Throw Down Your Arms: Sinéad O'Connor
I've been listening to Sinéad O'Connor's Throw Down Your Arms and The Black Album for a couple of weeks now -- and whatever people may say of O'Connor's personal life, her public life, and everything in between, she does have a great a voice.
Throw Down Your Arms, released in 2005, is O'Connor's foray into reggae music and was produced by reggae gods Sly Stone and Robert Shakespeare. The album is a double CD release, with one CD featuring the original versions of the songs performed by O'Connor, while the second has dub versions. If you haven't heard O'Connor doing reggae, it's certainly something. If you're an O'Connor fan, you might take to it -- even if you're not a fan of reggae music. If you're a reggae fan, this album may take some playing before it takes hold. Surprisingly however, the album has apparently been receiving good reviews. The album contains some pretty good songs, including Downpressor Man and Bob Marley's War -- which O'Connor has performed live on a number of occasions to mixed reaction, mostly due to the politics she brought to the performances. (Incidentally, Throw Down Your Arms was released on October 4, to coincide with the anniversary of Haile Selassie's speech to the UN.) Curly Locks and Vampire however, are my current favourite on the album. Curly Locks is sweet, while Vampire is weird, but has a great beat.
The Black Album is a bootleg album, consisting of 8 CDs, that was released back in 2001. It features songs that O'Connor voiced, sometimes with other artists, but were never released on any of her albums. Some are singles, live versions or were released on tribute, charity or other artists albums. This album is for the fan, and you can probably get it on eBay. It's not available for public sale, being a bootleg. Some of my favourites from The Black Album include: Release with Afro Celt Sound System; You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart with U2; Vampire (Empire) with Bomb the Bass; Kingdom of Rain with The The; Monkey in Winter with The Colourfield; The Foggy Dew with The Chieftans -- a song so sad, that on occasion, has choked me up; Visions of You with Jah Wobble; The Wild Rover with Soldat Louis and Shane MacGowan; live and remix versions of Fire on Babylon and Troy; an extended version of Madinka; Mraya with Abdel Ali Slimani; Guide Me God with Ghostland; Everyman's An Island with Jah Wobble; The Value of Ignorance; Be Still with Feargal Sharkey; a remix of But We Hungry (Them Belly Full); and This is a Rebel Song. Like I said, you've got to be a fan.
and The Black Album for a couple of weeks now -- and whatever people may say of O'Connor's personal life, her public life, and everything in between, she does have a great a voice.Throw Down Your Arms, released in 2005, is O'Connor's foray into reggae music and was produced by reggae gods Sly Stone and Robert Shakespeare. The album is a double CD release, with one CD featuring the original versions of the songs performed by O'Connor, while the second has dub versions. If you haven't heard O'Connor doing reggae, it's certainly something. If you're an O'Connor fan, you might take to it -- even if you're not a fan of reggae music. If you're a reggae fan, this album may take some playing before it takes hold. Surprisingly however, the album has apparently been receiving good reviews. The album contains some pretty good songs, including Downpressor Man and Bob Marley's War -- which O'Connor has performed live on a number of occasions to mixed reaction, mostly due to the politics she brought to the performances. (Incidentally, Throw Down Your Arms was released on October 4, to coincide with the anniversary of Haile Selassie's speech to the UN.) Curly Locks and Vampire however, are my current favourite on the album. Curly Locks is sweet, while Vampire is weird, but has a great beat.
The Black Album is a bootleg album, consisting of 8 CDs, that was released back in 2001. It features songs that O'Connor voiced, sometimes with other artists, but were never released on any of her albums. Some are singles, live versions or were released on tribute, charity or other artists albums. This album is for the fan, and you can probably get it on eBay. It's not available for public sale, being a bootleg. Some of my favourites from The Black Album include: Release with Afro Celt Sound System; You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart with U2; Vampire (Empire) with Bomb the Bass; Kingdom of Rain with The The; Monkey in Winter with The Colourfield; The Foggy Dew with The Chieftans -- a song so sad, that on occasion, has choked me up; Visions of You with Jah Wobble; The Wild Rover with Soldat Louis and Shane MacGowan; live and remix versions of Fire on Babylon and Troy; an extended version of Madinka; Mraya with Abdel Ali Slimani; Guide Me God with Ghostland; Everyman's An Island with Jah Wobble; The Value of Ignorance; Be Still with Feargal Sharkey; a remix of But We Hungry (Them Belly Full); and This is a Rebel Song. Like I said, you've got to be a fan.
Comments
Post a Comment