CD Review: Sinead O'Connor

Faith And Courage (Atlantic)

By the BBC's Nigel Packer

It's been years since Sinead O'Connor's music attracted more attention than her personal life, but this could be the album to redress the balance.

Six long years have passed since her last full-length offering Universal Mother, with just one EP to fill the vacuum.

Yet she has rarely been out of the headlines during a torrid few years which began with a very public battle over child custody, and ended with the furore surrounding her unofficial ordination as a priest.

Given the circumstances, perhaps the most notable thing about Faith And Courage is its overall sense of calm and optimism.

Sinead O'Connor has returned to form after a six-year absence

The heart-on-sleeve lyrics are still present and correct, but the angry Sinead of yesteryear has given way to a more reflective version.

Heavyweight

Together with a heavyweight team of co-writers and producers - including Wyclef Jean, Brian Eno and Dave Stewart - she has come up with her strongest and most accessible work in a decade.

Gentle opening track The Healing Room ushers in the born again Sinead on a wave of ambient keyboard, and offers an early hint of the album's expansive sound. It's a delicate musical blend of the traditional and the bang up-to-date - with big, memorable melodies providing the foundation for some ambitious arrangements.

New single No Man's Woman finds Sinead in feisty mood, but sounding upbeat and optimistic rather than embittered.

Daddy I'm Fine, meanwhile, is a playful and unsentimental recollection of her early days as a would-be rock star - based around a schizophrenic melody which switches smoothly from relaxed reggae verse to speed-punk chorus.

Not that it's all sweetness and light - after all, it wouldn't be a Sinead O'Connor album without its fair share of heart-ache and confrontation.

Jealous has a sweet melody to offset some bleak lyrics, while The Lamb's Book Of Life is an unrelenting tale of remorse.

Yet even in its darkest moments, Faith And Courage manages to steer clear of self-indulgence thanks to some crystal-clear melodies and Sinead's soulful vocals. After a long time in the wilderness, she finally seems to have rediscovered her siren voice.