Sinéad O’Connor - The Lion and the Cobra
I usually recommend albums when I like almost all of the tracks on the album, but this is a bit different. Don’t get me wrong—I don’t dislike any of the tracks (I find Sinéad’s voice so extraordinary that she could make a nursery rhyme interesting). ‘Mandinka’, ‘Jerusalem’ and ‘Just Like U Said It Would B’ are all great tracks, though the heavy 80s synth sounds are a bit dated in places. But I love this album for one trackâ’Troy’.
The first time I heard ‘Troy’ my skin nearly crawled off my body, I was getting so many goose-pimples. Even though I’ve heard it many times, I’m still not entirely clear what the song is actually about (there seems to be some kind of infidelity going on, and then a tragic event), but the theme is clear enough. It’s about survival—coming through something very difficult and rising stronger than before. These lines from the song haunt me:
I’ll die But I will rise And I will return The phoenix from the flame I have learned I will rise And you’ll see me return Being what I am There is no other Troy For me to burn
This song uses her range to its full potential. Very few singers have such a mutable voice, and she can shift from a sweet whisper to a howling roar in a second. The lines, “I have learned/I will rise” are almost whispered, then there’s silence and “The phoenix from the flame” are shouted out with such strength and triumphalism that you can’t help but feel uplifted.
This album is 17 years old now, but the song came back to me this week watching Touching the Void, and thinking about endurance, survival and life. The song obviously touches on these themes, but there’s another link for me. I mentioned in my entry on Touching the Void that it reminded me of a documentary I saw about flamingos. The latin name for the flamingo is Phoenicopterus ruber (there are several sub-species), and Phoenicopterus roughly means ‘phoenix-winged’ (I think—my Latin and Greek are a bit rusty). I believe that they were named both for their flame-like colour, but also because they can exist in scorching, hostile conditions that would kill any other animal. In a weird kind of word association, I think of flamingos when I hear ‘Troy’, and now also mountaineering.
Unfortunately, this has the be the worst-recorded album of great music that I’ve ever heard, so my music-loving and audiophile selves have a bit of a battle over it. The music-lover usually wins, but the recording engineers should hang their heads in shame over this dog’s dinner. I know that Sinéad’s enormous dynamic range must have made finding the right level a bit of a challenge, but even so, they should have been able to do a better job with it.
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Yeah, I love that album, too. I think it's one of her best albums. Followed by her "Am I not your girl" album with nice "cover" versions.----- You probably already know this, but the song alludes to Yeats' No Second Troy (http://www.bartleby.com/147/36.html); I didn't know the song but recognised the reference in the lines you quoted.
by sennoma @ 09/02/2004 7:02 am • Permalink •
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When I saw the picture of the album cover and I started to read your words, I knew right away which direction this would be going in: 'Troy'. And no wonder - it's a masterpiece. Good choice!
by David (TEFL Smiler) @ 11/02/2004 2:02 am • Permalink •
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p. Georg Bauer: I haven't heard that album, but I'd like to give it a listen. I've got 'Universal Mother' which is excellent in places ('Fire in Babylon' is really powerful).
p. sennoma: I didn't know that poem at all, so thanks for pointing it out. It's a pretty direct quote, so I think that she must have been referencing it.
p. David: Yay! What can I say--we have great taste
by bsag @ 11/02/2004 7:02 pm • Permalink •
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I agree, this is my favorite album by her. Her next album is a bit more polished, but the music isn't as raw and powerful.
I also notice that the album cover you have is different than the one I have. I'll assume that was the way it was released in the UK. The US release was similar, but she's not screaming, she's looking down. You can see the difference by looking at amazon.co.uk vs. amazon.com.
by Jeffrey J. Hoover @ 23/02/2004 6:02 pm • Permalink •
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Thanks for presenting the album. I enjoyed each and every song on it. I'll play it at the next beneficial association ball.
by Anne-Marie @ 26/12/2007 10:26 pm • Permalink •
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I like songs of this albums. I use to hear it many times. Composition is very good.
by Recording Arts @ 11/06/2008 11:06 am • Permalink •
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