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''Faith and Courage'' is the fifth studio album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released on 13 June 2000, by Atlantic Records. It was O'Connor's first release in three years, her previous album being the greatest hits package '' So Far... The Best of Sinéad O'Connor'' in 1997, plus it was her first studio album in six years. O'Connor composed a majority of the tracks on ''Faith and Courage'' and production duties were shared by a variety of artists including
Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...
,
David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...
, Brian Eno,
Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs is an American record producer, known for producing the TLC #1 hit " No Scrubs" and various Destiny's Child songs from the album ''The Writing's on the Wall''. Briggs' then girlfriend, former Xscape singer Kandi Burrus ...
,
Anne Preven Anne Preven (born February 25, 1965) is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, she co-wrote "Torn" which was covered by Lis Sørensen (Danish), Trine Rein (Norwegian), and then N ...
and
Scott Cutler Scott Michael Cutler is an American songwriter, musician, record producer, and music executive. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, he co-wrote "Torn" which was covered in 1997 by Natalie Imbruglia. Her recording became the worl ...
among others.


Background

In 1998, Sinéad O'Connor left label
Ensign Records Ensign Records was a record label started in 1976 by London-born Nigel Grainge, elder brother of UMG Chairman Sir Lucian Grainge. History Nigel Grainge began his career in the record business as a sales office assistant at Phonogram UK in 19 ...
and signed with Atlantic Records, but her album was delayed due to her personal struggles, including the birth of her daughter, an alleged suicide attempt, a bitter custody battle and becoming a priestess in a religious order. O'Connor described ''Faith and Courage'', her first album with Atlantic, as a record about "survival" which depicted her own troubled "journey" as she bared her soul on a series of autobiographical and often cathartic songs. "It's exciting and a little scary to be back. I wanted to make a record which was strong and positive. It's about getting my spirit back on its feet and standing up", she said. Andy Murray, marketing director of Warner Music Europe, commented: "It's the right time for her to break her silence. ..and everybody seems to think it's her best album since her first record. The marketing campaign is about reminding people who she is. But actually, despite the long gap, nobody seems to need reminding. There's a real excitement around the record, which has surprised a lot of people".


Critical reception

''Faith and Courage'' received positive reviews from music critics, including the best ones she had received in years. Irish ''
Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...
'' magazine suggested that the album was O'Connor's equivalent of
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
's ''
Blood on the Tracks ''Blood on the Tracks'' is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 20, 1975, by Columbia Records. The album marked Dylan's return to Columbia Records after a two-album stint with Asylum Records. Dy ...
'' (1975). It was placed on Slant Magazine's list of best albums of the 2000s at number 99.


Chart performance

The album was certified gold (35,000 Copies) in Australia in 2000. As of 2014, sales in the United States have exceeded 219,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.


Track listing


Charts


Personnel

* Sinéad O'Connor - vocals *
Skip McDonald Skip McDonald (born Bernard Alexander, September 1949) Allmusic biography/ref> is an American musician who also performs under the stage name Little Axe. Career Early career Grounded in blues music learned from his father, a steel worker who ...
- guitar, backing vocals *Carlton "Bubblers" Ogilvie - bass, piano *Professor Stretch - programming, keyboards *
Rusty Anderson Rusty Anderson is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter who is best known for his work as the lead guitarist for Paul McCartney's touring band though he has worked with an extensive list of artists in addition to his own solo career. Ca ...
, Derek Scott,
David A. Stewart David Allan Stewart (born 9 September 1952) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for Eurythmics, his successful professional partnership with Annie Lennox. Sometimes credited as David A. Stewart, he won Best British ...
,
Scott Cutler Scott Michael Cutler is an American songwriter, musician, record producer, and music executive. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, he co-wrote "Torn" which was covered in 1997 by Natalie Imbruglia. Her recording became the worl ...
- guitar *Paul Bushnell,
Jah Wobble John Joseph Wardle (born 11 August 1958), known by the stage name Jah Wobble, is an English bass guitarist and singer. He became known to a wider audience as the original bass player in Public Image Ltd (PiL) in the late 1970s and early 1980s; ...
- bass *
Scot Coogan Scot Coogan is an American musician known for his accomplished drumming and vocal skills, working as both a session and touring musician. Scot resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he records, performs and has worked as a counselor at Rock and Ro ...
, Lil John,
Chris Sharrock Chris Sharrock (born 30 May 1964) is an English drummer, hailing from Bebington, Cheshire (now Merseyside), England. He has been a member of the Icicle Works, the La's, the Wild Swans, World Party, the Lightning Seeds, Robbie Williams's liv ...
, John Reynolds - drums *
Jeff Turzo Jeff Turzo, as singer/programming and songwriting/production partner in the electro-rock band God Lives Underwater (GLU), spent the better part of the 1990s as a producer and touring artist, first signed by Rick Rubin to American Recordings in ...
, Simon Mundey, Mark Price, Andy Wright - programming * David Campbell - strings arrangement, viola *Joel Derouin - violin *Larry Corbett - cello *Ed Rockett - low and high whistle *
Caroline Dale Caroline Dale (born 1965) is a widely recorded British cellist who currently plays principal cello for the English Chamber Orchestra and London Metropolitan Orchestra. She has also performed music for numerous films and played with a wide range ...
- strings *Blandinna Melky Jean - additional vocals on track 4 * Chucho Merchan - additional bass guitar on track 6 *Little Roy - backing vocals on track 6 *Zac Rae, Kieran Kiely, David Levita - keyboards *
Anne Preven Anne Preven (born February 25, 1965) is an American songwriter, musician, and record producer. As a member of the alternative rock band Ednaswap, she co-wrote "Torn" which was covered by Lis Sørensen (Danish), Trine Rein (Norwegian), and then N ...
- backing vocals on track 9 *Karren Berz - orchestral arrangement *Bonjo I Abinghi Noah - percussion


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2000 albums Sinéad O'Connor albums Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer) Albums produced by Brian Eno Albums produced by David A. Stewart Atlantic Records albums