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The Lion and the Cobra

 
Album Review: The Lion and the Cobra

  • Artist: Sinéad O'Connor
  • Rating: StarStarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: 1987
  • Total Time: 42:21
  • Genre: Rock

Review

Sinéad O'Connor's debut, The Lion and the Cobra, was a sensation upon its 1987 release, and it remains a distinctive record, finding a major talent striving to achieve her own voice. Like many debuts, it's entirely possible to hear her influences, from Peter Gabriel to Prince and contemporary rap, but what's striking about the record is how she synthesizes these into her own sound -- an eerie, expansive sound heavy on atmosphere and tortured passion. If the album occasionally sinks into its own atmospheric murk a little too often, she pulls everything back into focus with songs as bracing as the hard-rocking "Mandinka" or the sexy hip-hop of "I Want Your (Hands on Me)." Still, those ethereal soundscapes are every bit as enticing as the direct material, since "Troy," "Jackie," and "Jerusalem" are compelling because of their hushed, quiet intensity. It's not a perfect album, since it can succumb to uneven pacing, but it's a thoroughly impressive debut -- and it's all the more impressive when you realize she only topped it with its immediate successor, before losing all focus. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Jackie (Lyrics) Sinéad O'Connor Sinéad O'Connor (2:28)
Mandinka (Lyrics) Sinéad O'Connor Sinéad O'Connor (3:46)
Jerusalem (Lyrics) Mike Clowes, Ali McMordie, Sinéad O'Connor, Jake Reynolds Sinéad O'Connor (4:20)
Just Like U Said It Would B (Lyrics) Sinéad O'Connor, Steve Wickham Sinéad O'Connor (4:32)
Never Get Old (Lyrics) Sinéad O'Connor Sinéad O'Connor (4:39)
Troy (Lyrics) Sinéad O'Connor Sinéad O'Connor (6:34)
I Want Your (Hands on Me) Mike Clowes, Sinéad O'Connor, Jake Reynolds, Rob Deean Sinéad O'Connor (4:42)
Drink Before the War Sinéad O'Connor Sinéad O'Connor (5:25)
Just Call Me Joe Sinéad O'Connor (5:51)

Credits

Rob Dean (Guitar (Acoustic)), Kevin Moloney (Producer), Sinéad O'Connor (Producer), John Maybury (Art Direction), Steve Horse (Art Direction), Mike Clowes (Synthesizer), Sinéad O'Connor (Mixing), Marco Pirroni (Guitar (Acoustic)), Jack Adams (Mastering), Kevin Moloney (Guitar (Bass)), Mike Clowes (Keyboards), Sinéad O'Connor (Arranger), Kevin Mooney (Guitar (Bass)), Steve Horse (Cover Art), Kim Bowen (Photography), Teeroy Morris (Arranger), Kate Garner (Photography), Kevin Moloney (Mixing), Sinéad O'Connor (Vocals), John Maybury (Cover Art), Kevin Moloney (Engineer), Sinéad O'Connor (Guitar (Electric)), Mike Clowes (String Arrangements), John Reynolds (Drums), Chris Birkett (Mixing), Kevin Mooney (Guitar), Rob Dean (Guitar (Electric)), Enya (Voices), Enya (Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part), Fachtna O'Ceallaigh (Mixing), Kevin Moloney (Guitar), Marco Pirroni (Guitar (Electric)), Gavyn Wright (Director), Sean Pencil (Cover Art), John Reynolds (Programming), Leslie Winer (Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part), Leslie Winer (Voices), Marco Pirroni (?), Teeroy Morris (Mixing), Kate Garder (Photography), Lloyd Phillips (Mixing), Spike Hollifield (Guitar (Bass))
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Wikipedia: The Lion and the Cobra
Top
The Lion and the Cobra
Studio album by Sinéad O'Connor
Released November 4, 1987
Recorded 1986–1987, Oasis Studios, London
Genre Alternative rock, Pop rock
Length 42:21
Label Ensign/Chrysalis
Producer Sinéad O'Connor
Kevin Mooney
Professional reviews
Sinéad O'Connor chronology
The Lion and the Cobra
(1987)
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
(1990)
Alternative cover
U.S. cover art
Singles from The Lion and the Cobra
  1. "Troy"
    Released: 1987
  2. "Mandinka"
    Released: 1988
  3. "I Want Your (Hands on Me)
    (featuring MC Lyte)"

    Released: 1988

The Lion and the Cobra is the 1987 debut album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor. O'Connor, age 20 at the time, recorded the album while very pregnant with her first child. She scrapped the original version of this album because she felt her record company was pushing for it to be "too Celtic"[citation needed], so she produced it herself.

The photograph of O'Connor on the album cover was taken by Haysi Fantayzee member Kate Garner. The U.S. cover differed from the European release, as it was felt a more subdued pose would present a "softer" image of O'Connor.

The video for "Mandinka" was shown heavily after debuting January 24, 1988 on 120 Minutes on MTV. The single was a mainstream pop hit in the UK, peaking at #17 in the singles chart, as well as her native Ireland. "I Want Your (Hands On Me)" debuted in May 1988 on the same show, featuring a rap interlude by MC Lyte. This song was featured in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.

The album featured prominent session musicians John Reynolds on drums and former Adam and the Ants and Siouxsie & the Banshees guitarist Marco Pirroni.

The title of the album is from Psalm 91:13 "you will tread upon the lion and cobra", and the track "Never Get Old" opens with a recital of Psalm 91 in Irish by singer Enya with Sinead.

The album sold 2,500,000 copies worldwide.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Sinéad O'Connor, except where noted. 

# Title Writer(s) Length
1. "Jackie"     2:28
2. "Mandinka"     3:46
3. "Jerusalem"   O'Connor, Ali McMordie, Mike Clowes, John Reynolds 4:20
4. "Just Like U Said It Would B"   O'Connor, Steve Wickham 4:32
5. "Never Get Old" (spoken-word intro by Enya)   4:39
6. "Troy"     6:34
7. "I Want Your (Hands on Me)"   O'Connor, Clowes, Reynolds, Rob Dean, Spike Holifield 4:42
8. "Drink Before the War"   O'Connor, Clowes, Reynolds 5:25
9. "Just Call Me Joe"   O'Connor, Kevin Mooney, Leslie Winer 5:51

Personnel


 
 
Learn More
Sinead O'Connor: The Value of Ignorance (1988 Music Film)
Sinead O'Connor (Singer/Songwriter)
The Value of Ignorance [Video/CD] (1991 Album by Sinéad O'Connor)

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Lion and the Cobra" Read more