Customer Reviews

So Far, The Best of Sinead O'Connor

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sinead O'Connor has to be one of the most heartbreaking and frustrating artists to emerge in the last 20 years. Her first two albums(both appropriately spotlighted on this collection)were masterpieces that showed one of the greatest new talents I had ever heard. She was 17 years old when her first album came out and she defied genre and desription as an artist. She was simply a force of nature, which quickly became a problem that worked against her. Her bizarre statements and erratic and eccentric personality soon completely overshadowed her recorded work and people didn't buy her records because they just didn't like her. To be fair to the CD buying public her albums became pretty spotty after the first two anyway and she seemed to drift further and further from her rightful place in the musical pantheon of Dylan, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin where she belonged. The best of the later recordings are all here-"You Made Me The Thief Of Your Heart" from the "In The Name Of The Father" movie soundtrack, "Fire On Babylon" and her version of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". Currently, Sinead has announced her retirement, but hopefully she will return with a freshly shaved head and more of her twisted celtic soul, until then, we have this great collection to keep us company.

I recently got this CD, just to get to know Sinead's music. I'm Irish myself, so i thought it was about time to see what the big deal was all about. I have even seen Sinead in concert in Chicago at the Irish Fleadh, but only knew "nothing compares 2 U". Now i wish i had bought this cd first. I found such an amazing array of sounds on this cd. It opens up with the memorable "nothing compares 2 U", and goes uphill from there. I fell in love with "Mandinka", "Troy" and "Fire on Babylon". Such power and emotion! And then there were the soft, touching songs - "Heroine" and "John i love you" are beautiful. Even "Don't Cry for me Argentina" seems heartfelt.

Forget about the stories you've heard. Okay, they're probably true, but that doesn't affect her music. Sinead has had so many experiences in her life that they are bound to rub off in her music - and sad as it may sound, that is to our benefit.

After listening to this cd a number of times, i'm after ordering her new one... so go out, buy it, and enjoy it.

The title of this compilation is misleading, for it does not contain the best of Sinead O'Connor's work. I give it 4 stars because O'Connor deserves 4 stars, at least, not because the choice of songs on here was particularly inspired.

The album starts off like gangbusters, with seven solid tracks in a row. This includes the keening howl and sometimes unsettling intensity of "Troy" and "Mandinka" from "The Lion and the Cobra", the stunning debut album that introduced O'Connor to the world. The mesmerizing "Nothing Compares 2 U" of course makes it on here, as do "I Am Stretched On Your Grave," "The Emperor's New Clothes," and "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance," all from her second album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," which showed more mature songwriting and vocal style.

The rest of the album, unfortunately, is hit or miss. Throwaway tracks like "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home", "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" and the sweet but middling "John I Love You" made it on here in place of more engaging songs. Her guest vocals on Bomb the Bass's "Empire" is also, somewhat inexplicably, included. "Heroine," O'Connor's collaboration with The Edge of U2 fame is a nice, simple touch, but her cover of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" seems unnecessary, especially when she has written far superior songs herself. Even the yearning "You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart" from the "In the Name of the Father" soundtrack sounds a bit turgid here. At least the defiant "Just Like U Said It Would Be," from O'Connor's first album, closes the record, perhaps a final "f you" to all those who criticized her for her outspoken behavior and slightly odd career choices.

For all its good tracks, there are some startling omissions. Notable among the absent are "Black Boys on Mopeds", "Famine", "This Is a Rebel Song" and "Thank You For Hearing Me," which is perhaps one of O'Connor's most frank and personal statements.

As a supplement to what this album does not provide, I would suggest the 2000 album "Sinead O'Connor" or "The Rest of the Best," which features all of these songs and more.

This album has a lot to say for the artist who herself was shut off after a rather controversial SNL appearance. The "best of" album relesed in the States has a different track listing with a few tracks omitted and few not seen on this one. It of course has her biggest hit to date "Nothing compares 2 u" but also captures her powerful vocals on Favourites like"Mandinka" "Troy" and "The Emperor's new clothes" .

Seen on this disc and not on the US release are "Thank You For Hearing Me", a beautiful track with a repetitive vocal riff, which makes it hauntingly beautiful. Also it has "Jackie", another beauful track and the very beautiful and lyrically powerful "This is a Rebel Song"

However, this one doesn't list, probably her most difficult-to-find-song "Heroine" beacuse it is credited to The edge (from U2). This is my all time favourite Sinead song, and you will see why when you listen to it. Also not on this one is her playful "I want your hands on me".

Overall, this is the quintessential Sinead O' Connor. Hauntigly beautful voice, with lyrically sensible songs and music which will surprise you at every turn, this album will entrall you and will never leave your CD player.

I got into Sinead O'Connor via Faith & Courage last year, and now I bought this CD, which is exceptionally good. I had always thought that "Nothing compares 2U" was her only good song, but boy was i wrong! there is absolutely no filler on this compilation. I like that it's called best of, and not greatest hits, for these songs are truly the best of her work, regardless of silly chart-status --really some of the best stuff that's come out in the last ten years or so. "Nothing compares 2U" is still breathtaking, a timeless classic, but there are many songs just as brilliant here. My favourites are "Fire on Babylon","Success...", "Empire" and "You made me the thief of your heart", songs that have to grow on you, but that you'll want to play 24/7 once they got to you. Highly recommended, just as much as the equally brilliant Faith & Courage.

Well to date, Nothin Compares 2U is still Sinead's biggest hit and the reason for it, she decided not to be overtly commercial, not that Sinead was anything commercial after all. This CD represents the under-rated performance of a great singer whose accomplishments far exceed most artists today. Excellent tracks include Don't Cry For Me Argentina, The Emperor's New Clothes, the haunting You Made Me A Thief Of Your Heart and many more. Sadly, Thank You For Hearing Me off Universal Mother is omitted in the American edition but present in most other international editions. Nonethess, it's one CD you wanna have and forget about the tumultous relationships she has had with various people and the media. FOCUS on her music.

Before buying this CD, I was a bit nervous seeing that I had heard only a few of Sinead's songs. I was pleasantly surprised at how beautifully written and performed her music is. While "Nothing Compares 2 U" is her most famous song, there are so many better tunes on this compilation. I'm almost tempted to go out and buy all of her previous CDs. It's that good.

The title _So Far_ is hint enough: Charting the breath and depth of Sinéad O'Connor's vision, this ten-year retrospective is a genuine jaw-dropper, testament to how far she's evolved from her days as a post-punk enfant terrible to her late-'90s mother-priestess days - and the vast promise which lays ahead.

Always searching for salvation, O'Connor proves herself to be an audacious artist game enough for any sonic adventure, willing to go out on a limb to seek that epiphanic rapture. Sad it is that many have shunned her in the wake of the controversy surrounding her papal-shredding skit on American TV; for this resonant collection shows the extent of debt the current crop of Lilith Fair ladies owe her. Make no mistake, a slew of wannabes has appropriated her melismatic vocal stylings from heaven to back, and yet the Irish iconoclast remains untouchable in her unwavering commitment and unflinching honesty.

Blessed with an ear for effortless melody and a knack for direct, unembellished lyrics, the versatile singer bares her soul like no contemporary of hers can. She can do rocker-sexy in the hormonally-charged `I Want Your (Hands On Me)'; eerie-beautiful in the hip-hop-inflected Irish dirge `I Am Stretched On Your Grave'; as well as fiery-explosive in the apocalyptic-dub diatribe `Fire On Babylon'.

It's not just that she's prodigiously-gifted. What's in her favour in the long run is O'Connor's unique asset - she knows how to get to the core to each song. Intuitive enough to turn an obscure Prince castaway to an unforgettable ballad or a familiar show-tune like `Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home' into a hair-raisingly personal biopic, she remains unparalleled.

I'm a fan of Enya and Clannad, and just recently have expanded my collection to include other contemporary Irish and Celtic music. I had heard more of Sinead O'Conner than actually listening to her. And so on my first listen, I found her good, enjoyable. But second time around, I heard so much more in her voice, and her messages. I did find it useful to be aware of the source of each song in order to better understand her and her development. There are four songs from her debut which introduced a startling and strong voice, possibly an angry one: Mandinko; Troy; I Want Your Hands (on me); Just like U Said It Woud B. Indeed, these songs are unexpectedly fresh and new.

Then from "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," an album re-inforcing the impact of the first, though a bit more controlled, you have: Nothing Compares 2 U; The Emperor's New Clothes; The Last Day of Our Acquaintance; I Am Stretched Out On Your Grave. These songs do show development, and the last of the four is my favorite because I was impressed with the traditional flavor which I wasn't expecting.

From "Am I Not Your Girl?" we have "Success Has Made a Failure of our Home; and "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina." Great as these two are, one feels this album disappointed some of her fans because of the more familiar material.

And "Universal Mother" apparantly was much more mellow and controlled than many of her fans were expecting or wanting, and yet if "Fire On Babylon" and "John I Love You" are examples, I'm sure I'll eventually add it to my collection.

And so you have the impressions of one who wasn't really expecting to become a fan of hers.

Sporting one of the most singularly distinctive voices of the 80's, Sinead O'Connor was a baffling and magnetic presence. She was a stunning young singer who couldn't seem to figure out when to separate her art from her self-destruction. From the explosively personal one-two punch of The Lion and the Cobra and I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, Sinead created tempestuously personal music that just refused to fit a norm. She took a Prince song to number one and then proceeded to throw herself under a bus by taking peculiar political stances (the infamous refusal to play the National Anthem at a New Jersey concert, the Pope Picture rending that - to this day - NBC refuses to allow to be rebroadcast on Saturday Night Live). But it's all a back seat to a body of work that still sounds breathtaking.

Granted, the first seven songs would merit 5 stars alone, and only "Fire On Babylon" (from Universal Mother) isn't from the first two albums. Her voice, so intense and intimate, cuts through pretense and makes her songs stand apart. The CD closes with one of the most withering Ef-off's ever recorded, "Just Like You Said It Would Be." That leaves the remaining seven songs to fall in-between. The non-album cuts fare the best, with movie songs "You Made Me The Thief of Your Heart" and "Captive" being most intriguing. The vocal she contributed to Bomb The Bass' "Empire" pales to the propulsive "I Want Your Hands On Me." Then there was the misguided attempt at standards on Am I Not Your Girl?. Overproduced by Phil Ramone, it came right on the heels of the Saturday Night Live debacle and gave her detractors all the ammunition they could have asked for. "Success Has Made A Failure Of Our Home" (that CD's lone original) is pretty telling, as it seems Sinead is feeling her anger and drive dissipating...which had turned resignation by under-rated "Universal Mother." If Chysalis really wanted to show Sinead's interpretive skills as a cover artist, her contribution to "Red Hot and Blue" or "UM's" Nirvana tribute of "All Apologies" would have been better representations.

However, "So Far" does a really good job of reminding us exactly why Sinead was looked upon as a great Irish hope when "Mandinka" stunned early listeners in 1987. Sinead's slow trek away from pop music has certainly had some interesting results, but frankly, none as interesting as what you'll find here.