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Faith & Courage  Artist:  Sinead O'Connor Label: Wea/Atlantic Length: 13 tracks	Sample The Healing Room

Sinead O’Connor has been 15 years of sensational, confessional headlines. Way back in time she slagged off her City, Dublin’s favourite sons U2 and made some pro-IRA statements that had the tutters tutting. Little did we know that there would be a string of abortions, family exposures of child abuse, ripping up photographs of the Pope and becoming a priest to make her U2 outbursts hardly worth reporting. Her new priestly office made her new album a more interesting project. Would she be filing it under Contemporary Christian? Another outburst that saw her coming out about her lesbianism, something that there has never been a hint of in a highly public front page tabloid life, was not the kind of promotional piece to encourage the Christian book shops.

But what about the music. Her career has often been good and sometimes great but apart from "No One Compares to You," it’s never been what she’s been most famous for. It’s been a little bit hidden. So what’s hidden here below the title Faith and Courage.

Probably her best album since I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got and maybe even better. Her voice is as close to angelic as someone can get without wings but then her voice has never been in question. Her long list of collaborations, soundtracks and compilations is testimony to the stunning nature of her most natural pipes. On Faith and Courage she is in top form. Whether on the ballads like "Jealous" (gorgeous) or the Celtic influenced "The Lambs Book of Life" or "‘Til I Whisper U Something" or the trademark hip hop beat groove of "No Man’s Woman," the songs are very very strong and the voice is haunting, yearning, searching and always very very beautiful.

So what of faith and courage? Well on the latter if all that Sinead says really has happened in a life that would be too far fetched for one of her brother, Joseph’s novels, then she has been courageous to tell the world. Here she is in confessional mode as always. She kind of takes John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band album to new heights of soul bearing. This is particularly true of "Daddy I’m Fine" which is a chatty conversation with rhythm and tells us of her Dublin up bringing, her desire to look cool in a world of hedonism and pop fame and concludes by saying that she’s ended up just fine. Maybe she’s reaped something more gracious than she’s sown! "The Lamb’s Book of Life" also starts in Ireland and mines the stuff of her past. She actually seems to make her confession and look for our forgiveness as she sings,  

                 I know that I have done many things 
                To give you reason not to listen to me 
                Especially as I have been so angry 
                But if you knew me maybe you would understand me 
                Words can’t express how sorry I am 
                If I ever caused pain to anybody 
                I just hope that you can show compassion 
                And love me enough to just plain listen. 

On this one however she is seeking salvation. Here she is seeking not only for herself but us all a return to the "Lamb’s Book of Life." 

                If people just believed enough in God to pray 
                But the world thinks that sounds crazy 
                And that’s the thing that makes me song so sadly 
                To think that we would leave God so lonely 
                To think that we would mess up our own destiny. 

So faith does meet courage although we would be wrong to imagine that the mixed up mind of this bizarre young lady has been too untangled. There is a mixing of Rasta and Christ and Goddess is as important as God. The latter may only be a freeing of God from gender limitations and may not be suggesting that there are two divinities but for those on a directly Christian line as indeed the Catholic Priesthood that she is attached to should be on there seems little understanding to bring Rasta into it. Unless of course she thinks Bob Marley is cool and that could be a very telling weakness in her theological reasoning.

So if you are looking for a Slow Train Coming you have not got it in creed but in musical standards it should follow that Dylan album to the Grammy Nominations. "Dancing Lessons" has the sunniest of piano introductions and a refrain that lives long on your subconscious hum. Kieran Kiely adds the Irish sounds that have been following O’Connor on soundtracks and collaborations with the likes Of Davy Spillane and The Chieftains. It is particularly stunning on "If U Ever" and along with Dave Stewart’s guitar on the fore mentioned "‘Til I Whisper Something To You."

Not many weaknesses here. No duff tracks or fillers. It’s taken six years and I am sure songs have come and gone in her time between albums. What’s she’s ended up with is a collection that may just be as strong as Best Of collection. I know I am going to find enough compassion and love her enough to listen. 

Steve Stockman 7/13/2000