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She caused a huge uproar when she tore up a picture of the pope on live TV, so much so that she was shouted at during Bob Dylan's 30th career anniversary concert, not allowing her to sing.
This was the Sinéad who presented herself to the public, highly criticized and very angry with the world, when "Universal Mother" was released in 1994. This album set itself apart from the others, showing an inner evolution of the singer, her stances on various topics, and some moments from her life. "Fire On Babylon" was chosen as the first single and remains an example of O'Connor's vocal ability and troubled childhood. The choice of this not very ordinary song with unpleasant themes contributed to the album's lack of success. "John I Love You" and "My Darling Child" are quite ordinary, sweet, and well-crafted songs, while "Am I Human" is a very brief track sung by a child, which I find to be an absolutely questionable choice.
The album regains strength with a particular song, "Red Football," with anti-abortion themes where we find a certain aggressiveness at the end. The album continues steadily and not very dynamically regarding tracks seven to nine, with "All Apologies," "A Perfect Indian," and "Scorn Not His Simplicity," where the artist's skill is reiterated, but they don't make much of an impact. "All The Babies" raises the album's level once again, with a song worth listening to for its theological foundation. We return to calm and serene rhythms with "In This Heart" and "Tiny Grief Song," while "Famine" offers us a rap experiment that denounces the pollution of Irish culture by the English. "Thank You For Hearing Me" is the only notable track that isn’t a critique and, even with its sweet tones, is anything but ordinary.
In conclusion, an album that is a tad bipolar, marking the beginning of the artist's descent, the cracking of a promising career that has recently been redeemed with a nice album that, however, adds nothing new. Essentially, a good album, hampered by its accusations against the church that, years down the line, proved to be anything but castles in the air.
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Other reviews
By flood
Fire On Babylon: a dark, magmatic pulse, a very elaborate base on which O'Connor, with a voice full of rage and expressive power never reached before, confides about the abuse suffered during childhood.
Universal Mother is probably her most mature and profound album, both in terms of lyrics and expressive ability, certainly not the most immediate but the unjustly forgotten one.
By Luigi_96
The album truly takes off at track number six with 'The Voice of My Doctor' which gives the album a rock turn and a considerable energy boost.
'Take Me To Church' lies somewhat of the key to understanding this concept album dedicated to love.
