Two years later she published with "Universal Mother" one of their finest albums. A mostly acoustic and quietly held Innerspace. It is Sinéad O'Connor's credit that they did not then tried their successful album of 1990 to send a clone behind. Perhaps this is her most intimate, her zerbrechlichstes album. The most famous song is the pulsating electric and so for this disk is not typical "Fire on Babylon". An agonizing text, danceable music, about a clear singing is cool, hard, vulnerable, emotional and fascinating. A song about her mother, and the infinitely difficult relationship between mother and daughter. In life, the mother, there was no resolution, many of the outside world incomprehensible, disturbing behavior by Sinéad O'Connor may have caused their difficult childhood. If you like their music, you always hope that everything may take a good way.
After "Fire on Babylon" is now followed by a whole series of rather quiet songs. Especially the piano, now and then strings, plus twice the acoustic guitar dominate the next songs. In Fade Out from "Red Football" once again we encounter the Sinéad of Debuts or rotzigeren moments of "I do not want what I have not got." Your cover of "All Apologies" who died in the same year Kurt Cobain is a very poignant performance in all its bareness and redeemed unit. A short piece is spoken of her son Jake, two songs are pure a capella pieces, when they will be accompanied by backing vocals, then there is only her voice. It is difficult here to emphasize individual songs, "A Perfect Indian" is a jewel, but the same goes for "Scorn not his Simplicity", "John I love you" and so on.
In the last two songs we hear back Drums, Keyboards and Programming. The Hiphop Song "Famine" deals with those caused by the British occupying forces famine and the consequences thereof. The chorus Sinéad O'Connor recalls the Lonely People from the Beatles song "Eleanor Rigby". At the final song, "Thank you for hearing me" I always think of Peter Gabriel. Serve with a little note in the liner notes. 1990 sang the two in Chile "Do not give up" together and on the successful and beautiful "US" We hear Sinéad sing twice along with Peter Gabriel. A song where the melody is repeated over and dissolved by no chorus. The resolution can be heard at the very end as ocean waves.
Sinéad O'Connor's career had been two years earlier in the United States (tearing of a Pope's photos, their perceived by the public as fundamentally anti-consumer) a major crack, this plan was never mended. "Universal Mother" was therefore also like all plates from 1992 not a commercial success. Nevertheless, a very beautiful and moving album. Apart from the EP also beautiful "Gospel Oak" (1997), it took six years until it with "Faith and Courage" again a complete album published.
