Although Sinéad O’Connor is an amazing songwriter, she is best known for her version of a song written by Prince. This is a cover, but not that one - this track is from an album she made of classic reggae songs she grew up with.
After minor hits with songs like Mandinka, O’Connor hit the big time with the song that most people know her for, the Prince-penned song Nothing Compares 2 U.
But she’s a great song-writer in her own right, and I think she deserves to be just as well-known for her own material. Having said that, I just wrote up a piece on Grace Jones covering Private Life with Sly & Robbie, and that reminded me of O’Connor’s superb album of reggae covers, again with the legendary Jamaican duo.
These are songs she grew up with, and the album covers Burning Spear, Peter Tosh, Bob Marley and others. This is the title track off the album and was originally by Jamaican artist Burning Spear, featuring on his 1977 album Dry & Heavy.
The Sinéad O’Connor album “Universal Mother” is one of my all-time favourite records - it is more conventional pop but still carries a dub influence. Something off of that album, or it’s predecessor, will be added to this blog before long. It will definitely be one of her own compositions, she’s a hell of a songwriter.
