Universal Mother

Universal Mother is the fourth studio album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released on 13 September 1994.

Universal Mother
Studio album by Sinéad O'Connor
Released	13 September 1994
Recorded	1993–1994
Genre	Alternative rock folk rock soft rock
Length	52:50
Label	Ensign Chrysalis
Producer	Sinéad O'Connor John Reynolds Tim Simenon Phil Coulter
Sinéad O'Connor chronology
Am I Not Your Girl? (1992) Universal Mother (1994) Gospel Oak (1997)
Singles from Universal Mother
"Thank You for Hearing Me" Released: 1994 "Fire on Babylon" Released: 1994 "Famine" Released: 1995

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Cash Box	(favorable)[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[3]
Knoxville News Sentinel	[4]
Los Angeles Times	[5]
Melody Maker	(favorable)[6]
Music & Media	(favorable)[7]
NME	8/10[8]
Q
Robert Christgau	B−[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]

"That album was the first attempt to try to expose what was really underneath a lot of the anger of the other records," she explained, adding, "George Michael told me he loved that record, but could only listen to it once because it was so painful. He had to hide it."^[11]

Background

In 1993, O'Connor started taking singing lessons in the style of bel canto. This inspired her to "talk about the things that [she] really wanted to talk about".^[12]

Music and lyrics

The first track, "Germaine", is a recording of feminist Germaine Greer speaking about cooperation as an alternative to patriarchy.^[13]

"Am I a Human?" is by O'Connor's son Jake, recorded when he was a child.^[12] "'Famine'" (the quotes are hers) is a hip hop track about the Great Famine and how it impacted Ireland.

The last song, "Thank You for Hearing Me", was written about O'Connor's breakup with musician Peter Gabriel and features a trance-like backing track.^[12] The majority of the songs on the album use "delicate piano-based arrangements".^[14]

Artwork

O'Connor painted the cover art, which was inspired by a rebirthing session she experienced as well as the song "All Babies".^[12]

Critical reception

In Hot Press, Bill Graham said that it is "definitely the record of an artist determined to restart, with a totally new set of basic principles".^[15] Noting the album had divided critical opinion, he suggested that its art-as-therapy approach resembled early solo work by John Lennon. O'Connor explores "the uncharted depths" of "the real loveless family traumas" that mainstream, predominantly male, rock music tends to avoid, and Graham believes her journey is made more intense by her identity "as both a mother and a daughter". Listening to the album can be "unnerving", as O'Connor "can still sing like an angel but she also sometimes writes lyrics like an emotional dyslexic". Its predominant style is "a bare chamber-folk".

Melody Maker named it "her best album to date" and "one of the albums of the year".^[6] For Rolling Stone, Stephanie Zacharek characterized Universal Mother as "record making as therapy" and described it as tenderhearted and protective.^[14]

Track listing

Universal Mother track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Germaine"	Germaine Greer		0:38
2.	"Fire on Babylon"	O'Connor, John Reynolds	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Tim Simenon	5:11
3.	"John I Love You"	O'Connor	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Phil Coulter	5:31
4.	"My Darling Child"	O'Connor	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Coulter	3:09
5.	"Am I a Human?"	Jake Reynolds	Jake Reynolds	0:24
6.	"Red Football"	O'Connor	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Coulter	2:48
7.	"All Apologies"	Kurt Cobain	O'Connor	2:37
8.	"A Perfect Indian"	O'Connor	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Coulter	4:22
9.	"Scorn Not His Simplicity"	Coulter	O'Connor, Coulter	4:26
10.	"All Babies"	O'Connor	O'Connor, John Reynolds	4:29
11.	"In This Heart"	O'Connor	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Coulter	3:11
12.	"Tiny Grief Song"	O'Connor	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Coulter	1:56
13.	""Famine""	O'Connor, Clayton, Simenon, John Reynolds, Lennon, McCartney [16]	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Simenon	4:56
14.	"Thank You for Hearing Me"	O'Connor, John Reynolds	O'Connor, John Reynolds, Simenon	6:25

Note: "Famine" quotes the song "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[17]

• Sinéad O'Connor – vocals, piano
• John Reynolds – drums, programming
• Dave Clayton – keyboards, programming
• Marco Pirroni, Ivan Gilliland – guitar
• Tim Simenon – programming
• Nicky Scott, Matthew Seligman, Clare Kenny – bass
• Phil Coulter – piano, keyboards, backing vocals
• John O'Cane – cello
• Voice Squad – backing vocals
• Irish Chamber Orchestra – strings

Charts

1994 weekly chart performance for Universal Mother

Chart (1994)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18]	31
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19]	7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20]	8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21]	38
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22]	38
Scottish Albums (OCC)[23]	49
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[24]	11
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25]	11
UK Albums (OCC)[26]	19
US Billboard 200[27]	36
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[28]	16
Finnish Albums (Official Finnish Charts)[29]	18

2023 weekly chart performance for Universal Mother

Chart (2023)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[30]	109

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Universal Mother

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Austria (IFPI Austria)[31]	Gold	25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[32]	Gold	50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[33]	Gold	100,000^
United States	—	217,000[34]
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Universal Mother – Sinéad O'Connor". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
2. Baltin, Steve (24 September 1994). "Pop Albums — Reviews: Picks of the Week" (PDF). Cash Box. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
3. McDonnell, Evelyn (16 September 1994). "Universal Mother". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
4. Campbell, Chuck (30 September 1994). "O'Connor Regains Her Edge". Knoxville News Sentinel
5. Willman, Chris (11 September 1994). "Two Sides of Sinead in 'Universal Mother'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
6. "Albums". Melody Maker. 17 September 1994. p. 37. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
7. "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. 24 September 1994. p. 14. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
8. Fadele, Dele (17 September 1994). "Long Play". NME. p. 50. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
9. Christgau, Robert. "CG: Sinead O'connor". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
10. Zacharek, Stephanie (6 October 1994). "Sinead O'Connor: Universal Mother". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
11. Doyle, Tom (October 2005). "The Mojo interview". Mojo. No. 143. p. 43.
12. O'Connor, Sinéad (2021). Rememberings.
13. September 16, Evelyn McDonnell Updated; EDT, 1994 at 04:00 AM. "Universal Mother". EW.com. Retrieved 2 November 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
14. Zacharek, Stephanie (6 October 1994). "Universal Mother". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
15. Graham, Bill. "Universal Mother". Hotpress.com. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
16. "Works Search". Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2014.
17. Universal Mother (booklet). Sinéad O'Connor. Ensign. Chrysalis. 1994. CDP 530549.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
18. "Australiancharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – Universal Mother". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
19. "Austriancharts.at – Sinéad O'Connor – Universal Mother" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sinéad O'Connor – Universal Mother" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
21. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
22. "Charts.nz – Sinéad O'Connor – Universal Mother". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
23. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
24. "Swedishcharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – Universal Mother". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
25. "Swisscharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – Universal Mother". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
26. "Sinead O'Connor | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
27. "Sinead OConnor Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
28. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2612". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
29. "Sisältää hitin" (PDF). musiikkiarkisto.fi. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
30. "Ultratop.be – Sinéad O'Connor – Universal Mother" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
31. "Austrian album certifications – Sinead – Universal Mother" (in German). IFPI Austria.
32. "Canadian album certifications – Sinead – Universal Mother". Music Canada.
33. "British album certifications – Sinead – Universal Mother". British Phonographic Industry.
34. Newman, Melinda (11 July 1998). "Sinead O'Connor Starts Anew". Billboard. p. 92. Retrieved 7 June 2019.