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The Cranberries

Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Cant we?

Released 1993

Track listing: 1) I Still Do 2) Dreams 3) Sunday 4) Pretty 5) Waltzing Back 6) Not Sorry 7) Linger 8) Wanted 9) Still Can't... 10) I Will Always 11) How 12) Put Me Down

reviewer: Roland

Overall Rating: 13

Record Rating: 10

Band Rating: 3

Indeed. Everybody else IS doing it. Go ahead. :)

So they did. And they did it well. I think they can pretty much thank Woodstock 94 because without their performance of Dreams there, I really doubt they would still be around today. It was one of the highlights of Woodstock, and EVERYBODY knew about woodstock (in high school at least) because it was the first important one since '69, not those cheesy repeats we have these days.

Its a moody kind of album...back then the Cranberries embodied the 'moody' spirit, so we cant say this album is the happy kind. But nothing wrong with that. Funny how allmusicguide.com defines their tone as 'brooding'. So maybe if you're in a 'brooding' mood you can put this album up, and have a ball.

My favourite songs on here are actually all the popular ones. Dreams, (of course), I Still Do, Pretty, and Linger. I also love Put Me Down, and I love that its so long. I wish it carried on even more, its one of those grooves that should be 10 minutes long.

Note that the Cranberries have that kindof FOBy quality. If you're new to the Cranberries, you should definitely start with this album.

	No Need to Argue
	Released 1994
	Track listing: 1) Ode to My Family 2) I Can't Be With You 3) Twenty-One 4) Zombie 5) Empty 6) Everything I Said 7) The Icycle Melts 8) Disappointment 9) Ridiculous Thoughts 10) Dreaming My Dreams 11) Yeat's Grave 12) Daffodil Lament 13) No Need to Argue
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 9 Record Rating: 6 Band Rating: 3
More of the same, but with expectedly good results, since the first one was nearly flawless. OK so theres a liiiitle more filler in here. Empty? Disappointment? They've already got the 'generic Cranberry tune' down, dont they? The opening number, Ode to My Family, reminds me of a lazy saturday morning in the dorms. Look out the window and see the students passing by, the birds are chirping, youre about to take a bike ride onto campus just for some food and meet your friends. One word of advice, do NOT try to sing this in karaoke! haha. My favourite song here is Twenty One, right near the end where she yodels along with the music. So tranquil, it can calm the hyperest of people down. :) A close second might be the beginning of Ridiculous Thoughts, in fact that whole song is the highlight of the second part of the album. I must say that while Zombie is a great song, it kindof wears on you after youve heard it a million times. I can see why the radio and the public would rather hear a song like that, but for me, I prefer the sound from Ridiculous Thoughts, for example. The last 2 songs are good too, its the re-calming effect after the middle couple songs woke you up. I must say, this is a typical rainy-day record (but amazingly, in a HAPPY way. ok maybe not really happy...how about Serene? yeah maybe serene...) The slow songs are soooo slow, you can practically hear the raindrops anyway. Listen to Dreaming My Dreams and tell me I'm wrong. Yeah there are 1 or two louder, faster numbers, but overall, its a nice record to play just before you go to sleep, or right after you wake up but dont GET up. :)

Hmmm, it seems the Cranberries took longer and longer to release their albums. Anyway this one starts off with another unforgettable tune, Animal Instinct, another example of how a good opening tune can set the precedent for the whole album. There is a FAIR amount (read: a lot!) of wailing on here, and as Ive said before, more is better. She really takes off during Just My Imagination, and Desperate Andy, which are exactly the 2 best songs on the album. Promises was released as the single, and again you can tell that while its a fine song, its kindof tailored to fit an adult mainstream kindof sound that the 'radio public' (i.e. the destroyers of modern music) demands from them. The Cranberries handle it gracefully, though with a charming enough tune.

The same thing happens with You and Me, and Whats on my Mind. How can you NOT sing along to this? I can do a Dolores vocal as good as any when theres nobody around, and believe me, its pretty satisfying to belt it out sometimes. :)

Shattered might be the weak point of the bunch, but they bounce right back with the next track, so you can just about forget this one. Same goes for Saving Grace. Do they really feel like we need a BREAK after they kick it up a notch. Come on guys, we can handle it, bring it on! ok just kidding, its really an ok song. It would feel like it belongs more on the first album, but then it peps up a bit. Its almost as if they cant decide whether they are cheery or depressed. Well I guess thats what they call 'mood music', eh?

Now Copycat is definitely a crazy song, almost psycho in fact. If you've eaten 10 candy bars after pouring honey on them you should listen to this and have a proper epileptic fit. I'm really not sure the Cranberries should delve into this kind of thing, I think I prefer them when they are depressed! However the message behind it, ("on the radio...everybody sounds the same"), is very true, but ironically, this song was never played on mainstream radio. Was that on purpose? I still dont get it...

Back to the album cover peculiarity: what the heck is this supposed to be?? Pretty cool nonetheless, I guess.

	To the Faithful Departed
	Released 1996
	Track listing: 1) Hollywood 2) Salvation 3) When You're Gone 4) Free to Decide 5) War Child 6) Forever Yellow Skies 7) The Rebels 8) I Just Shot John Lennon 9) Electric Blue 10) I'm Still Remembering 11)Will You Remember? 12) Joe 13) Bosnia
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 12 Record Rating: 9 Band Rating: 3
More and more demanding vocals by Dolores, and faster music. This might be the complete opposite album from the last one, its like they woke up and smelt the coffee (pun intended, hehe). Does anyone else ever wonder why they have to sing SO many songs about current political affairs? Heh, well thats what makes them the Cranberries, I suppose. If they didnt have any songs about Bosnia, etc we would be like "hey, what happened?" haha. Anyway, that said, War Child is one of the saddest, and also best, songs about war I've ever smurfed. Another sad song here (to me at least) is John Lennon, which actually without the lyrics might be just another Cranberries rocker (although should 'rocker' and 'Cranberries' really be used in the same sentence?), but with the lyrics it just makes the song creepy. The shots at the end are a little unnecessary, in my opinion. I would prefer not to hear them, but I guess the point of the song is to...ahem, drive the point home, so in that respect it succeeded. At the time of this release Electric Blue was my favourite Cranberry tune of all time. I also really really like Joe, its another one of those that can just go on and on. I guess, in the end, the more wailing by Dolores, the better the song gets. I'm not sure why that is.... Still, I have to lower the album rating a whole point because of Bosnia. Sorry, but I just cant stand that song, especially the end with that lullaby tune stuff. Always skip it. Its like a wanna be War Child but it just aint cuttin it. OK lets say a word about these album covers. First cd: black. um, ok so its dark, right? Next cd: white, which is...opposite of black? Morning after the night? Wow I'm so smart. Now 3rd cd is....yellow? Am I missing something? What the heck does yellow mean? (hey at least they ditched the couch!)

	Bury the Hatchet
	Released 1999
	Track listing: 1) Animal Instinct 2) Loud and Clear 3) Promises 4) You and Me 5) Just My Imagination 6) Shattered 7)Desperate Andy 8) Saving Grace 9) Copycat 10) What's on my Mind 11) Delilah 12) Fee Fi Fo 13) Dying in the Sun
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 11 Record Rating: 8 Band Rating: 3
Hmmm, it seems the Cranberries took longer and longer to release their albums. Anyway this one starts off with another unforgettable tune, Animal Instinct, another example of how a good opening tune can set the precedent for the whole album. There is a FAIR amount (read: a lot!) of wailing on here, and as Ive said before, more is better. She really takes off during Just My Imagination, and Desperate Andy, which are exactly the 2 best songs on the album. Promises was released as the single, and again you can tell that while its a fine song, its kindof tailored to fit an adult mainstream kindof sound that the 'radio public' (i.e. the destroyers of modern music) demands from them. The Cranberries handle it gracefully, though with a charming enough tune. The same thing happens with You and Me, and Whats on my Mind. How can you NOT sing along to this? I can do a Dolores vocal as good as any when theres nobody around, and believe me, its pretty satisfying to belt it out sometimes. :) Shattered might be the weak point of the bunch, but they bounce right back with the next track, so you can just about forget this one. Same goes for Saving Grace. Do they really feel like we need a BREAK after they kick it up a notch. Come on guys, we can handle it, bring it on! ok just kidding, its really an ok song. It would feel like it belongs more on the first album, but then it peps up a bit. Its almost as if they cant decide whether they are cheery or depressed. Well I guess thats what they call 'mood music', eh? Now Copycat is definitely a crazy song, almost psycho in fact. If you've eaten 10 candy bars after pouring honey on them you should listen to this and have a proper epileptic fit. I'm really not sure the Cranberries should delve into this kind of thing, I think I prefer them when they are depressed! However the message behind it, ("on the radio...everybody sounds the same"), is very true, but ironically, this song was never played on mainstream radio. Was that on purpose? I still dont get it... Back to the album cover peculiarity: what the heck is this supposed to be?? Pretty cool nonetheless, I guess.

	Wake up and Smell the Coffee
	Released 2001
	Track listing: 1) Never Grow Old 2) Analyze 3) Time is Ticking Out 4) Dying Inside 5) This is the Day 6) The Concept 7) Wake up and Smell the Coffee 8) Pretty Eyes 9) I Really Hope 10) Every Morning 11) Do You Know 12) Carry On 13) Chocolate Brown 14) ...
reviewer: Roland Overall Rating: 10 Record Rating: 7 Band Rating: 3
Since they pretty much had 4 smash albums up till now, here was the MUCH anticipated 5th album, officially launching them into the were-stacking-up-quite-a-music-catalog category, assuming they still have a long career in front of them. The result, at first, was VERY disappointing. I couldnt bring myself to listen past the first 2 songs. The first 2 are classic Cranberry tunes; the first one overly soft, reminiscent of the No Need To Argue days, the second one the standard-obligatory radio hit with its fine jangly tune. THEN you have this cheesy-oh-so-VERY-very-cheesy Time is Ticking Out, and you find yourself so mad you shut off the album completely. Well, therein lied my mistake. A few months later I decided to give them another try. After grinding my teeth through track number 3, I intently listened to the rest of the cd. result: NOT BAD! ok so Dying Inside is pretty generic, but ignoring that, the tracks seem to get progressively better as the track numbers fly by. I have a special liking for Pretty Eyes, for reasons I cant explain (maybe it reminds me of Pretty, from the debut album? I absolutely LOVE that song!). Same with Chocolate Brown. I could just have that song on a loop and play it all day (I think I actually DID do this once). Every Morning is another chipper one that could have easily belonged on the second album. Its a birthday song too, cool huh. Plus, you gotta gove them cool points for the cd cover. Be glad its not just a picture of the band again like the first 3 were!