Review · 1990 · Alternative Rock
Sinead O’Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
The verdict
The award for the most retro-looking album cover goes to I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. An instagram filter for someone trying to photographically revive the 80’s. Heck, this style is probably trending again in 2024.
This album is, simply put, painful. But don’t get me wrong, that seems to be the intent - the groove varies from acoustic and folky and sparse (“Three Babies” to semi-funky, almost industrial (“I Am Stretched On Your Grave”), to pseudo-upbeat pop rock (“The Emperor’s New Clothes”, but the lyrics don’t let up at any point. There are only variations of sadness and pain - sometimes witchy, sometimes brooding, sometimes ironic, sometimes full of rage, but always depressing. I have no clue what O’Conner was going through, but it sounds massive and crushing. There’s no veil between O’Conner’s innermost feelings and the music - this is perhaps the most efficiently communicated sense of despair and gloomy anger I’ve ever heard. It comes to a head with the cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, which pretty much floored me with its longing energy.
This album is raw human emotion artfully expressed, and it makes me feel like complete shit. But it’s an achievement without a doubt.
Jams
“I Am Stretched On Your Grave”
“Nothing Compares 2 U”
From the roundup Jamwise #36 - Best Albums of 1990.