Customer Reviews

She Who Dwells

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well, if Sinead means what she says, and she is going to retire from the music business, that will be a shame. "She Who Dwells" is an endcap to a short career. She only has four full length cds of original material, and after 2000's "Faith & Courage" I was feeling that she was just getting started. So here is what we are left with: a disc of rareties, b-sides, covers, demos and a disc of her final live concert in Ireland. The first disc is a mixed bag of hits and misses--the hits being her versions of "Love Hurts", "Chiquitita" and "Ain't It A Shame", her moving tribute to Princess Diana on "Brigidine Diana", "It's All Good", "Love Is Ours", "A Hundred Thousand Angels", "You Put Your Arms Around Me", "No Matter How Hard I Try" and "Big Bunch Of Junkie Lies". These are solid examples of why Sinead is a great singer. By ending her career she deprives her fans of her magical, one-of-a-kind, unearthly voice. These songs underscore her undeniable talent. The other songs are not as well done, which may be due to production and/or songwriting difficulties. She takes them to another level anyway, making them listenable. The only song I didn't care for was her cover version of "Do Right Woman"--she is not Aretha Franklin!

The second disc of live material showcases all of her singing strengths, proving once again that Sinead is the REAL DEAL and not some record company's modualated puppet. Of course she ends with 1990's "The Last Day Of Our Acquaintance" which is befitting. In the end, Sinead leaves us fans with a nice double set of collectibles, but the the thought remains: Can she really be retiring for good and why would she put away something she was meant to do--sing?

Last year, Sinead O'Connor, supposedly "retired" from the music business, released one of the best albums of 2005, the full-throtle reggae "Throw Down Your Arms". I have never been a huge fan of Sinead (too "off-stream" in too many ways), but having loved last year's album, it brought me to this album.

"She Who Dwells" (2 CDs, 32 tracks, 146 min., released in 2003) actually is titled much longer (similar to Fiona Apple's "When the Pawn"), but nevermind that, it's the music that speaks. CD1 (19 tracks, 78 min.) brings a bunch of originals, traditionals, covers, B-tracks, and other obscurities, and guess what, it works really well. From covers of Nazareth's "Love Hurts" and ABBA's "Chiquita" to originals such as "Brigidine Diana" and "Emma's Song" to traditionals such as "Song of Jerusalem", it all sounds ecstatic. But the real beauty of this album is CD2 (13 tracks, 68 min.) which brings Sinead in concert, and how she shines! The concert brings together a superb mix of pop, celtic and reggae. Yes, it includes her mega-hit "Nothing Compares to U" (in an acoustic version) but even better are the mood songs (such as "Molly Malone" and "John I Love You") and the more exuberant songs such as the reggae-flavored "Fire on Babylon", foreshadowing her next album.

Sinead has long left the main-stream music business, now releasing albums under full control, and to great result. Disregarding her potitical beliefs, she has been releasing great music, much of it under the mainstream radar, and for that she is to be recommended. "She Who Dwells" is, much like last year's "Throw Down Your Arms", a superb album. Highly Recommended!

Ever full of surprises, the most mercurial (and misunderstood) musician of her era has dropped a bomb of fantastic songs here. I've been a watcher since college days and the eye-opening 'Lion and the Cobra' all the way up to the shining 'Sean nos Nua.' 'She Who Dwells' exceeds them all. You might know she'd save the best for last. The interplay between the two discs is extraordinary because it captures all the mystery and magic of the "studio Sinead" (Disc One) with the goosebump-inducing gifts of the "live" Sinead (Disc Two).

Disc One is just loaded with great songs that resurrect the angry, rocking Sinead of the 'Cobra' days -- especially on original songs like "Love is Ours" and her whip-cracking cover of the B-52s "Ain't it A Shame." Her original "Junkie Lies" is searing; something straight off "Cobra." "Junkie" is perhaps the best track on the record, and trust me, it's tough to pick just one. O'Connor is at her most-hair-raising here. Other Sinead originals include the uplifting "You Put Your Arms Around Me" which is reminiscent of the power she brought to her early-90s songs. Then, there's the great electro-ambient collaborations with Massive Attack, and also Asian Dub Foundation on "1000 Mirrors." "Mirrors" is a track that perhaps best demonstrates how this artist has evolved over nearly two decades without losing any of her visionary brilliance. Good grief -- there's nineteen songs on Disc One!

This whole "surprise" record is obviously Sinead's way of demonstrating her full force, and wow -- does it ever work to perfection. The covers of Re-Re Franklin's "Do Right Woman" and E Brothers "Love Hurts" just take the songs to completely new levels.The Graham Parson's Cover is majestic. The Brian Eno dub grooves she puts into the Latin chants and "Emma" remix are icing on the sonic cake. The sad part is that a disc like this is one that could win hoardes of new fans (just like in the early 'Cobra' days) and NOW she says she's through. Truly ironic.

What can you say about the super bonus of disc two? A scorching and elegant "live" performance in her Dublin hometown at the Vic'. Some truly ghostly songs from 'Sean-nos Nua'(she must have been "channelling" during that entire project) and probably the best live renditions of her hits ever done. Her new coda on "Fire on Babylon" is not to be missed, and I can't believe that, after all these years, she picked this moment to render her best performance ever -- bar none -- of "Nothing Compares 2U." Live offerings of "Thief of Your Heart," a heartbreaking "Thank You For Hearing Me" and "Last Day of Our Acquaintance" delivered before an adoring audience make this whole album a truly fitting testament to the majesty of The Voice (and the Grrrl's songwriting). I'd like to see some of these other pretenders deliver "live" what O'Connor can deliver. This whole thing will seal her legacy as the quintessential Woman-Prophet-Musical Warrior of her time. She needed an album like this to do it, but now there is no doubt about it. Get your players well-oiled, kids -- 'She Who Dwells' is going to be in the carousel for quite a long time. Masterpiece. Masterpiece. Masterpiece. (And Thank "Jah" Sinead really ROCKS again).

The first of this two disc set really lacks cohesion and gives the feel of something quite different from a polished studio album. Its eclectic selection is at times very upbeat and at times haunting with great gems tucked among some lackluster songs. I would say that about half of this disc is really good the other half mediocre. However, as a die-hard-stick-with-her-through-her-crazy-stunts fan, I wouldn't want it to be one second shorter. The second disc is one of the better live concert CDs I've ever heard. I have some bootlegs of shows that she did after I Do Not Want... and this concert is on par with any of them. The sound quality is rich and even. Sinead really gives it her all, especially on great renditions of Paddy's Lament, You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart and Fire on Babylon. Also her version of Nothing Compares 2 U is so beautiful it will make you forget that you've heard this song 100,000 times and had grown sick of it.

This double album is a nearly perfect parting gift from Sinead, if she's indeed retiring from music, which we should all pray is just another threat from hers truly.

The first CD is just Sinead doing covers and b-sides, as well as remixes of her previous materials--it's a perfect opportunity to just hear Sinead's beautiful voice doing new things. The opening track is perfect--a one-minute prayer that is enough to show the raw beauty and power of her voice. "Love Hurts" seems like a strange cover for Sinead, but she does a fantastic job to the old Nazareth tune--she gives it a retro 60's rock style, and does amazing new things with her voice that you just have to listen to believe. "Aint it A Shame" is a fun rocker in the vein of her old song "Jump in the River". Her reggae version of "This is a Rebel Song" is simply thrilling. Sure, it's a strange mix, but how can you resist that beat?!!

The second CD is from her concert DVD ("Thank you, good night, you've been a lovely audience"). The acoustic version of "Nothing Compares 2 U" is surprisingly strong and a refreshing antithesis to her famous album version--the cello and chime (?) are gorgeous. "I am stretched on your grave" goes back to the traditional sound of just voice and a quiet accordian. Of course "The Last Day of Our Acquaintence" is always lovely no matter how many times you hear it; Sinead sings it with articulate passion.

This is an album to play when you just want to relax and hear a truly great voice.

After listening to this live performance, you will realize that Sinead O'connor is a real human being and not just a controversial rebel who ripped up the Pope's picture and sports a shaved head, but is also a loving mother and singer. Sinead's live verision of "Molly Malone" is amazing, every time we listen to her perform this song my father and I break down to tears it's so emotional. Sinead nearly cries at the end of most of her songs and the audio on the performance is just like being there(take my advice,I've seen her live), very powerful. I strongly recommend all serious Sinead O'connor fans to purchase this moving performance!!!!

It took me three years to decide to buy this album. I wasn't sure at the beginning because it was a compilation of collaborations, b-sides and unreleased material plus a live album. I've never been into live albums because the songs never sound as good as the original versions, or unreleased songs because they usually suck. However, the live album is great. It fills you up with such an amazing energy that you just want to play it again and again. I wish I could've gone to that concert!

The studio album has excellent songs I couldn't live without. "O Filii et Filiae" features a fusion of african-christian arrangements that makes it one of the highlights of the album. "My Love I Bring" also features an excellent combination of celtic-rasta arrangements. "Chiquitita" is one of her best covers. "It's All Good", produced my Massive Attack, could've easily been a smash hit in 2003. "A Thousand Broken Mirrors" is one of her best collaborations. "Dense Water, Deeper Down" has an amazing country-folk vibe that makes it the best track on the CD. "Big Bunch of Junkie Lies" reminds you of her album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got", and while its lyrics are somewhat a cliché, it's a beautiful song.

"No Matter How Hard I Try" and "Love Is Ours" sound as what they are: demos. The other tracks are not bad, but they never made it into my regular playlist. I think of them as genre experiments that are well produced, but when compared to the rest of her work, they aren't really outstanding.

I can't wait to buy her new upcoming album called "Theology"!

Having only owned "Faith and Courage" (purchased after seeing the video for the inspiring, "No Man's Woman"), I was fully prepared to have to suffer the brambles to get to the berries of this unwieldy collection of 32 b-sides and live performances.

How heartened I was to find only berries! Oddly, the 19 songs on disc one do not feel like a hodgepodge collection, as they are united in theme and passion, even as they are disparate in genre, spanning from lover's rock, to horn-punching reggae, to trip-hop, to dirge to to retro go-go music!

Highlights are the mesmerizing electronica of "Love is Ours" and "1000 Mirrors," the folk simplicity of "Dense Water, Deeper Down," and retro-rocker's "Ain't it A Shame" and "It's All Good." It's not just her voice, it's her choice of music that makes her great.

Disc two is a journey through a dark night of a soul. It is sad, but it pricks you with it's beauty as well. She's cursed with the infamous Irish melancholy, but she carries it in the prism of art, dispersing, rather than multiplying it's heaviness with 1000 mirrors, each shard a song to tell us what is wrong.

Considering her track record, I don't really buy Sinead's claim that "She Who Dwells..." her swan song. I will have to see it to believe it. I am not exactly a diehard fan of Sinead O'Connor's music, it is more like a casual fan. I only own "She Who Dwells..." and her last album that consisted of traditional Irish folk songs. Still I always thought Sinead had a lovely voice. I absolutely loved her contributions to Conjure One and Moby's cds last year. I was seriously contemplating buying "She Who Dwells..." because I wanted to hear her versions of Nazareth's "Love Hurts" and ABBA's "Chiquitita". I came across "She Who Dwells" today in the used bins at my favorite record store. Needless to say, it left the store with me. Disc 1 consists of rarities and cover songs, and disc 2 is a live album that is also available on dvd. I loved what I heard on both cds. I thought her renditions of "Love Hurts" and "Chiquitita" were simply amazing. She quickly made those two songs into her own. On disc 2 there is an incredible acoustic version of Sinead's biggest hit "Nothing Compares 2 U". I loved the additional stringed section and acoustic melodies on the song. It sounded so much better than the album version. That alone made buying the 2-cd set worth the price. After listening to "She Who Dwells...", I realized just how underappreciated Sinead was as a vocalist. If people just put aside her outrageous statements from the past and just listened to her, they would realize just how unique she is as a singer.

I bought Sinéad's new album because I had read a review in a local paper that gave it glowing reviews. I am a big fan of her music, but by no means would I give all her albums five stars just because I am a fan. This album is absolutely fantastic though. I have listened to it several times since I bought it and I love it more and more the more I hear it. The song that immediately stood out for me was "It's All Good" and her version of "Love Hurts" is really great too. I'm used to Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris singing it, but Sinéad brings some wonderful things to her version.

The live disc is surprisingly just as good as the studio portion. Very strong. I often listen to live material only a few times and then shelf it, but in this case, I can see myself putting it on quite often. Her voice is perfect. She as that sound of being on the verge of tears at all times - a slight quiver - that I love so much.

I definitely recommend this album to even the slightest fan. You will definitely not be disappointed. I've told everyone I can think of about it. EVERYONE BUY IT! Sinéad needs go out with a bang. Musically she certainly is!