I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

• Artist: Sinéad O'Connor
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1990 03
• Total Time: 50:53
• Type: Lyrics are included with the album
• Genre: Rock

Review

I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got became Sinéad O'Connor's popular breakthrough on the strength of the stunning Prince cover "Nothing Compares 2 U," which topped the pop charts for a month. But even its remarkable intimacy wasn't adequate preparation for the harrowing confessionals that composed the majority of the album. Informed by her stormy relationship with drummer John Reynolds, who fathered O'Connor's first child before the couple broke up, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got lays the singer's psyche startlingly and sometimes uncomfortably bare. The songs mostly address relationships with parents, children, and (especially) lovers, through which O'Connor weaves a stubborn refusal to be defined by anyone but herself. In fact, the album is almost too personal and cathartic to draw the listener in close, since O'Connor projects such turmoil and offers such specific detail. Her confrontational openness makes it easy to overlook O'Connor's musical versatility. Granted, not all of the music is as brilliantly audacious as "I Am Stretched on Your Grave," which marries a Frank O'Connor poem to eerie Celtic melodies and a James Brown "Funky Drummer" sample. But the album plays like a tour de force in its demonstration of everything O'Connor can do: dramatic orchestral ballads, intimate confessionals, catchy pop/rock, driving guitar rock, and protest folk, not to mention the nearly six-minute a cappella title track. What's consistent throughout is the frighteningly strong emotion O'Connor brings to bear on the material, while remaining sensitive to each piece's individual demands. Aside from being a brilliant album in its own right, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got foreshadowed the rise of deeply introspective female singer/songwriters like Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan, who were more traditionally feminine and connected with a wider audience. Which takes nothing away from anyone; if anything, it's evidence that, when on top of her game, O'Connor was a singular talent. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Feel So Different	Sinéad O'Connor	Sinéad O'Connor	(6:47)
I Am Stretched on Your Grave (Lyrics)	Phillip King	Sinéad O'Connor	(5:33)
Three Babies (Lyrics)	Sinéad O'Connor	Sinéad O'Connor	(4:47)
The Emperor's New Clothes	Sinéad O'Connor	Sinéad O'Connor	(5:16)
Black Boys on Mopeds	Sinéad O'Connor	Sinéad O'Connor	(3:53)
Nothing Compares 2 U (Lyrics)	Prince	Sinéad O'Connor	(5:10)
Jump in the River	Marco Pirroni, Sinéad O'Connor	Sinéad O'Connor	(4:12)
You Cause as Much Sorrow (Lyrics)		Sinéad O'Connor	(5:04)
The Last Day of Our Acquaintance	Sinéad O'Connor	Sinéad O'Connor	(4:40)
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got	Sinéad O'Connor	Sinéad O'Connor	(5:45)

Credits

Chris Birkett (Producer), Chris Birkett (Engineer), Sean Devitt (Producer), Sean Devitt (Engineer), Nellee Hooper (Producer), Nick Ingman (Conductor), Nick Ingman (Director), Nick Ingman (String Arrangements), Jah Wobble (Bass), Marco Pirroni (Guitar (Electric)), David Munday (Guitar (Acoustic)), David Munday (Piano), Sinéad O'Connor (Guitar (Acoustic)), Sinéad O'Connor (Guitar), Sinéad O'Connor (Percussion), Sinéad O'Connor (Arranger), Sinéad O'Connor (Guitar (Electric)), Sinéad O'Connor (Keyboards), Sinéad O'Connor (Vocals), Sinéad O'Connor (Producer), Sinéad O'Connor (Main Performer), Sinéad O'Connor (String Arrangements), Sinéad O'Connor (Drum Programming), John Reynolds (Drums), Andy Rourke (Guitar (Acoustic)), Andy Rourke (Bass), Karl Wallinger (Arranger), Steve Wickham (Fiddle), Dave Hoffman (Photography), Dominique Lerigoleur (Photography), John Maybury (Cover Design), Phillip King (Vocals), Phillip King (Melody Arrangement)

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