Billboard 
13 June 2000

After spending considerable time with O'Connor's newest album (and Atlantic
Records debut), it becomes mighty clear that she has spent the past 13 years
simply warming up. No disrespect to her sublime back catalog -- "The Lion
And The Cobra," "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," "Am I Not Your Girl?,"
"Universal Mother," and "Gospel Oak" -- but "Faith And Courage" is head and
shoulders above what came before it. In fact, it is brilliant. The
self-assured singer/songwriter's angst of yesterday has been replaced with a
poignant sweetness. For this album, she wrote or co-wrote 10 of the 13
tracks and collaborated with an extensive lineup of producers and musicians,
including Adrian Sherwood, Dave Stewart, Wyclef Jean, Kevin "She'kspere"
Briggs, and Brian Eno, among others. Already, the set's first single -- "No
Man's Woman," a tale of celibacy -- has been embraced at triple-A as well as
hot and modern AC stations. With "Faith And Courage," it appears that this
mother of two and archdeacon (her priest name is Mother Bernadette Mary) has
discovered that nothing compares to a lil' soul searching.