Track Listing

1. The Healing Room
2. No Man's Woman
3. Jealous
4. Dancing Lessons
5. Daddy I'm Fine
6. 'Til I Whisper U Something
7. Hold Back The Night
8. What Doesn't Belong To Me
9. The State I'm In
10. The Lamb's Book Of Life
11. If U Ever
12. Emma's Song
13. Kyrie Eleison

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39165 in Music
• Released on: 2000-06-12
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Amazon.co.uk Review
Faith And Courage, Sinead O'Connor's first album in six years, is a marked change in direction from the pared-down urban folk beats of 1994's Universal Mother. For her Atlantic debut, she has embraced rock guitar, co-writing 13 tracks with a range of star producers including Dave Stewart, Brian Eno, Wyclef Jean and Adrian Sherwood. Featured here is "No Man's Woman", a strong declaration of intent ("I haven't travelled this far to become a man's woman") laced with raw guitar riffs and a subtle calypso flavour. Also distinctive is "Daddy I'm Fine", a loping, off-kilter look at being a rock star where O'Connor deadpans: "I wanna look good in my black leather boots.../I feel real hot and my make-up's nice/I'm gonna fuck every man in sight." In places, O'Connor's voice is swallowed up in a mix that's too FM-radio-friendly, but overall this is a resonant set of songs. --Lucy O'Brien

CD Description
After spending most of the late '90s out of the spotlight (save for 1997's GOSPEL OAK EP), Sinead O'Connor's reemergence in 2000 on a new label coincides with the introspective nature of FAITH AND COURAGE, representing a new musical start for her. The wide array of producers here results in an ethereal mix of hip-hop beats, Celtic nuances and electronic shadings. FAITH represents O'Connor opening the door on her private life. The most biographical tracks are the anthemic "NoMan's Woman", the Dave Stewart-produced "Jealous" and "Daddy I'm Fine".
Elsewhere, O'Connor's love of contemporary R&B finds her combining ghetto-fabulous reggae beats (overseen by Destiny's Child producer Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs) and Irish pennywhistle on "The Lamb's Book of Life", a plea for religious tolerance. Producer Wyclef Jean also contributeshis two cents on the gentle soul of "Dancing Lessons", recruiting sister Blandinna Melky Jean to contribute vocals. O'Connor's pride in motherhood is displayed on "Emma's Song", agorgeous ode to her daughter featuring Brian Eno's delicatepiano playing. Wrapping things up is an ambient arrangementof the traditional "Kyrie Eleison" with a Rastafarian edge supplied by reggae legends Junior Delgado and Bim Sherman.

Customer Reviews

Possibly Sinead's finest album yet!
This album was always set to be a winner, as it followed the incredible Gospel Oak EP and the gorgeous Universal Mother before that, but I certainly wasn't expecting anything as consistently enjoyable as this. I've always found Sinéad's albums to be patchy affairs but not Faith And Courage. There isn't even a hint of filler on this album. Things start off subtly with The Healing Room. Probably the most ambient of the tracks in terms of production, and also the weakest melodically speaking. Still, it's a nice intro to the album. Things really get going with the second track, No Man's Woman. This is one of my favourite songs in Sinéads entire catalogue and a great lead-off single choice, even if it has ruffled some feathers of some reviewers who have jumped to conclusions about the song's meaning. Jealous is simply a gorgeous ballad. Beautiful melody and understated production. An instant classic and surely a future single? Dancing Lessons is undoubtedly another potential single. This track is one of the more upbeat songs with a sublime piano line and catchy chorus. The combination of Sinéad and Wyclef Jean proves to be a winner. It's a shame he they didn't collaborate on more tracks. Perhaps in the future. Daddy I'm Fine is yet another great track. The almost punk chorus coming out of nowhere, and the autobiographical lyrics make it one of the most interesting tracks. Til I Whisper U Something isn't a standout of the album, but like I said before, the quality is of such a high standard that even the non-standouts are excellent. The next track is a cover version, although Sinéad is so comfortable with it, it almost sounds like one of her very own compositions. The State I'm In is definitely a highpoint. Another track written by the team who brought us Natalie Imbruglia's Torn and the aforementioned No Man's Woman, this is another strong song, both in terms of melody and lyrics. Highly commercial, without sacrifing artistry. The next track was one of the collaborations I had been most looking forward to hearing. The Lamb's Book Of Life was written with Kevin Briggs(Contemporary R&B producer) and is one of my favourites. Lyrically it's most representative of the album, appealing for forgiveness and prayer. Musically it's a dynamic combination of Celtic flutes and R&B grooves. A standout. If U Ever and Emma's Song are two more beautiful ballads which precede the closing track, Kyrie Eleison. This traditional song has been arranged by Sinéad and is an uplifting end to Faith and Courage.

All in all, this highly accesible album is possibly the finest in Sinéad's career. Gorgeous melodies, heartfelt vocals and fascinating production. Well worth checking out!

Converted to the faith!
I've always been a casual admirer of Sinead O'connor. I loved the contrast between her mournful and melancholic voice, and the feistiness of her character.The music however always seemed to be a bit hit and miss,(How I loved 'This is a rebel song', how I loathed 'Thankyou for hearing me'). I didn't know If I could take a whole album of her sweet but tortured voice and lyrics. How could I ever have doubted her. 'Faith and Courage'is an album saturated in beauty, mysticism and spirit.Not one of the thirteen tracks fails to move me in some way.Language is inadequate to describe songs like 'The state I'm in' and 'Jealous', these are genius productions, sung by a woman who clearly has a gift for expressing pain and despair, as well as joy and contentment.I knew Sinead was good, but I had no idea she was capable of such unbelievable depths, why did she hold out on us so long?
I would urge anybody who likes their music to have a haunting and ethereal quality to invest in this album, you won't be dissappointed. Sinead O'connor has recently made a statement that she plans to retire from music in the near future. This will be a real loss to the music industry, but I am at least grateful that she released this masterpiece first. It's a real shame that such a talented individual is most likely to be remembered for her Prince cover version( The admittedly very excellent'Nothing compares 2 U'), when she had such a wealth of natural talent to draw from.Sinead, You bet I'm Jealous!

Relgious stuff from the female perspective
I love this album, it's autobiographical quality gives a great insight into wild Sinead and shows her sensitivity, depth, perspective on the universe and introspection. There are reflections of everyone's life in here, I suspect, and tracks you can immediately relate to and empathise with. It's truly a woman's album.

The music is soft edged and lyrical, the images intense, it's bold, frightened defiant and inquisitive. Her family are all there, her childhood, her wonder, her Ireland. I pair this with Kate Bush's "Hounds of Love" album - it has that same sense of feminine sprituality and being.