Sinéad O'Connor

It was 1987, and the world had never seen or heard anything like her. Yet there was Sinéad O'Connor, fresh from the Emerald Isle with her shaved head, her my-way-or-the-highway grit, and her staggering, otherworldly voice, making a statement of intent on the pulsing "I Want Your (Hands On Me)," and the wailing "Mandinka," and announcing the arrival of a one-of-a-kind new talent. Her next move was her hugest, with the smash-hit, Prince-penned ballad "Nothing Compares 2 U." It's a Basic fact — nothing compares to Sinéad O'Connor. There's much more to Sinéad O'Connor in Next Steps.

Sinéad O'Connor does show tunes?! When it's Evita's "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," from a musical about another dynamic and controversial woman of the world, it actually makes sense. First and foremost, Sinéad O'Connor is an artist, and through the years, her journey has taken her a long way, from the moody vocal swoops of "Jerusalem," to a stunning mind-meld collaboration with world music diva Natacha Atlas on "Simple Heart," to a healing return to the traditional sounds of her homeland on "The Parting Glass." Deep barely begins to cover it in Sinéad O'Connor Deep Cuts.

O'Connor's gift is her voice, a strange and wonderful thing that can anchor the electronic soundscapes of Moby's "Harbour," sink into the soulful ache of "Jealous," and transform the classic reggae spiritual "Rivers of Babylon" into something sacred you might hear at an Irish folk mass. Our Sinéad O'Connor Deep Cuts bring you the best of her often overlooked miracles, from the pounding songs of protest (her collaboration with Bomb the Bass, "Empire") to the ethereal hymn "In This Heart," to the whispering intimacy of the Christmas Carol "Silent Night."

When a 20-year-old Sinéad O'Connor recorded with U2's the Edge on his '86 soundtrack song "Heroine," few took notice of the Irish singer's unique sound. That changed when O'Connor followed it up with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra — on tracks like the haunting anthem "Troy," O'Connor revealed a voice with a power and impact of mythic proportions. Changing the idea of what a female artist should look and sound like, O'Connor was fiercely individual, a quality that could work against the often controversial artist, but one that took her through years of stylistic exploration and invention. Our Sinéad O'Connor Essentials bring you the very best of those years in one long-playing set packed with everything from her defiant originals ("No Man's Woman") to sounds-of-the-sod traditionals (a fantastic "Molly Malone").