St. Petersburg Times 
July 7

    SINEAD O' CONNOR, FAITH AND COURAGE, (ATLANTIC)
Sinead O'Connor is the perfect pop star for the
tabloid talk show age. "Notice me, Oprah, I think the
pope is the enemy. Listen to me, Jerry, I've had
abortions. Hello? Maury, I just tried to kill myself."

"I'm a priest, Montel, a priest." 

"Did I mention, Sally Jessy, I'm a lesbian?" 

"No - wait, gang, it's three o'clock now, I'm not." 

Anyway, O'Connor, clearly at odds with herself and the
world around her, always makes interesting music. This
time 'round, Faith and Courage, her first full-length
album in six years, finds the Irish chanteuse high on
God and investigating the dark avenues of love. One
minute she's defiantly woman, hear her roar. The next,
she confesses she wants to sleep with every man she
sees. 

Prickly and provocative, Faith and Courage offers the
feminist anthem No Man's Woman, the reggae/Irish folk
hybrid The Lamb's Book of Life, and so much
introspection you may want to hit pause after several
songs and exhale. O'Connor has never been shy about
facing life's toughest issues. 

More importantly, Faith and Courage is some of the
finest songwriting O'Connor's done in years. The disc,
too, is her slickest-sounding album, produced by the
team of Wyclef Jean, sometime-Eurythmic Dave Stewart,
Brian Eno and R&B guru Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs.

Grade: B+
GINA VIVINETTO