Review:

on 2011-08-05 CharlesMartel Said:

The early nineties was a pretty awful time for mainstream pop music. The mainstream was at a loss over what bandwagon to jump on for a start and the changing economic conditions meant that the style of music which dominated the singles charts in the eighties now seemed a little excessive. If there was to be a light to shine into this dark time, then it would have to be something special. Sinead O'Connor delivered up this mournful song, written by Prince, and it instantly provided that shining light in an otherwise dark and unlit room. And it made a star of Sinead O'Connor who later went on to gain fame and notoriety with her various political outbursts.

The song is dominated by O'Connor's voice, in particular that deliberately off-key moment in the refrain. It may deal with lost love, and the pain of the individual in trying to cope with it, but O'Connor made it something else. This was partly due to the fact that, in the superb, yet simple video which accompanied it, her emotions for her recently deceased mother overcame her as a single tear broke and trickled down her cheek. If ever throwaway pop proved that it deserved not to be throwaway then this was the moment. Real emotion in a pop song. This was something special indeed.
Rating: 8/10