Sinéad O’Connor
Sean-Nós Nua
Hummingbird HBCD0030; 65
minutes; 2002
News of the
imminence of this release had traditional purists heading to the shed to
sharpen their hatchets, fearful that the multifaceted Sinéad was about to wreak
havoc upon one of Ireland’s most cherished cultural traditions. Sean-nós,
meaning ‘old-style’, is a form of unaccompanied singing in the Irish still
found in those areas where the language is strongest (Donegal, Connemara, West
Cork and West Kerry) and Sinéad’s playful, if provocative, addition of the word
‘nua’ (‘new’) suggested some terrible reinvention of the tradition. 
Purists,
fret ye not! This album has about as much to do with sean-nós as an okapi with
a fruit machine. For Sinéad, peeking perkily on a the cover like a little pink pixie,
aims her attention at a selection of well-known Irish ballads (the likes of Her
Mantle So Green, The Parting Glass and The Moorlough Shore)
and only targets two songs in Irish (Óró and Báidín Fhellimí).
And it’s exactly how you would expect her to approach them, using a variety of
consummate musicians, Christy Moore as a guest singer, all her customary vocal
techniques including the odd inappropriate whoop, and no less than four
producers (including herself) to provide the necessary studio dressing. At its
worst (the John Bon Jovi meets Beth Gibbons version of My Lagan Love)
it’s murderous – at its best (the duet with Moore on Lord Baker) it’s
fabulous.
Ultimately,
because Sinéad is, of course, Sinéad (and all power to her elbows for being
so), there’s plenty both to delight and exasperate. The liner notes are
especially illuminating, not least her belief that The Singing Bird, a
fundamental love song, is about the glory of ‘Jah’, though somewhat puzzling
are the accompanying photographs – the lyrics of Molly Malone, the
archetypal Dublin street ballad, are superimposed over a picture of a London
bus in Brixton!
For a good
introduction to the real sean-nós tradition try these albums:
Joe Heaney –
The Road from Connemara (Topic/Cló Iar-Chonnachta)
Lillis Ó
Laoire – Bláth Gach Géag dá dTíg (Cló Iar-Chonnachta)
Various – Amhrán
ar an Sean-Nós (RTÉ)
This review by Geoff Wallis was originally written for Songlines
magazine – www.songlines.co.uk.
For more information about
Hummingbird Records – www.hummingbirdrecords.com.
And, if you really do need to know more about
Sinéad – www.sineadoconnor.com.