The Boston
July 7


SINEAD O'CONNOR  Faith and Courage (Atlantic)
Rating: 3 stars

In the six years since her last full-length CD, Sinead
O'Connor has fought a custody battle to keep her two
children, been ordained a priest in the Latin
Tridentine Church sect and, more recently, come out of
the closet. 

The shaved-headed beauty sings a good deal about
healing, finding peace and seeking a higher power on
"Faith and Courage" and does it with a verve
missing on her last two releases. 

Several producers help her see the light. Eurythmic
Dave Stewart gets her in touch with her inner
trip-hopper. Scott Cutler and Anne Preven of
Ednaswap push her to rock out with righteous energy. 

And Kevin "Shek'spere" Briggs of "No Scrubs" fame
brings the kicking Celtic reggae track "Lamb's Book of
Life," which contains an apology to all those
she's offended in the past. As with everything she
sings, O'Connor sounds like she means it. - SARAH
RODMAN