The Lion And The Cobra - Sinéad O'Connor

What a debut.
The Lion And The Cobra introduced the world to Sinéad O Connor. A fiesty troubled and highly original 20 year old, who, unhappy with the original record company production of the album (she thought it was too celtic) went ahead (7 months pregnant) and produced it herself. This early declaration of self belief is something that seems to have stayed with her her whole career, this lady has GUTS.
Their were two versions of the Album Cover produced, the angry pose used here and the softer image used for a more conservative American market.
The Lion And The Cobra burst out of the Irish recession gloom in 1987 with an anti establishment attitude prompting Rolling Stone to declare it was like "a banshee wailing across the bog" at best a trite little piece of copy they made up for by comparing her to Laurie Anderson and Kate Bush.
Post Punk Pop Glam Rock, heavily influenced by Prince (with whom she would later successfully collaborate) the album is at times intense, at times almost wistful.
Troy juxtaposes Dublin in a rainstorm with a burning Troy, starting off gentle, mystical and romantic, and building to a fire-spitting crescendo. Mandinka is perfect Pop Rock with its "crunching" chords and hooks. There's a hip hop feel to I Want Your (Hands On Me) and Enya guest vocals on Never Get Old.
The Album gets it's name from the the Ninety First Psalm, and religion (a favourite O'Connor topic) is a regular theme, in Just Like You Said It Would be "I will walk in the garden/and feel religion within" and Jerusalem "and the priest just said it got burned"
Throughout, The Lion And The Cobra is a tour force for a young woman finding her voice, and what a voice.

Track listing
1. Jackie
2. Mandinka
3. Jerusalem
4. Just Like U Said It Would B
5. Never Get Old
6. Troy
7. I Want Your (Hands On Me)
8. Drink Before The War
9. Just Call Me Joe