers the goods toddering right on the brink of disaster and inspiration.

That's why she's a real artist.

This is a unique, masterful album. Her renditions are completely spot on. I find her versions sometimes even more heartfelt and beautiful than those by Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra and their likes. Her singing is both fragile, intimate and at times even humorous. The blend of her unique phrasing and the lush arrangements by Phil Ramone is intriguing and thrilling - a feast for the ears. I find that this is her best vocal effort so far. On the strength of this album alone she should be viewed as one of the very best female vocalists of the 20th century.

Put me with those who appreciate this atypical release from the controversial Sinead OfConnor. She has a truly extraordinary voice, which instantly adds interest to anything she does. However, she also does a very good job of interpreting these standards and show tunes in her own unique fashion. Sometimes her voice is breathy and intimate, and at others times she belts out her lines strongly. Her anger is not apparent here, but these are not angry songs, resulting in an unusually restrained and relaxing performance from this singular vocalist. I was fortunate enough to buy this disk while I was living in Japan; the Japanese release has three extra songs: gMy Heart Belongs to Daddy,h gAlmost in Your Arms,h and gFly Me to the Moon.h

Sinead O'Connor is a great vocalist. Forget, for a moment, all the publicity that ended up destroying her career (aside for the few remaining diehards) and think back to the first time you heard that voice. That voice. The one that gave you goosebumps on "The Lion and the Cobra" or brought you to tears on "I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got." Then, imagine it singing a batch of show tunes. Intriguing idea? Absolutely. Unfortunately there isn't enough attitude here.

What this ends of being is a straight forward collection of these songs, which might be great for Barbara Striesand, but for Sinead we expect more. We expect a certain subversion and, sadly, we don't get it here. Oh the voice is still there, but the passion isn't. Diehards may like it, but then again by the time this was released, they were the only ones still listening.

Good singer, great songs -- so what went wrong? Some of the cuts are embarrassingly overproduced, and her singing here is just too thin to compete or be of much interest. If you go big band, you'd better go big voice too. After a listen, I put on a CD of Lena Horne singing Stormy Weather, just to remind myself how it's supposed to be.

You may love or hate Sinead O'Connor but you have no choice when it comes to her voice: it's wonderful. Rich, sweet, tragic, and without flaw, it weeps, soars, swoons, and sweeps across these standards, bringing new life to "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" (in which she puts *all* other renditions to shame), "Black Coffee", and "I Wanna Be Loved By You". This is a true marvel of a record.