I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got is the second studio album by Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, released in March 1990 by Ensign/Chrysalis Records. It contains O'Connor's version of the Prince song "Nothing Compares 2 U", which was released as a single and reached number one in multiple countries. The album was nominated for four Grammy Awards in 1991, including Record of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, and Best Music Video, Short Form for "Nothing Compares 2 U", winning the award for Best Alternative Music Performance. However, O'Connor refused to accept the nominations and award.[5]
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 12 March 1990[1] | |||
Recorded | 1988–1989 | |||
Studio | S.T.S Studios (Dublin, Ireland) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 51:09 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer |
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Sinéad O'Connor chronology | ||||
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Singles from I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got | ||||
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The critically-acclaimed album contains O'Connor's most famous single, "Nothing Compares 2 U", which was one of the best-selling singles in the world in 1990, topping the charts in many countries including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada. This rendition of the Prince song reflected on O'Connor's mother, who had lost her life in an auto accident five years earlier.[6][7] The single "Emperor's New Clothes" found moderate success, although it did top the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the US.
The first song on the album, "Feel So Different", starts with The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr. The album also includes O'Connor's rendition of "I Am Stretched on Your Grave", an anonymous 17th-century poem that was written in Irish, translated into English by Frank O'Connor, and composed by musician Philip King in 1979.[8][9] O'Connor's version uses a loop of "Funky Drummer" by James Brown.[10]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | B+[11] |
Entertainment Weekly | A[3] |
Los Angeles Times | [12] |
NME | 8/10[13] |
Pitchfork | 7.8/10[14] |
Q | [15] |
Record Collector | [16] |
Rolling Stone | [17] |
Slant Magazine | [18] |
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got received critical acclaim. In 2012, it was ranked number 408 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[19] The album was ranked number 457 on the 2020 edition of the list.[20]
All tracks are written by Sinéad O'Connor, except where noted[21]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Feel So Different" | 6:47 | |
2. | "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" |
| 5:33 |
3. | "Three Babies" | 4:47 | |
4. | "The Emperor's New Clothes" | 5:16 | |
5. | "Black Boys on Mopeds" | arranged by Karl Wallinger and Sinéad O'Connor | 3:53 |
6. | "Nothing Compares 2 U" | Prince | 5:10 |
7. | "Jump in the River" |
| 4:12 |
8. | "You Cause as Much Sorrow" | 5:04 | |
9. | "The Last Day of Our Acquaintance" | 4:40 | |
10. | "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" | 5:47 | |
Total length: | 51:09 |
All tracks are written by Sinéad O'Connor, except where noted[22]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Night Nurse" |
| 4:54 |
2. | "My Special Child" | 4:48 | |
3. | "Damn Your Eyes" |
| 4:46 |
4. | "Silent Night" (long version) | Traditional | 4:45 |
5. | "You Do Something to Me" | Cole Porter | 2:36 |
6. | "Mind Games" | John Lennon | 5:26 |
7. | "What Do You Want" | 2:58 | |
8. | "I Am Stretched on Your Grave" (Apple Brightness Mix) | 5:38 | |
9. | "Troy" (recorded live in London) | 6:41 | |
10. | "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" (live at Hammersmith Odeon) |
| 3:53 |
11. | "The Value of Ignorance" | 3:20 | |
Total length: | 49:45 |
Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[23]
Technical
Weekly charts edit
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Year-end charts edit
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[53] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[54] | Gold | 25,000* |
Canada (Music Canada)[55] | 5× Platinum | 500,000^ |
France (SNEP)[56] | Platinum | 300,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[57] | Platinum | 500,000^ |
Ireland | — | 60,000[58] |
Italy | — | 250,000[59] |
Netherlands (NVPI)[60] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[61] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[62] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[63] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[65] | 2× Platinum | 711,832[64] |
United States (RIAA)[66] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Worldwide | — | 7,000,000[67] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
So a lot of the songs on this record were really about her. Even the f–ng title I got from having a dream about her, and in this dream she said to me, "I do not want what I haven't got." In my mind, even 'Nothing Compares 2 U' was me thinking about her ...'Feel So Different' was a song about my mother. 'I Am Stretched on Your Grave' speaks for itself really [she laughs bleakly] ...'You Cause As Much Sorrow' was about my mother ...
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