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Aug 25, 2014I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss is the work of neither dominatrix nor diva. It is, however, Sinéad O’Connor’s most emotive, accessible work in years and could well thrust her back into the limelight all over again.
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MojoAug 20, 2014I'm Not Bossy, I'm The Boss is simply a remarkable collection of well-made songs. [Sep 2014, p.94]
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Aug 11, 2014Be it personal or observational, O’Connor is definitely in charge on Bossy.
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Aug 11, 2014The result creates a perfect arc--one O’Connor has, here, fully realized.
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Aug 6, 2014While O’Connor never really went anywhere, this self-assured and confident release feels like a comeback. It has elements of what made her so strong and startling back on her still dynamic 1987 debut but tempered and matured with the wisdom of a quarter century of experience.
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UncutAug 6, 2014The intensity and drive of the guitars--when they hit--matches the passion and righteousness of O'Connor's mesmerising delivery. [Sep 2014, p.80]
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Aug 12, 2014This funny, convincing, unembarrassed collection proves she's no cartoon.
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Aug 14, 2014O’Connor is pushing herself on every song here--maybe not always in the right or most obvious or safest directions, but always with some purpose.
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Aug 15, 2014O’Connor and long-time producer John Reynolds frame the collection in familiar musical motifs, but carve out plenty of intriguing intricacies along the way. Because of that natural balance, I’m Not Bossy feels almost like the long-awaited response to I Do Not Want‘s still-echoing call.
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Aug 14, 2014Her extreme choices can fall extremely flat when she tries too hard to force them to be what she wants (or, to put it in Sinead's own terms, when she winds up coming off as bossy instead of as a confident, charismatic boss). But when they pay off, it's all worth it.
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Aug 11, 2014That I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss continues a string of strong, entirely enjoyable releases is a bonus for Sinéad's audience, but as evidenced by liner notes that proclaim "this album is dedicated to me," she's still doing it for no one but herself.
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Aug 11, 2014Unfortunately, much of the album shrouds the transparent emotions in slick production, most egregiously O'Connor's multitracked vocals. This is not a new problem for her, but it's particularly vexing in that it sugarcoats songs that should be anything but.
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Q MagazineAug 28, 2014It's a shame that the album starts so blandly. [Sep 2014, p.109]
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Aug 13, 2014Musically, I’m Not Bossy is pure pop with a wonderful glam mindset, but there was certainly more lyrical attention needed for it to succeed its intended purpose.
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Aug 7, 2014If they [the songs] are fiction, this is a triumph of storytelling. Where things fall down is in the production: the howling blues-rock of The Voice of My Doctor aside, her singing is pulped into a girlish murmur, which is no way to treat one of pop's great voices.
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Aug 7, 2014O’Connor’s impassioned delivery elevates the most middling melodies and predictable rhymes.
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Aug 6, 2014I'm Not Bossy is sonically diverse, but rarely do the songs give O'Connor the opportunity to flaunt her impressive vocal range or, aside from closer "Streetcars," explore the more intimate side of her still-striking voice.
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Aug 13, 2014There are transitions in mood, but the focus is on love songs with vitriol supplanted by a brand of joie de vivre, the darkness still there but distanced.
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Aug 11, 2014The album title promises much in the way of forthright antagonism and the Jessie J hair she sports suggests some kind of ironic statement on the chart mainstream, but the content fails to deliver, save for two isolated moments.
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Aug 12, 2014For an album that focuses on the theme of love, it’s really hard to find anything to swoon over on I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss.
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Aug 12, 2014Unfortunately, O’Connor’s music doesn’t reflect the independence she aspires to.
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Aug 12, 2014O'Connor never really goes big with any of these songs and never passes the limits of the uninteresting backing music.
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MagnetAug 6, 2014Bossy's reformation seems based in penning the dullest platitudes imaginable. [No. 112, p.59]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 15 out of 19
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Mixed: 2 out of 19
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Negative: 2 out of 19
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Jul 13, 2015
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Oct 13, 2014
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Sep 25, 2014