became 's popular breakthrough on the strength of the stunning cover which topped the charts for a month. But even its remarkable intimacy wasn't adequate preparation for the harrowing confessionals that composed the majority of the album. Informed by her stormy relationship with drummer , who fathered 's first child before the couple broke up, lays the singer's psyche startlingly and sometimes uncomfortably bare. The songs mostly address relationships with parents, children, and (especially) lovers, through which weaves a stubborn refusal to be defined by anyone but herself. In fact, the album is almost too personal and cathartic to draw the listener in close, since projects such turmoil and offers such specific detail. Her confrontational openness makes it easy to overlook 's musical versatility. Granted, not all of the music is as brilliantly audacious as which marries a poem to eerie Celtic melodies and a sample. But the album plays like a tour de force in its demonstration of everything can do: dramatic , intimate confessionals, catchy , driving , and protest , not to mention the nearly six-minute title track. What's consistent throughout is the frighteningly strong emotion brings to bear on the material, while remaining sensitive to each piece's individual demands. Aside from being a brilliant album in its own right, foreshadowed the rise of deeply introspective female singer/songwriters like and , who were more traditionally feminine and connected with a wider audience. Which takes nothing away from anyone; if anything, it's evidence that, when on top of her game, was a singular talent. ~ Steve Huey