This is a Rock album by a singer/songwriter of impressive talent. I think this record shows maturity and growth of a very personal and human kind. It feels like a triumph of everything in her life that led to this point as well as the launch pad of everything that will come after.
I love the dedication of the album: "This album is dedicated to me". It seems incredibly important and significant after listening fully to the record. She is really baring herself and exploring her feelings and attitudes about life at this moment in time. The photos included in the liner notes showcase this acceptance and positivity.
Track by track impressions:
1. "How About I Be Me" - I can't think of many singers who can so simply express a concept this personal and intimate without it feeling saccharine.
2. "Dense Water Deeper Down" - It can be scary how completely we can fall in love with someone that we lose our sense of self.
3. "Kisses Like Mine" - poetic and disarming song about how a relationship can feel so right and yet be so wrong
4. "Your Green Jacket" - Unrequited love from a distant, that person we know we can't have that holds our attention for a while. I love how she embraces the moment and enjoys the feeling of obsession while still showing she knows it isn't healthy or real and is ready to move on....after just a little more indulgment
5. "The Vishnu Room" - Peaceful and loving song that makes me want to curl up and snuggle with my significant other
6. "The Voice of My Doctor" - A betrayal of the heart that rings with truth and anger
7. "Harbour" - A song of anger about being misunderstood or misinterpreting emotions in youth - love can be an illusion invented by one side of a relationship but it hurts none the less.
8. "James Brown" - Sometimes you just want to go out and have a good time
9. "8 Good Reasons" - Sometimes weighing the good and the bad, the pros and the cons, you find you are right where you should be even if you aren't totally content.
10. "Take Me to Church" - If there is any real validity to music award institutions this song should be recognized as one of the best written songs this year if not this decade. I love her challenge to others to feel free to argue or discuss her opinions. She isn't afraid to get into it. She is confident and resolute and admits she isn't always necessarily "right" but you can't learn and grow without being open to the views and opinions of others.
11. "Where Have You Been?" -
12. "Streetcars" - Loving yourself should be the truest and most fulfilling love of your life, if you spend your life looking only for the love of another you will never be completely whole
Deluxe Edition Tracks
13. "How Nice a Woman Can Be" - a Blues song about catering to a man in a way that is sexy, subservient yet conscious of the absurdity of it - it comes across as a kind of naughty and fun role play
14. "Make a Fool Of Me All Night" - We don't always fall for the guy that will make us happy all the time, or make healthy relationships - but sometimes it is enough for now...
15. "Little Story" - Sometimes it is hard to believe someone loves us so completely, it can be hard to see what it is about ourselves that the other sees and loves...but understanding isn't necessary, just accept it is and enjoy it.
I try not to get involve in posts about or by Sinéad O'Connor. I don't really care much for the drama that people/stars get up to. Sometimes they do something or post items of interest but beyond the initial experience I loose interest quickly. I am more concerned with the music and how I respond to it. If something is really important to a musician I figure they will put it into their art and I will judge it there for myself. For that reason I truly admire and respect Sinéad O'Connor.
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