She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the

Sinead O'Connor

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 9, 2003)
• Original Release Date: September 9, 2003
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B0000AZKO4
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,348 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Regina Caeh

2. O Film et Filiae

3. My Love I Bring

4. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man

5. Love Hurts

6. Ain't It a Shame

7. Chiquitita

8. Brigidine Diana

9. It's All Good

10. Love Is Ours [Demo Version]

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Molly Malone

2. Óro, Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile

3. Singing Bird

4. My Lagan Love

5. I Am Stretched on Your Grave

6. Nothing Compares 2 U

7. John I Love You

8. Moorlough Shore

9. You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart

10. Paddy's Lament

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sinead O’Connor really knows how to end a career. True, she’s been trying to do it since the early ‘90s, through incendiary action (ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live) and regularly spaced announcements of her retirement. The release of She Who Dwells comes with the caveat that it is O’Connor’s last willful act and musical testament—and, who knows, her third attempt to flee the music industry may stick. If so, it’s a shame because after nearly a decade of flailing musically, O’Connor rediscovered her true voice in 2002 with Sean-Nos Nua, an album of traditional Irish songs re-imagined in surprisingly fresh ways.

She Who Dwells (the full title is long enough to make Fiona Apple gasp for breath) is a two-CD set, but in typical O’Connor fashion it’s oddly framed. Disc one is a collection of 19 rarities and previously unreleased tracks split three very different ways. There are more traditional Irish tunes, her electronic collaborations with Massive Attack and Asian Dub Foundation, and a range of covers that includes songs written or made famous by Aretha Franklin, Gram Parsons, the B-52s, and Abba. (These latter tracks shouldn’t work, but for the best evidence they do, check out her almost Tex-Mex pop version of "Chiquitita.")

Disc two is a more traditional career-ending retrospective; it’s a 13-track recording taken from a late 2002 concert at Vicar Street Theatre in Dublin. About half the songs come from Sean-Nos Nua, with three songs each lifted off I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got and Universal Mother,. O’Connor is backed by a great band that features Irish music stalwarts Donal Lunny and Sharon Shannon. As good as they are, it’s O’Connor’s voice that stuns throughout, whether singing the Irish blues of "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" or a version of "Nothing Compares to U" that contains both flute and a stately cello solo. One hopes this isn’t the last we hear from O’Connor, but even if it is she’s left us on a pure, high note. --Keith Moerer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thank You For Hearing Me., October 13, 2003

By	Jason Stein (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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?

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 stars... Sprawling 2CD set delivers the goods, and more, May 1, 2006

By	Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best For Last, September 9, 2003

By	"troytron" (Charlotte, North Carolina) - See all my reviews

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).