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People SEPTEMBER 22, 2003 - by Staff Writers

SINÉAD O'CONNOR: SHE WHO DWELLS...

While this two-disc set of new covers and old material may not cause a clamor for O'Connor to come out of her recently announced retirement, there are enough treasures to make it worth enduring the annoyances (which begin with the full, turn-off title: She Who Dwells In The Secret Place Of The Most High Shall Abide Under The Shadow Of The Almighty). From the piercing blast of feedback that opens a live recording of a 2002 Dublin concert, Disc 2's thirteen tracks can be painful. Filled with keening Celtic ballads, the disc proceeds at a dirgelike pace that isn't even salvaged by her best-known song, a funkless version of Nothing Compares 2 U.

The first disc, a collection of nineteen unreleased studio tracks, is far easier on the ears. Following the two slow Irish ballads that open the CD, O'Connor keeps the earnestness to a minimum and actually exudes some humor, especially on a series of inventively varied cover tunes, including three produced by Brian Eno (Do Right Woman, Love Hurts and No Matter How I Try), The B-52's song Ain't It A Shame and the collection's highlight, a gorgeously catchy version of ABBA's Chiquitita.