Universal Mother

''Universal Mother'' is the fourth studio album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released on 12 September 1994.

"That album was the first attempt to try to expose what was really underneath a lot of the anger of the other records," she explained, adding, "George Michael told me he loved that record, but could only listen to it once because it was so painful. He had to hide it."

Background

In 1993, O'Connor started taking singing lessons in the style of bel canto. This inspired her to "talk about the things that hereally wanted to talk about".

Music and lyrics

The first track, "Germaine", is a recording of feminist Germaine Greer speaking about cooperation as an alternative to patriarchy.

"Am I a Human?" is by O'Connor's son Jake, recorded when he was a child. "'Famine'" (the quotes are hers) is a hip hop track about the Great Famine and how it impacted Ireland.

The last song, " Thank You for Hearing Me", was written about O'Connor's breakup with musician Peter Gabriel and features a trance-like backing track. The majority of the songs on the album use "delicate piano-based arrangements".

Artwork

O'Connor painted the cover art, which was inspired by a rebirthing session she experienced as well as the song "All Babies".

Critical reception

''Billboard'' magazine wrote that O'Connor made "a broad thematic statement about pain, grief, love, and redemption, and has swaddled that statement in a musical soundscape, at once delicate and lush, that evokes the dreamy landscape of a lilting Irish lullaby. There's a wolf in these twilight woods, of course, as O'Connor wraps her mesmerizing voice around tales of abuse (the simmering 'Red Football') and seemingly unbearable pain ('Tiny Grief Song'). The most topical number is the rap rant 'Famine'-which borrows from everything from 'Fiddler on the Roof' to 'Eleanor Rigby'. But there also are daubs of pure, timeless beauty present, as in the unabashedly gentle 'John I Love You' and 'My Darling Child'. It is on the shoulders of these haunting numbers that O'Connor's message—and ultimately her album—rests."

In ''Hot Press'', Bill Graham said that it is "definitely the record of an artist determined to restart, with a totally new set of basic principles". Noting the album had divided critical opinion, he suggested that its art-as-therapy approach resembled early solo work by John Lennon. O'Connor explores "the uncharted depths" of "the real loveless family traumas" that mainstream, predominantly male, rock music tends to avoid, and Graham believes her journey is made more intense by her identity "as both a mother and a daughter". Listening to the album can be "unnerving", as O'Connor "can still sing like an angel but she also sometimes writes lyrics like an emotional dyslexic". Its predominant style is "a bare chamber-folk".

''Melody Maker'' named it "her best album to date" and "one of the albums of the year". Alan Jones from ''Music Week'' wrote, "Once more into the confessional for this resilient talent and, it has to be said, once more she comes up with the goods." For ''Rolling Stone'', Stephanie Zacharek characterized ''Universal Mother'' as "record making as therapy" and described it as tenderhearted and protective.

Track listing

Note: "Famine" quotes the song "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
* Sinéad O'Connor – vocals, piano
* John Reynolds – drums, programming
* Dave Clayton – keyboards, programming
* Marco Pirroni, Ivan Gilliland – guitar
* Tim Simenon – programming
* Nicky Scott, Matthew Seligman, Clare Kenny – bass
* Phil Coulter – piano, keyboards, backing vocals
* John O'Cane – cello
* Voice Squad – backing vocals
* Irish Chamber Orchestra – strings

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

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1994 albums
Sinéad O'Connor albums
Albums produced by Tim Simenon
Albums produced by Phil Coulter
1990s in Irish music