Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - Sinéad O'Connor and "Nothing Compares 2 U"

As the world mourns the passing of a music icon, we take a moment to reflect on Sinéad O'Connor's "Nothing Compares 2 U," the first song to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and Modern Rock Tracks chart

Sinéad O'Connor - “Nothing Compares 2 U”

Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 1 (March 31, 1990)

Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:

• Alannah Myles - “Black Velvet” (3/31/90 - 2 total weeks)

As I was gathering my thoughts this week on how best to frame Sinéad O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” in the context of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, the news hit that O’Connor passed away at the age of 56. Her passing coincided with her song being the next one to appear chronologically in my review of the MRT chart #1 tracks, so this particular Chart Chat article will pay tribute to what I would consider to be one of the best songs of the 1990s and almost certainly one of the best lost-love laments ever recorded.

Let’s get this out of the way right at the start: This song is a stone-cold classic. Originally written and recorded by Prince in 1985 with his side project act Family, O’Connor covered the song and released it as a single off her 1990 album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” and it hit #1 across the world. In addition to topping both the Hot 100 (for four weeks) and the MRT chart, O’Connor’s performance made it to #1 in her native Ireland, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

Everything about the track is super-charged with raw emotion, and its music video adds to that feeling, with O’Connor staring into the camera and singing passionately at the audience. The close-up leaves O’Connor exposed and uncomfortably visible during the performance, which perfectly enhances the effect of the lyrical content. Her vocal lifts during the refrain evoke feelings of pain, loss, and maybe even excitement at the memory of those moments she revisits talking about the love she lost “seven hours and 13 days” before.

This song was omnipresent throughout most of 1990 and is still ubiquitous in pop culture. As we’ll see at the end of this write-up, many attempts were made to cover the song and while they all resonate in their own way, “nothing compares to” the fascinating artistic spin O’Connor put into this song.

And as much as I love this song, I was surprised to see that it topped the MRT chart at all, even if only for a week. O’Connor was never an artist I followed and I didn’t pay much attention to her earlier works, but part of the reason she even charted with alternative rock radio is the early career success she had with her first album, “The Lion and the Cobra.” In a pre-MRT chart era of alternative rock, songs like “Mandinka” became underground rock hits, and it’s clear her early stylings fit within the British/European jumble of alternative rock that dominated the early MRT charts.

“Jump In The River,” released on the soundtrack to the motion picture “Married To The Mob” and later an album track on “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” leaned even more into that alt-rock/indie-rock aesthetic and managed a #17 peak on the MRT chart in October 1988, right around the time other female-led acts like Siouxsie & The Banshees and Edie Brickell & New Bohemians were at or near the top of that chart.

Of course, as a pre-teen when “Nothing Compares 2 U” came out, I didn’t have a frame of reference for Sinéad O’Connor’s musical path, and assumed incorrectly at the time that she was just a power-ballad pop singer in the same vein as concurrent Hot 100 #1 artist Alannah Myles or even pop contemporaries like Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul. Throughout her career, though, O’Connor pushed back against the trappings of pop or rock music stardom and embraced a raw and emotional artistry that often came into conflict with prevailing trends. And as I learned through listening to a good chunk of her first two albums, O’Connor was as much an “alternative rock” artist as she was a pop balladeer.

I could go on and write about her private life, the controversies that surrounded her in the years that followed the release of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” and about the tragedies that plagued her existence up until her final days, but for now it’s enough to pay tribute to a track that will likely stand the test of time and forever be ingrained in the hearts and minds of people who hear it and fall in love with it. When considered in the context of her early career, it’s not a surprise at all that this song managed to become the first to top both the Hot 100 and the MRT chart. It won’t be the last time a track I cover here will top both charts, just as this won’t be the last time I talk about O’Connor in this space. She’ll be here again soon.

Rest in peace, Sinéad O’Connor. Nothing, truly, compares to you.

Rating: 10/10

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Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period

Today’s Chart Check will focus on some other versions of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” If you have any covers you like, let me know in the comments.

“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Prince: The original recording from Prince, as released by his estate. It’s a different take, but still powerful in its own way. Prince is incomparable, and everything he did during his imperial period of the mid-1980s is exceptional.

“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Prince (featuring Rosie Gaines): Prince released the song again in 1993, with a live version featuring Rosie Gaines from Prince’s group The New Power Generation. The song bubbled under the Hot 100 upon its release and reached #66 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in early 1994. Sax heavy and played as a duet, this version has a decidedly upbeat feel.

“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Chris Cornell: The former Soundgarden/Audioslave frontman sang a memorable acoustic rendition of “Nothing Compares 2 U” in 2015 for a Sirius/XM performance, and his unique vocal stylings add a measure of sadness to the track. Cornell fought his own personal demons in his life, and I imagine some of that pain comes out in this performance.

“Nothing Compares 2 U” by The Chicks: The Chicks did their own version of “Nothing Compares 2 U” during their 2016 world tour, and it’s exceptional. Natalie Maines delivers a strong vocal performance, backed by a textured country-themed music accompaniment that captures the emotional highs and lows of the song.

“Nothing Compares 2 U” by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes: I don’t think I could present a retrospective of great covers without including the unique stylings of Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. It’s arguably the most upbeat tonally, completely moving away from the emotional sadness of the lyrics. I like to think they’re performing a version of the song where the narrator is choosing to look back at the broken relationship with rose-colored glasses. Or maybe they’re just covering it, and I shouldn’t read too much into it. Either way, solid track.