20 years ago today: Sinéad O’Connor celebrated roots reggae classics on Throw Down Your Arms

Originally published in Hot Press in 2005:

"Please won’t you tell me who is she". So ended Sinéad O’Connor’s last album, a collection of traditional songs sung largely in her native tongue. It’s a question that has been asked more than once throughout a career that’s been adorned to date with enough twists, turns and changes of public perception to rival Madonna.

Now, with characteristic unpredictability, Sinéad has re-emerged after a period in retirement with a new album, in which she covers a collection of her own personal reggae classics. In a sense, of course, this is not new territory for Sinéad. On-U Sound head honcho Adrian Sherwood has been on her team for some time now, giving a dub feel to her records, and O’Connor has allied herself increasingly with Rastafarianism over recent years. Thus, where Throw Down Your Arms is concerned, the question is not so much why – as why it took her so long?

She certainly knows her stuff. Opting to record in Jamaica with Sly & Robbie at the helm, she’s got the best rhythm section in the business to nail things down – and they do it with consumate skill. What’s more, the songs she’s chosen confirm that this is far more than any mere attempt to crank out reggae’s greatest hits and have done with it.

Songs by Peter Tosh and Burning Spear signal Sinéad’s desire to get to the heart of Jamaican music’s blood and fire. And when she cuts loose, her voice proves it can still work nothing short of wonders. Burning Spear’s ‘Jah Nuh Dead’ is dark and dramatic, Tosh’s ‘Downpressor Man’ summons up the rage of the original and there is a sterling version of Bob Marley’s seminal ‘War’.

When the horns are going full blast, there can scarcely be a more impressive sound in contemporary music – but what is equally impressive is the extent to which Sinéad has captured the essence of reggae as pop music: there is an infectiousness even to a tune as militant as Burning Spear’s powerful ‘Marcus Garvey’ that makes it perfect for daytime radio.

Throw Down Your Arms sees Sinéad O’Connor impressively navigating another fresh avenue in roots exploration. In the five years since the excellent Faith And Courage, she’s tackled the two of the great musical pillars in her life. Perhaps now she’ll get around to writing some songs and give us the ultimate thrill.