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)? | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 20 February 2012[1] | |||
Recorded | 2007–2011 | |||
Studio | New Air Studios (Kilburn, London) | |||
Genre | Alternative rock | |||
Length | 44:59 | |||
Label | Shamrock Solutions Republic of Ireland One Little Indian | |||
Producer | John Reynolds | |||
Sinéad O'Connor chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() European edition | ||||
Singles from How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? | ||||
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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
editAggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 75/100[8] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [9] |
Consequence of Sound | [10] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[11] |
The Guardian | [12] |
musicOMH | [13] |
Now | [14] |
Pitchfork | 7.6/10[15] |
PopMatters | 7/10[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
editNo. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "4th and Vine" | O'Connor, John Reynolds, Justin Adams | 3:58 |
2. | "Reason with Me" | O'Connor, Geoffrey Smith | 4:02 |
3. | "Old Lady" | O'Connor, Marco Pirroni, Chris Constantinou | 3:44 |
4. | "Take Off Your Shoes" | O'Connor, Reynolds | 5:28 |
5. | "Back Where You Belong" | O'Connor | 4:16 |
6. | "The Wolf Is Getting Married" | O'Connor, Pirroni, Constantinou, Aisling O'Neill | 4:23 |
7. | "Queen of Denmark" | John Grant | 4:37 |
8. | "Very Far from Home" | O'Connor | 3:55 |
9. | "I Had a Baby" | O'Connor, Pirroni, Constantinou, O'Neill | 4:11 |
10. | "V.I.P." | O'Connor | 6:36 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Song to the Siren" | |
12. | "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" (live in Reykjavik) |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
11. | "Factories" | Damien Dempsey | 3:42 |
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.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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
edit- Sinéad O'Connor – vocals
- Justin Adams, Marco Pirroni, Kevin Armstrong, Tim Vanderkuil – guitar
- Kenny Bogan – acoustic guitar on track 5
- Chris Constantinou – bass guitar[22]
- Damien Dempsey – acoustic guitar on track 4
- Caroline Dale – cello
- Samuel Dixon, Clare Kenny – bass guitar
- John Reynolds – drums, piano on track 10
- Julian Wilson – keyboards
Live album
edit- 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
editChart (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
edit- ^ "How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? - Sinead O'Connor". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
- ^ Sinead O'Connor. One Little Indian, 9 December 2011.
- ^ Sinead O’Connor announces ‘How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?’ Slicing Up Eyeballs, 12 December 2011.
- ^ "Sinéad O'Connor - The Wolf Is Getting Married - Music Charts". Acharts.us. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ^ "SINEAD OCONNOR The Wolf Is Getting Married - VIDEO". 26 January 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ "The Crazy Baldhead Toyr". Archived from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ "Billboard Cover: Sinead O'Connor on Having No Regrets, Being 'Irregular' and Resurrecting Her Career". Billboard.
- ^ "How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More - Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ Thomas, Fred. "How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? - Sinéad O'Connor". AllMusic. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (1 March 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? - review". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ Hogwood, Ben (5 March 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor - How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". musicOMH. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ Ritchie, Kevin (23 February 2012). "Sinead O'Connor - How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Now. Retrieved 26 March 2012.
- ^ Dousler, Stephen M. (29 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ Langhoff, Josh (22 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". PopMatters. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Keefe, Jonathan (20 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
- ^ Empire, Kitty (25 February 2012). "Sinéad O'Connor: How About I Be Me (And You Be You)? – review".
- ^ Sinead O'Connor. iTunes, 24 January 2012.
- ^ Sinead O'Connor. Google Play.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Austriancharts.at – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "SoundScan Charts". CANOE - JAM! Music. Archived from the original on 14 March 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Sinéad O'Connor". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Italiancharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Sinead O'Connor Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Sinead O'Connor Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Sinead O'Connor Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 6, 2024.