Album Club
01-09-2014, 14:29
We start Round 3 of the Album Club with this month's choice, courtesy of Barry:
Sinéad O’Connor – ‘The Lion and the Cobra’
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jg5sK23EL._SX355_.jpg
This stunning debut album from Sinéad O’Connor was released in 1987 and came as a welcome jolt. In much the same way that punk was a necessary and inevitable reaction to the corporate and formulaic AOR, and a kick up the backside to the whole music industry in the late ‘70s, so too, a decade later, O’Connor’s debut album was a refreshing change from the current pop output from the stables of Stock, Waterman and Aiken.
No fluffy, cuddly girl singer here; O’Connor’s debut album has an ‘attitude’ that had been sadly lacking for a while. Profound, courageous and with a great lyrical beauty, the album shows an emotional depth that is remarkable. Yet the album is not necessarily angry, in fact it starts in gentle fashion with ‘Jackie’ – and then it kicks into pace with the next two tracks ‘Mandinka’ and ‘Jerusalem’. I just love the way ‘Jerusalem’ follows ‘Mandinka’, and both tracks benefit from being played reasonably loudly.
I am reluctant to single out any particular tracks, as I like them all, but the following are worthy of mention:
‘Never Get Old’ is a delight and a surprise: it starts with Psalm 91 (recited in Gaelic by Enya), which continues throughout the track with O’Connor singing over it in English about music, which can ‘never get old’.
‘Troy’ is a somewhat wistful, but powerful, bittersweet song about an early love and her regrets of the experience which, it seems, sadly went awry.
‘I want your (hands on me)’ returns to the punchy delivery of earlier tracks, with O’Connor’s request being sung over some powerful percussion.
‘Drink Before the War’ is a wonderfully cynical anti-war song. Starting off in a gentle beguiling fashion it quickly evolves into an angry, but articulate, comment on war.
I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I do.
lAMx2YpDGAc 7liJyxyT1mo
eGFdJPqoh1M Qy5ZhDTxcFA
vlGtKt0gHhY Hnjntu-JzsY
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_and_the_Cobra
Sinéad O’Connor – ‘The Lion and the Cobra’
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61jg5sK23EL._SX355_.jpg
This stunning debut album from Sinéad O’Connor was released in 1987 and came as a welcome jolt. In much the same way that punk was a necessary and inevitable reaction to the corporate and formulaic AOR, and a kick up the backside to the whole music industry in the late ‘70s, so too, a decade later, O’Connor’s debut album was a refreshing change from the current pop output from the stables of Stock, Waterman and Aiken.
No fluffy, cuddly girl singer here; O’Connor’s debut album has an ‘attitude’ that had been sadly lacking for a while. Profound, courageous and with a great lyrical beauty, the album shows an emotional depth that is remarkable. Yet the album is not necessarily angry, in fact it starts in gentle fashion with ‘Jackie’ – and then it kicks into pace with the next two tracks ‘Mandinka’ and ‘Jerusalem’. I just love the way ‘Jerusalem’ follows ‘Mandinka’, and both tracks benefit from being played reasonably loudly.
I am reluctant to single out any particular tracks, as I like them all, but the following are worthy of mention:
‘Never Get Old’ is a delight and a surprise: it starts with Psalm 91 (recited in Gaelic by Enya), which continues throughout the track with O’Connor singing over it in English about music, which can ‘never get old’.
‘Troy’ is a somewhat wistful, but powerful, bittersweet song about an early love and her regrets of the experience which, it seems, sadly went awry.
‘I want your (hands on me)’ returns to the punchy delivery of earlier tracks, with O’Connor’s request being sung over some powerful percussion.
‘Drink Before the War’ is a wonderfully cynical anti-war song. Starting off in a gentle beguiling fashion it quickly evolves into an angry, but articulate, comment on war.
I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I do.
lAMx2YpDGAc 7liJyxyT1mo
eGFdJPqoh1M Qy5ZhDTxcFA
vlGtKt0gHhY Hnjntu-JzsY
4TftSV8m84Q khOR5Ej-h2I
PAd1B3MpqZs
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_and_the_Cobra