Publishers Weekly
06/05/2023
Journalist McCabe debuts with a revealing reappraisal of singer Sinéad O’Connor. Born in 1966 in Glenageary, Ireland, O’Connor endured a traumatic childhood filled with physical and verbal abuse at her mother’s hands, fueling her take-no-prisoners approach to music—“She didn’t just want to sing,” McCabe writes. “She needed to scream”—and determination to champion progressive causes. After the release of her breakout 1987 debut album The Lion and the Cobra, O’Connor harnessed her platform to denounce racism and support Black artists—for example, publicly criticizing MTV for refusing to air rap videos due to verbal “obscenity,” which she viewed as “racism disguised as censorship.” In 1992, she appeared as a musical guest on SNL and tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II to deliver a message about child abuse in the Catholic church—a “scandal” that attracted widespread vitriol, McCabe notes, even though O’Connor was “sound the alarm about something was actually happening and, in fact, evil.” McCabe skillfully renders the artist’s rise and ahead-of-her-time activism against the sociopolitical landscape of the 1980s and ’90s, persuasively rescuing O’Connor’s reputation from a mainstream media narrative that “all too often dismissed as a slow-motion train wreck.” Fans will be riveted. (May)
Austin Chronicle - Carys Anderson
Reevaluations of maligned "loud women" are always welcome here, but this dissection of Sinéad O'Connor's artistry, activism, and unfounded industry ostracism hits even harder following the artist's tragic July passing.
Treble
A superb showcase of the artist as a musician and a person, [Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters] seeks to discern her persistent drive to make music despite the obstacles in her path and what we can learn from such an unorthodox creative spirit...The heart of this immaculate work lies in how McCabe deftly navigates the turbulent intersection of criticism and compassion. When McCabe talks transparently about her own childhood traumas and how they often mirrored O’Connor’s, her candor is both refreshing and admirable...This book sets a new standard in music criticism.
KCRW
[Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters] is about much more than Sinéad O’Connor. The singer becomes a 'window and a mirror into culture,' as McCabe puts it, expanding far beyond SNL, MTV, Bob Dylan, Prince, or any of the well-trod touchstones of O’Connor’s early career. Instead, the story reaches deeper — more about the refractions and the shadows that O’Connor casts on ourselves and on the culture. It asks the reader to consider their own relationship to the forces that once leveraged themselves en masse against O’Connor. It’s a beautiful and compassionate meditation on silence, trauma, healing, and much more.
Aquarium Drunkard
Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters reassesses the oft-misunderstood songwriter and activist through a lens that is both historical and personal...Written in clear and provocative language...McCabe’s impassioned defense of O’Connor in the wake of her many controversies is both heartfelt and persuasive...our protagonist emerges from Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters as a conquering hero; having weathered abuse, cruelty, and prejudice, not to mention the usual unreasonable expectations too often placed on female artists, the courageous nonconformist emerges wounded but wiser. Ultimately—and most importantly—she is redeemed.
Tertulia
I've been waiting for a book like McCabe's because...grappling with what happened to O'Connor—at her peak no less—carries important lessons that resonate today. The woman behind that sublime voice was a fierce, complicated, tormented, defiant badass. Yet somehow, she remains an enigma—despite publishing a memoir—because of how quickly and completely she was discarded from the music world for refusing to compromise her beliefs. The industry and world have ostensibly changed, but it's essential to remember and honor those who went before us.
American Songwriter
Released just two months prior to O’Connor’s death, this intimate and moving release from author Allyson McCabe reiterates the lasting impact she left behind. If you’re looking for creative context and thoughtful criticism of the media’s role in O’Connor’s personal and creative well-being, Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters is an essential read.
Literary Hub - Margo Price
Absolutely brilliant, heartbreaking, insightful, and personal.
Ancillary Review of Books
When people ask why I enjoy reading music criticism, I tell them the books shine a light upon our collective human psyche. Why Sinead O’Connor Matters by Alyson McCabe does exactly that . . . The heart of this immaculate work lies in the intersection of criticism and compassion crafted by McCabe.
The Irish Times
Part biography, part reflection on the meaning of O'Connor's artistry and actions, McCabe traces the achievements and media-generated scandals of O'Connor's career, and how she consistently sought to beat her own path in a culture that condemned women for veering off the course of sanctioned archetypes...What's most powerful is how McCabe draws on her own experience in parallel with O'Connor's. Perhaps this is O'Connor's most powerful asset as an artist: she opens up a space for people to see their struggles, their resistance and their trauma, in hers.
Spectrum Culture
Shifting the focus back to music is key to Allyson McCabe’s Why Sinéad O’Connor Matters, published just two months before O’Connor’s death . . . The clarity with which McCabe tells these stories can make space for a more balanced assessment of Sinéad O’Connor’s music.
Austin Chronicle - Laiken Neumann
[Sinéad's] urges to "fight the real enemy" have been disregarded, mocked, and vilified for over 30 years - but McCabe's reexamination of O'Connor's treatment is both a tough lesson and a promising step forward.
Library Journal
04/01/2023
Music and culture writer McCabe defends the controversial career and lifelong activism of Irish singer/songwriter Sinéad O'Connor in this very personal and thought-provoking account of the media's role in her stratospheric rise and ultimate implosion. McCabe's own story parallels O'Connor's—she too suffered childhood abuse and struggled with her sexual identity. She turned to music as therapy and eventually discovered the prolific catalog of O'Connor through Fiona Apple's hero-worshipping video. McCabe marvels at O'Connor's ability to take control of her career by creating her own image and rebelling against the sex-symbol ideal that others wanted from her. Her brilliance and downfall were both a result of her desire to be an activist artist when her actions and views were considered taboo and shocking at the time. The author argues that O'Connor was fundamentally correct about everything, from the Catholic Church's role in covering up child abuse to the music industry's blatant racism and misogyny. VERDICT A touching tribute. O'Connor has been the subject of recent and numerous articles, a documentary, and books (including her own), but McCabe's take is unique in its critical analysis of the media and its attempts to silence and cancel O'Connor.—Lisa Henry
