The Cranberries : Releases >>
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Stars: The Best of the Cranberries, 1992-2002 >>
No Need to Argue >>
It was a tough act to beat when Irish group the Cranberries released the follow-up to their debut disc Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can't We, an interesting and intimate album highlighted by the memorable hit "Linger." Critics chided that Everybody was timid in nature both musically and lyrically, but No Need to Argue quickly changed all that. The 1994-released effort was decidedly more confrontational, instantly evident by the lyrics, inspired by the Irish conflict, in their hit "Zombie." In her trademark sharp alto, frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan sings, "In your head they are fighting/With their tanks and their bombs/and their bombs and their guns." Since anger is more difficult to embrace than love, many fans were initially disappointed with the tougher stuff, but those who stayed discovered a much more emotionally layered effort. --Denise Sheppard
Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? >>
Their first full-length shows a band fully formed, with faint debts to the Sundays and the Smiths, but turning out more-than-tuneful pop behind the gorgeous lilt of Dolores O'Riordan. "Dreams" and "Linger" both seem to weave magic spells that remain even after the tracks pass, and there is a glorious freshness to the performances that's impossible to resist. It remains their most satisfying outing. --Chris Nickson
Everybody Else is Doing It So Why Can't We? (The Complete Sessions 1991-1993) >>
No Need to Argue: Comp Sessions >>
Gold >>
To the Faithful Departed >>
This is the Cranberries' contribution to the time-honored difficult-third-album syndrome, with the Irish quartet--particularly frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan--working to expand its musical base and stretch out in new lyrical directions. While their efforts are only partially successful, the band approaches the task with such cocky confidence that the album maintains a consistently high level of likableness. The band employs a convincingly aggressive instrumental attack on "Salvation" and "Hollywood," while the lilting balladry of "Free to Decide" and "When You're Gone" underlines O'Riordan's ties to Celtic folk tradition. And while her efforts at tackling current events on "War Child," "Bosnia," and the controversial "I Shot John Lennon" are hit-and-miss, her obvious sense of commitment gives those songs an undeniable power. --Scott Schinder
To Faithful Departed: Comp Sessions >>
Bury The Hatchet [Explicit Cover] >>
On the heels of their smash debut, the brilliantly titled Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, and the even more popular follow-up, No Need to Argue, the Cranberries fell victim to the same bad instincts as a thousand ascendant pop stars before them--they started taking themselves way too seriously. The dreary, self-important To the Faithful Departed was the result, and fans that had thrilled to the gossamer melodies of "Linger" and "Dreams" or the powerful crunch of "Zombie" abandoned the group in droves. They might want to reconsider. Bury the Hatchet is a welcome return to form that focuses on sweeping melodies and soaring vocals while leaving the grand pronouncements to those more suited to making them--Zack de la Rocha, say, or, at the very least, Bono. Bury the Hatchet is brimming with gorgeous tunes such as "Animal Instinct," "Saving Grace," "You and Me," and the delicate "Shattered." "Promises" and "Delilah," meanwhile, are feisty rockers, showing off Dolores O'Riordan's keening voice and confirming the band's ability to play to the back rows. --Daniel Durchholz
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee >>
After 10 years of making hit records, you would think Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan would have figured out how to write a proper rock lyric. But less than two minutes into the Irish group's fifth album, we are treated to a flashing display of her incomparable wit: "Birds in the sky/ they look so high" she coos on the opening track "Never Grow Old," before adding "I feel the breeze/ I feel at ease." And that's when she is being mercifully clever. On the title track, she doesn't even bother summoning the lessons learned in fifth-grade poetry. She simply repeats each line twice, therefore rhyming every sentiment with itself. The lazy writing is really a shame because it gets in the way of one of the last truly clear, pristine voices in rock. While the Cranberries' musical might remains largely intact on its fifth album, showcasing full-bodied rhythms and symphonic flourishes on tracks like "I Really Hope" and "This Is the Day," it's really difficult to sustain any interest when the tiresome lyrics trip you up at every turn. --Jaan Uhelszki