(#13) Sinéad O’Connor: Feel So Different
Album: I do not want what I haven’t got (1990)
The flame that was Sinéad O’Connor burned twice as bright for half as long. And now that the cliché quota’s been fulfilled, I can turn to the subject matter at hand. You see the best song on Sinéad’s hit album was not Nothing Compares 2 U (even though it shall eternally remain on my teenage years top 5) but the opening song, a small(ish) and heart-achingly beautiful Feel So Different.
The song has many things working in its favour. First there’s Sinéad’s voice, unsurpassed in the 90s. For someone who could easily go on an endless tirade of high-note self-pleasuring she sings with restraint that makes those bursts of power ever more enjoyable.
Second there’s the superb string instrumentation. Actually there’s nothing but Sinéad’s voice and the strings and this makes the end result doubly beautiful, as strings can have a truly human-like sound. Together the two create a breathing, living, organic sonic experience that isn’t muddled by the screeching of guitars or the strict punctuality of percussions. I know I always rant about the strings but here they aren’t just something one pours in to fill in the cracks, but the very essence of the song, the aural water in which the ethereal voice of Sinéad floats.
And it’s so wonderfully slow, so patient in building up for five minutes, before the song finally lets go, reaches a climax, and then comes down ever so slowly, wrapping up the piece in six minutes, thus creating a perfect package of stunning pop music from the very beginning of the 1990s. Should anyone sneer at the sound of the beginning of the decade, just play him/her this track.
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