AMVR SINÉAD O'CONNOR THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES LIVE 1990 FULLY REMASTERED 4K 60FPS

About
Album: I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got
Released: 1990
Artist: Sinéad O'Connor
Genre: Alternative/Indie
Songwriter(s)
Sinéad O'Connor
Producer(s)
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor singles chronology
"Nothing Compares 2 U"
(1990) "The Emperor's New Clothes"
(1990) "Three Babies"
(1990)
Music video
"The Emperor's New Clothes" on RUclips
Composition
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Lyrically, the song is about personal tribulations amid the oppression of the world around her, while she sings: "I will live by my own policies/I will sleep with a clear conscience".[2]
Critical reception
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Jodi Cleesattle from American Eagle felt that "The Emperor's New Clothes" is "the album's closest thing to a typical rock song", and "an up-front autobiographical song with even, somewhat gritty vocals and strong backing on both electric and acoustic guitars."[3] Bill Coleman from Billboard described it as a "jangly",[4] "clever, guitar-laced rocker [which] is a fine choice as a follow-up". He also stated that it "should confirm O'Connor's status as a viable pop radio star."[5] Tom Moon from Knight-Ridder declared it as a "show-stopping moment" and a "bitter what-I-learned-on-the-road song".[6]
Simon Reynolds from Melody Maker felt that "this shrill statement of independence (so radically minimalist it doesn't have a tune)", "could be directed either at a male lover or at a public that keeps foisting their expectations on her slight shoulders."[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media viewed it as "hard-hitting pop".[8] David Giles from Music Week remarked that it's "a rockier track", more like "Mandinka" than "Nothing Compares 2 U", "though without any of the former's quirkiness."[9] William Shaw from Smash Hits stated that "this is the most confessional record ever", describing it as "goose-pimplingly honest".[10]
Retrospective response
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In an 2020 retrospective review, Matthew Hocter from Albumism said that the song "shows a conviction that is part anger and part middle finger to the never-ending judgement the singer faced at the time with her star sky rocketing, scrutiny around her Catholic faith, and her role as a newly single mother."[11] AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as one of several "moments of brilliance" in his review of the compilation album So Far... The Best Of.[12] In 1998, David Quantick from NME wrote that it is a song "very heavy on specifics and is full of not very obscure lines like. "He thinks I just became famous and that's what messed me up" and the splendidly un-rock 'n' roll "You know how it is/And how a pregnancy can change you"."[13]
The lyric "It seems like years since you held the baby/ While I wrecked the bedroom," according to Mark Richardson from Pitchfork in 2009, "is delivered with a muted lilt, O'Connor's voice bright and possibly a little hopeful, confident in her strength despite the weight of the past".[14] In an 2015 review, Pop Rescue wrote that the song itself is "a rockier song" than the others on the album, adding that "it really has a great rhythm and shows that Sinéad is equally at home of these harder pop rock songs. This is a brilliant track!"[15]
Track listing
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US CD single
"The Emperor's New Clothes" (LP Version) - 5:16
"The Emperor's New Clothes" (Main Mix) - 4:37
"What Do You Want?" - 2:58
"Mandinka" (Jake's Remix) - 5:58
Personnel
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Sinéad O'Connor - vocals, songwriter, producer, acoustic guitar
John Reynolds - drums
Andy Rourke - bass
Marco Pirroni - electric guitar
Chris Birkett - engineering