To quote her fellow Irishman, poet William Butler Yeats, when Sinead O'Connor's debut, The Lion and the Cobra, was released, a terrible beauty was born. O'Connor has a haunting voice as dark as the Irish bogs, and her unwavering delivery simultaneously inflames and chills. She sings in two ranges: her soprano ("Never Get Old," "Jackie") is a nearly monastic chant that's angular and breathy like a pan flute or a tin whistle, while her alto, reigning in "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" and "Mandinka," is a suspended, forceful spoken-word tone that never quite yells. By switching back and forth between these two vocal modes, she yanks the listener into her turmoil, giving you no choice but to empathize. She was only 20 years old during this recording, and her difficult relationships with lovers, motherhood, her parents, and the Catholic Church were traumatic and fresh. But rather than mellow with maturity, she gained notoriety with publicly unfavorable political antics that would accompany and often overshadow her equally astounding follow-up, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. --Beth Bessmer

Customer Rating:
Summary: Has it been over twenty years already?
Comment: During the mid to late eighties I was fortunate enough to have one of my dream jobs when I worked in a record store. For that brief moment in my life I was exposed to so much music and a fair amount of it has stayed with me over the decades since that idyllic period. Such is the case with The Lion and the Cobra from Sinead O'Connor. The vocal range of this gifted singer jumps out at you right away on the haunting opening track Jackie. This album is a hypnotic collection of gothic intensity, sultry acoustic strumming, pulsing beats, and angelic whispers of raw emotion.
I will admit to not following much of her career after this album beyond the inescapable Prince cover and her highly publicized political statements but I can testify that this album is a timeless and powerful collection of passionate, beautiful, and melodic songs. There aren't that many albums where you love every song and which comes to a close far too quickly. That's what you get here.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Lion and the Cobra by Sinead O Connor
Comment: This is arguably one of the best albums ever made.The passion in this woman's voice has never been equalled. The Passion she evokes with her magnificent voice is unbelievable and moving.
It is a complex album with many themes, some political, some personal all nearly perfect.
'Three babies' is a mysterious, pure and haunting song,/......
- listen to this album by yourself and loud. Guaranteed to make t=you rejoice and make you cry.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: This One's for the Books!
Comment: I still have no idea why i had purchased the Lion and the Cobra, all i knew about Sinead O'Connor back then was that she had been appearently banned from the face of the earth after that infamous incident that took place on SNL.

I bought the cd at my local Half Price Book store, looking for new music. i took it home and it sat there in my cd collection for about 2 months, until one day i was bored outta my mind and decided to popit into my Cd Player. i knew this cd was gonna be something diffrent and captivating just by listening to the first 20 seconds of the beautifully HAUNTING opener "Jackie"

Jackie left on a cold dark night
Telling me he'd be home
Sailed the seas for a hundred years
Leaving me all alone
And I've been dead for twenty years
I've been washing the sand
With my ghostly tears
Searching the shores for my Jackie-oh

I really don't care that much for Mandinka, Never Get Old, I Want Your (Hands On Me) & Just Call Me Joe. Im sure they are love by many fans

BUT!; Jerusalem, Just like you Said It Would B, Troy and the exquisite Drink Before the War, HAVE to be the best songs ever written and sung! NO JOKE

Don't worry Sinead, Jackie might be lost. But you've found a fan for life!

I put
-Jackie
-Jerusalem
-Just Like You Said It Would B
-Troy &
-Drink Before The War
on my iPod and i listen to those songs about 2 to 3 times a day and it stirrs up even the most deepsest emotions everytime


You owe it to your soul to buy this cd, it will thank you deeply!


BUY IT NOW!! it basically pays itself with just 3 listens

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Byrd's Greatest Hits
Comment: I finally got the correct CD for the Byrds. Be careful--somehow there has been a problem with the UPC code on this CD crossing over to a Sinead O'Connor CD. Verify with the seller that you are definitely getting the Byrd's Greatest Hits and you'll save yourself and the seller a headache. That said, most of the songs were great; only a couple I wasn't all that crazy about. Still a collection of songs reflecting the sometimes serious social issues of the '60's and others just humorous (Hey Mr. Spaceman) that you'll remember if you were a part of that era.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: This album changed me
Comment: I was 14 when I first heard this album. I had never experienced anything like it before. Her voice captivated me, I couldnt listen to it enough. I still listen to it all the time . I know that Sinead is misunderstood, but she is so gifted and her views are very strong. She is never afraid to express them, maybe we all should be like that!!!! She is a true pioneer and I have introduced her voice to my children and they have great respect for her as an artist, as do I .

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