Am I Not Your Girl?

Am I Not Your Girl? is the third album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor and the follow-up to the hugely successful I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. It is a collection of covers of mostly jazz standards, which O'Connor describes as "the songs I grew up listening to [and] that made me want to be a singer".[12] The album title comes from the song "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home". The album is dedicated to the people of New York City and especially the homeless whom O'Connor met at St. Mark's Place.[12]

Am I Not Your Girl?
Studio album by
Sinéad O'Connor
Released14 September 1992[1]
Recorded1991–1992
StudioNational Edison Studios (New York)
GenreJazz
Length47:38
Label
Producer
Sinéad O'Connor chronology
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
(1990)		 Am I Not Your Girl?
(1992)		 Universal Mother
(1994)
Singles from Am I Not Your Girl?
  1. "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home"
    Released: 1 September 1992
  2. "Don't Cry For Me Argentina"
    Released: November 1992
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[3]
NME9/10[4]
Orlando Sentinel[5]
Peopleunfavorable[6]
Robert ChristgauB[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Select1/5[9]
USA Today[10]
The Vancouver Sun[11]

The album did not gain much critical acclaim, perhaps because O'Connor had become a major artist in the modern pop genre due to her previous album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got and this album was composed of songs written from 1936 to 1978. This, coupled with the Garden State Arts Center controversy and an introduction in the album in which she mentions sexual abuse, addiction, emotional abuse, and asks "Où est le roi perdu? [translation: "Where is the lost king?"] If you're out there—I want to see you.",[12] led to O'Connor losing much of the commercial momentum her career had built up until then.

The album's promotion was marked by a controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live, where O'Connor tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II, leading to public and media scrutiny.

Promotion
Main article: Sinéad O'Connor Saturday Night Live performance

On 3 October 1992, O'Connor appeared on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest, and sang the album's lead single, "Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home". She was then scheduled to sing "Scarlet Ribbons" from the album, but the day before the appearance she changed to "War", a Bob Marley song which she intended as a protest against sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church, referring to child abuse rather than racism.[13][14] During the performance O'Connor wore a necklace with the Rastafari star and also had a scarf with the Rastafari and Ethiopian colors of red, green, and gold.[13] She then presented a photo of Pope John Paul II to the camera while singing the word "evil", after which she tore the photo into pieces, while saying "Fight the real enemy".[15]

O'Connor's action led into a public and media frenzy. NBC received more than 500 calls on Sunday,[16] and 400 more on Monday, with all but seven criticising O'Connor;[17] the network received 4,400 calls in total.[18] Contrary to rumour, NBC was not fined by the Federal Communications Commission for O'Connor's act; the FCC has no regulatory power over such behaviour.[18] NBC did not edit the performance out of the West Coast tape-delayed broadcast that night.[19] As of 2016, despite the now well documented thousands of child sex abuse cases proving O'Connor's accusation, NBC still declines to rebroadcast the sequence, with reruns of the episode using footage from the dress rehearsal.[18]

Track listing
Am I Not Your Girl? track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Why Don't You Do Right?"Joe McCoy2:30
2."Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers6:15
3."Secret Love"Sammy Fain, Paul Francis Webster2:56
4."Black Coffee"Sonny Burke, Paul Francis Webster3:21
5."Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home"Johnny Mullins4:29
6."Don't Cry for Me Argentina"Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice5:39
7."I Want to Be Loved by You"Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, Herbert Stothart2:45
8."Gloomy Sunday"László Jávor, Sam L. Lewis, Rezső Seress3:56
9."Love Letters"Edward Heyman, Victor Young3:07
10."How Insensitive"Vinicius de Moraes, Norman Gimbel, Antônio Carlos Jobim3:28
11."Scarlet Ribbons"Evelyn Danzig, Jack Segal4:14
12."Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (Instrumental)Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice5:10
13."Personal message about pain (Jesus and the Money Changers)" (Hidden track)O'Connor2:00

Japanese release

Three exclusive bonus tracks only appear on some copies of the original Japanese release of this album: "My Heart Belongs to Daddy", "Almost in Your Arms" and "Fly Me to the Moon".

Personnel
  • Sinéad O'Connor – vocals
  • Ira Siegel – guitar
  • David Finck – bass
  • David LeBolt – keyboards
  • Richard Tee – keyboards, vocals
  • Chris Parker – drums
  • John Reynolds – drums
  • Gloria Agostini – harp
  • Jerry O'Sullivan – Uilleann pipes
  • Joanie Madden – tin whistle
  • Gerry Niewood – tenor saxophone, clarinet
  • Ted Nash – tenor saxophone, clarinet
  • Dave Tofani – alto saxophone, flute
  • Dennis Anderson – alto saxophone, flute
  • Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
  • Alan Rubin – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Brian O'Flaherty – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Joe Shepley – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Lew Soloff – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Robert Millikan – trumpet, flugelhorn
  • Birch Johnson – trombone
  • Jim Pugh – trombone
  • Keith O'Quinn – trombone
  • Kim Allan Cissel – trombone
  • George Flynn – trombone
  • Dave Braynard – tuba
  • Charles McCracken – cello
  • Fred Zlotkin – cello
  • Richard Locker – cello
  • Shelly Woodworth – English horn, oboe
  • Bob Carlisle – French horn
  • Fred Griffin – French horn
  • John Clark – French horn
  • Alan Martin – violin
  • Arnold Eidus – violin
  • Barry Finclair – violin
  • Charles Libove – violin
  • Donna Tecco – violin
  • Elena Barere – violin
  • Gerald Tarack – violin
  • Jan Mullen – violin
  • John Pintavalle – violin
  • Laura Seaton – violin
  • Marti Sweet – violin
  • Matthew Raimondi – violin
  • Nancy McAlhany – violin
  • Richard Sortomme – violin
  • Jesse Levine – viola
  • Julien Barber – viola
  • Lamar Alsop – viola
  • David Nadien – concertmaster, violin
  • Torrie Zito – arranger, conductor
  • Patrick Williams – arrangement
  • Rob Mounsey – arranger, conductor
  • Doug Katsaros – arranger, conductor
  • Sid Ramin – arranger, conductor

Charts

Certifications and sales
Certifications and sales for Am I Not Your Girl?
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[31] Gold 50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[32] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[33] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Gold 100,000^
United States — 306,000[35]
Summaries
Worldwide — 1,200,000[36]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "BPI".
  2. Am I Not Your Girl? at AllMusic
  3. Am I Not Your Girl?
  4. Page, Betty (12 September 1992). "Long Play: Torched by Your Presence, Dear". New Musical Express. p. 33.
  5. Gettelman, Parry (9 October 1992). "Sinead O'Connor". Orlando Sentinel.
  6. People Review
  7. Robert Christgau Review
  8. Rolling Stone Review
  9. Select Review
  10. "A sensual steam team // Lusty cuts from Prince, Madonna". USA Today. 24 September 1992.
  11. Mackie, John (3 October 1992). "Rock/Pop: Turning on the torch". The Vancouver Sun.
  12. Booklet of Am I Not Your Girl
  13. "Billboard". 17 October 1992.
  14. Tapper, Jake (12 October 2002). "Sin". Salon. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  15. Pareles, Jon (November 1992). "POP VIEW; Why Sinead O'Connor Hit a Nerve". The New York Times.
  16. "Singer rips pope, shocks audience". The Spokesman-Review. 5 October 1992. p. A4. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  17. "Sinead calls still coming in". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. 6 October 1992. pp. A2. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  18. Hinckley, David (14 March 2005). "Sentiments of the Moment. The World according to Sinead O'Connor, 1992". New York Daily News. New York. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  19. "O'Connor draws criticism, pity". Associated Press. 6 October 1992. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  20. "Australiancharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – Am I Not Your Girl?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  21. "Austriancharts.at – Sinéad O'Connor – Am I Not Your Girl?" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  22. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sinéad O'Connor – Am I Not Your Girl?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sinéad O'Connor – Am I Not Your Girl?" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  24. "Charts.nz – Sinéad O'Connor – Am I Not Your Girl?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  25. "Swedishcharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – Am I Not Your Girl?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  26. "Swisscharts.com – Sinéad O'Connor – Am I Not Your Girl?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  27. "Sinéad O'Connor | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  28. "Sinead OConnor Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  29. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1992". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  30. "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1993". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  31. "Dutch album certifications – Sinead O'Conner – Am I not your girl?" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 10 June 2019. Enter Am I not your girl? in the "Artiest of titel" box. Select 1992 in the drop-down menu saying "Alle jaargangen".
  32. Sólo Éxitos 1959–2002 Año A Año: Certificados 1979–1990 (in Spanish). Iberautor Promociones Culturales. 2005. ISBN 8480486392.
  33. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Sinead O'Connor; 'Am I not your girl?')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  34. "British album certifications – Sinead O'Connor – Am I not your girl?". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  35. Newman, Melinda (11 July 1998). "Sinead O'Connor Starts Anew". Billboard. p. 92. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  36. Hayes, Dermott (1 October 1994). "O'Connor's "Universal Mother" Confounds Critics" (PDF). Music & Media. p. 9. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
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