How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?

How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? is the ninth full-length album by Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O'Connor, released in Ireland on 2 March 2012 on Shamrock Solutions and 5 March 2012 in the United Kingdom on One Little Indian.[2][3] The first single "The Wolf Is Getting Married" was released on 24 February in Ireland and got to number 40 for one week,[4] accompanied by a video directed by Roman Rappak, lead singer of Breton.[5]

How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?
Studio album by
Released20 February 2012 (2012-02-20)[1]
Recorded2007–2011
StudioNew Air Studios (Kilburn, London)
GenreAlternative rock
Length44:59
LabelShamrock Solutions Republic of Ireland
One Little Indian
ProducerJohn Reynolds
Sinéad O'Connor chronology
Theology
(2007)
How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?
(2012)
I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss
(2014)
Alternative cover
European edition
Singles from How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?
  1. "The Wolf Is Getting Married"
    Released: 27 February 2012
  2. "4th and Vine"
    Released: 18 February 2013
  3. "Old Lady"
    Released: 27 May 2013

The second single "4th and Vine" was released on 18 February 2013, accompanied by a video directed by Kathryn Ferguson. In 2013 O'Connor announced a European tour in support for the album, called The Crazy Baldhead Tour. Marco Pirroni of Rema Rema and Adam and the Ants plays guitar on the album. [6]

As of 2014, sales in the United States have exceeded 18,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[7]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [9]
Consequence of Sound     [10]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[11]
The Guardian     [12]
musicOMH     [13]
Now     [14]
Pitchfork7.6/10[15]
PopMatters7/10[16]
Rolling Stone     [17]
Slant Magazine     [18]

Will Hermes of the magazine Rolling Stone graded the album with three out of five stars and found, "empathy, wit and beauty on... [the] focused LP".[17]

Kitty Empire of The Guardian also graded the album with three out of five stars and declared the album, "feels effervescent, even when the breezy love songs give way to more complex concerns… O'Connor thunders, and the hairs on your arms stand up, electrified… an album that restores O'Connor's reputation as an artist.".[19]

Track listing

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How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."4th and Vine"O'Connor, John Reynolds, Justin Adams3:58
2."Reason with Me"O'Connor, Geoffrey Smith4:02
3."Old Lady"O'Connor, Marco Pirroni, Chris Constantinou3:44
4."Take Off Your Shoes"O'Connor, Reynolds5:28
5."Back Where You Belong"O'Connor4:16
6."The Wolf Is Getting Married"O'Connor, Pirroni, Constantinou, Aisling O'Neill4:23
7."Queen of Denmark"John Grant4:37
8."Very Far from Home"O'Connor3:55
9."I Had a Baby"O'Connor, Pirroni, Constantinou, O'Neill4:11
10."V.I.P."O'Connor6:36
iTunes bonus tracks[20]
No.TitleLength
11."Song to the Siren" 
12."I Am Stretched on Your Grave" (live in Reykjavik) 
Google Play bonus tracks[21]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."Factories"Damien Dempsey3:42

Live album – limited special edition

This live album was recorded in three different concerts. Songs 1 to 4 at Dublin Olympia Theatre (Dublin), December 18, 2011; songs 5 to 8 at Frikirkjan Church (Reykjavík), October 14, 2011 (during Iceland Airwaves '11); songs 9 to 12 at St. John at Hackney (London), November 2, 2011.

Live album track listing
No.TitleLength
1."4th and Vine"3:50
2."V.I.P."7:33
3."The Lamb's Book of Life"5:34
4."Jackie"2:56
5."Black Boys on Mopeds"3:57
6."This Is a Rebel Song"3:46
7."Three Babies"4:46
8."Nothing Compares 2 U"5:43
9."Old Lady"3:41
10."Reason with Me"3:22
11."I Am Stretched on Your Grave"5:20
12."Last Day of Our Acquaintance"4:40

Personnel

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Live album

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  • Sinéad O'Connor – vocals, guitar (tracks 5-8)
  • Kieran Kiely – musical director, keyboards, guitar, accordion, low whistle
  • Ash Soan – drums (tracks 1–4)
  • Yolanda Charles – bass guitar, backing vocals (tracks 1–4 and 9–12)
  • Dave Randall – guitar (tracks 1–4 and 9–12)
  • Rachael Wood – guitar, backing vocals (tracks 1–4 and 9–12)
  • Steve Barney – drums (tracks 9–12)
  • Bill Shanley – guitar (tracks 5–8)
  • Rachael Dawson – cello on track 10, backing vocals on track 9
  • Roisin Waters – backing vocals (tracks 1–4)

Charts

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Chart performance for How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?
Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 198
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 42
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[25] 54
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[26] 100
Canadian Albums Chart[27] 71
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[28] 31
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[29] 29
French Albums (SNEP)[30] 105
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[31] 78
Irish Albums (IRMA)[32] 5
Italian Albums (FIMI)[33] 57
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 69
UK Albums (OCC)[37] 33
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[38] 7
US Billboard 200[39] 115
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[40] 20
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[41] 28
Scottish Albums (OCC)[42] 33

References

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  1. ^ "How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? - Sinead O'Connor". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  2. ^ Sinead O'Connor. One Little Indian, 9 December 2011.
  3. ^ Sinead O’Connor announces ‘How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?’ Slicing Up Eyeballs, 12 December 2011.
  4. ^ "Sinéad O'Connor - The Wolf Is Getting Married - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  5. ^ "SINEAD OCONNOR The Wolf Is Getting Married - VIDEO". 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  6. ^ "The Crazy Baldhead Toyr". Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  7. ^ "Billboard Cover: Sinead O'Connor on Having No Regrets, Being 'Irregular' and Resurrecting Her Career". Billboard.
  8. ^ "How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More - Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  9. ^ Thomas, Fred. "How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? - Sinéad O'Connor". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  10. ^ Hardy, Tony (9 March 2012). "Album Review: Sinéad O'Connor - How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  11. ^ Woon, Mikael (24 February 2012). "How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? review - Sinéad O'Connor Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  12. ^ Simpson, Dave (1 March 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? - review". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  13. ^ Hogwood, Ben (5 March 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor - How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". musicOMH. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  14. ^ Ritchie, Kevin (23 February 2012). "Sinead O'Connor - How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Now. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
  15. ^ Dousler, Stephen M. (29 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  16. ^ Langhoff, Josh (22 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". PopMatters. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  17. ^ a b Hermes, Will (21 February 2012). "Sinead O'Connor - How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? (One Little Indian)". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  18. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (20 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  19. ^ Empire, Kitty (25 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (And You Be You)? – review".
  20. ^ Sinead O'Connor. iTunes, 24 January 2012.
  21. ^ Sinead O'Connor. Google Play.
  22. ^ Chris questioned about his input on 'How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?' Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine Pop! The Question, 30 December 2011.
  23. ^ "Part of Sinéad O'Connor's ARIA chart history 1988 to 2022, received from ARIA in 2022". ARIA. Retrieved 3 December 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  24. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  25. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Ultratop.be – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  27. ^ "SoundScan Charts". CANOE - JAM! Music. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  28. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Lescharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  31. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  32. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Sinéad O'Connor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  34. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  35. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  36. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  37. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  38. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  39. ^ "Sinead O'Connor Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  40. ^ "Sinead O'Connor Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  41. ^ "Sinead O'Connor Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  42. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
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