The Boston Globe
June 13, 2000

SINEAD O'CONNOR BARES HER SOUL ON 'FAITH AND COURAGE'

By Steve Morse

   Some people have questioned Sinead O'Connor's sanity since she ripped
up the pope's picture on "Saturday Night Live" in 1992, but no one has
ever questioned her talent. Following a low-profile period during which she
mainly cared for her two young children in Dublin, O'Connor returns with
a revealingly brilliant, rock-inspired new album, "Faith and Courage," which 
hits the stores today.

The album reflects the full range of the now 33-year-old Sinead's personality
- from angry social provocateur to sexy rock belter, from earth-loving
pagan goddess to her new status as "priest," having been ordained last year by 
controversial Irish bishop Michael Cox. (The Catholic Church does not recognize 
her title.


   But her signature, soul-baring voice surmounts all of these distinctions
and lifts the album into transcendence, making it arguably the best CD
of her career (definitely the best since her debut) - and one of the strongest 
of thisyear.

O'Connor's conflicted life has prompted many a tabloid piece in the last
decade, which helped send her underground for most of the '90s. Her last
full-length album was 1994's generally mellow "Universal Mother"; then came a 
mostly forgettable EP, "Golden Oak," in 1997. But that has all changed with the 
new "Faith and Courage," in which she sounds fully engaged with life once again - 
and that even includes an apology for some of her bizarre behavior in the past.


"I know I have done many things to give you reason not to listen to me,
especially as I have been so angry," she sings in "The Lamb's Book of Life."
She adds: "But if you knew me, maybe you would understand me/ Words can't express 
how sorry I am if I ever caused pain to anybody/ I just hope that you can show 
compassion and love me enough to just please listen."

That's an extraordinary plea, but this is an extraordinary album. It probes so 
many emotions that listeners will feel cleansed - and liberated - by the end of 
its 13 songs, which feature production by chime-guitar king Dave  Stewart of 
Eurythmics, hip-hop guru Wyclef Jean, ambient master Brian Eno, techno genius 
Adrian Sherwood, and reggae knob-twirler Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs. But despite 
all of these disparate hands, the album is still greater than the sum of its 
parts, thanks to O'Connor's haunting vocal power.

The album's new single is the anthem "No Man's Woman," a rocking track
where she declares in no uncertain terms: "I don't want to be no man's
woman/ I have other work I want to get done." She admits she's "scared" and 
will "never trust again." It also comes on the heels of her June 8 letter 
to British music magazine Hot Press, declaring that she is now "a lesbian ... 
I love men, but I prefer sex with women and I prefer romantic relationships 
with women." No doubt the tabloid wheels will be turning again with that news.

Regardless, love songs abound on the new album, from the ambient "Hold
Back the Night" to the bittersweet "If U Ever" and the hip-hoppy "Til I
Whisper U Something." She has never sounded more honest or more transfixing, 
though the most revealing song may be "Daddy I'm Fine," where she tells her father
she loves him and apologizes, "Sorry to be disappointing/ Wasn't born for no 
marrying/ Wanna make my own living."

Sinead will keep her critics busy with this new disc, but she has never
had more to offer the true fans of her global music.