I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
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''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' is the second studio album by Irish singer
Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; , ; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer, songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and achieve ...
, released in March 1990 by Ensign/Chrysalis Records. It contains O'Connor's version of the
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
song " Nothing Compares 2 U", which was released as a single and reached number one in multiple countries. The album was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 1991, including
Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...
,
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...
, and Best Music Video, Short Form for "Nothing Compares 2 U", winning the award for Best Alternative Music Performance. However, O'Connor refused to accept the nominations and award. The album has sold over seven million copies worldwide.


Content

The critically-acclaimed album contains O'Connor's most famous single, " Nothing Compares 2 U", which was one of the best-selling singles in the world in 1990, topping the charts in many countries including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. This rendition of the
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
song reflected on O'Connor's mother, who had died in an auto accident five years earlier. The single "Emperor's New Clothes" found moderate success, although it did top the
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart in the US. The first song on the album, "Feel So Different", starts with '' The Serenity Prayer'' by
Reinhold Niebuhr Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr (June 21, 1892 – June 1, 1971) was an American Reformed theologian, ethicist, commentator on politics and public affairs, and professor at Union Theological Seminary for more than 30 years. Niebuhr was one of Ameri ...
. The album also includes O'Connor's rendition of " I Am Stretched on Your Grave", an anonymous 17th-century poem that was written in Irish, translated into English by
Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on as ...
, and composed by musician Philip King in 1979. O'Connor's version uses a loop of "
Funky Drummer "Funky Drummer" is a song by James Brown recorded in 1969 and released as a single in 1970. Its drum break, Musical improvisation, improvised by Clyde Stubblefield, is one of the most frequently sampling (music), sampled music recordings. Recor ...
" by
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
.


Critical reception

''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' received critical acclaim. ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' ranked it as the best album of 1990, calling the record "a spiritual victory, full of wisdom wrested from audible pain." In 2012, it was ranked number 408 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' magazine's list of the
500 greatest albums of all time 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...
. The album was ranked number 457 on the 2020 edition of the list.


Track listing


Original release


Bonus disc (2009)


Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. *Sinéad O'Connor – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, programming, arranger, producer, string arrangements *
Marco Pirroni Marco Francesco Andrea Pirroni (born 27 April 1959) frequently credited simply as Marco, is a British guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He has worked with Adam Ant, Sinéad O'Connor, Siouxsie and the Banshees and many others from the la ...
– guitar on "The Emperor's New Clothes" *David Munday – acoustic guitar and piano on "You Cause As Much Sorrow" *
Andy Rourke Andrew Michael Rourke (17 January 1964 – 19 May 2023) was an English musician best known as the bassist of the 1980s indie rock band the Smiths. Regarded as one of the greatest bassists of his generation, he was known for his melodic and funk- ...
– bass guitar on "The Emperor's New Clothes", "Jump in the River" and "You Cause As Much Sorrow", acoustic guitar on "Jump in the River" *
Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
– bass guitar on "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance" * John Reynolds – drums and percussion on "The Emperor's New Clothes", "You Cause As Much Sorrow" and "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance" *Kieran Kiely – keyboards, accordion, piano *
Steve Wickham Steve Wickham is an Irish musician. Originally from Ballyfermot, Dublin, but calling Sligo home, Wickham was a founding member of In Tua Nua (left in 1985 replaced by Aingeala de Burca) and played violin on the classic U2 song " Sunday Blo ...
– fiddle on "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" *The Muses – backing vocals * Philip King – vocals, melody arrangement *
Nick Ingman Nicholas Ingman (born 29 April 1948) is an English arranger, composer and conductor in the commercial music field. His collaborators include Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Björk, and the British X-factor. Born and educated in London, Ingman move ...
– conductor, orchestra director, string arrangement on "Feel So Different" *
Karl Wallinger Karl Edmond De Vere Wallinger (19 October 1957 – 10 March 2024) was a Welsh musician, songwriter and record producer. He was best known for leading the band World Party and for his mid-1980s membership of the Waterboys (contributing in parti ...
– arranger Technical *
Nellee Hooper Paul Andrew "Nellee" Hooper (born 15 March 1963) is a British record producer, remixer and songwriter known for his work with many major recording artists beginning in the late 1980s. He also debuted as a motion picture music composer with Scot ...
– co-producer on "Nothing Compare 2 U" *Chris Birkett, Sean Devitt – engineers *Dave Hoffman, Dominique Le Rigoleur – photography * John Maybury – cover design


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications and sales

!scope="row", Worldwide , , 7,000,000 , -


See also

* List of ''Billboard'' 200 number-one albums of 1990 * List of Canadian number-one albums of 1990 * List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 1990s


References

{{Authority control 1990 albums Sinéad O'Connor albums Albums produced by Nellee Hooper Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album Chrysalis Records albums Ensign Records albums 1990s in Irish music