''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' is the second album by Irish singer
Sinéad O'Connor
Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, ''The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want What ...
Best Music Video, Short Form
The Grammy Award for Best Music Video is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to performers, directors, and producers of quality short form music videos. Hon ...
for "Nothing Compares 2 U", winning the award for Best Alternative Music Performance. However, O'Connor refused to accept the nominations and award.
Content
The critically acclaimed album contains O'Connor's most famous single, " Nothing Compares 2 U", which was one of the best selling singles in the world in 1990, topping the charts in many countries including the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. This rendition of the Prince song reflected on O'Connor's mother, who had lost her life in an auto accident five years earlier. The single "Emperor's New Clothes" found moderate success, although it did top the
Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart in the US.
The first song on the album, "Feel So Different", starts with '' The Serenity Prayer'' by Reinhold Niebuhr. The album also includes O'Connor's rendition of "
I Am Stretched on Your Grave
"I Am Stretched on Your Grave" is a translation of an Anonymous work, anonymous 17th-century Irish poetry, Irish poem titled "Táim sínte ar do thuama". It was translated into English several times, most notably by Frank O'Connor.
"Taim Sinte ...
", an anonymous 17th century poem that was written in Irish, translated into English by
Frank O'Connor
Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on a ...
, and composed by musician Philip King in 1979. O'Connor's sings her version over the oft-sampled loop of " Funky Drummer" by
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...
.
Critical reception
''I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got'' received critical acclaim. In 2012, it was ranked number 408 on '' Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the
500 greatest albums of all time
* Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
* NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2013 special issue of British magazine '' NME'', available digitally or in newsstands on October 23. The li ...
. The album was ranked number 457 on the 2020 edition of the list.
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
*Sinéad O'Connor – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, programming, arranger, producer, string arrangements
* Marco Pirroni – guitar on "The Emperor's New Clothes"
*David Munday – acoustic guitar and piano on "You Cause As Much Sorrow"
* Andy Rourke – bass guitar on "The Emperor's New Clothes", "Jump in the River" and "You Cause As Much Sorrow", acoustic guitar on "Jump in the River"
* Jah Wobble – bass guitar on "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance"
* John Reynolds – drums and percussion on "The Emperor's New Clothes", "You Cause As Much Sorrow" and "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance"
*Kieran Kiely – keyboards, accordion, piano
*
Steve Wickham
Steve Wickham is an Irish musician. Originally from Marino, Dublin, but calling Sligo home,Philip King – vocals, melody arrangement
* Nick Ingman – conductor, orchestra director, string arrangement on "Feel So Different"
* Karl Wallinger – arranger
;Technical
* Nellee Hooper – co-producer on "Nothing Compare 2 U"
*Chris Birkett, Sean Devitt – engineers
*Dave Hoffman, Dominique Le Rigoleur – photography
* John Maybury – cover design