The Cranberries’ playlist

I had the grand privilege of interviewing one of my musical heroes, the frontwoman of The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan.

My time with Dolores was a dream come true. I feel honored to have had the opportunity and blessed to be holding on to a personal memory of this legendary artist who passed away too soon.

I’ll never forget our interview or all the magic and music this bright star shared with the world.

Rest in peace, Dolores.

As a tribute, I’m sharing our chat again.

Twenty-five years ago a little band from Limerick, Ireland named themselves The Cranberries, signed a record deal and released a song to radio that they called “Dreams.”

Then just like a dream, that successful single, the band’s highly praised debut album Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? and their ensuing No.1 record No Need To Argue made them international stars.

Lead vocalist Dolores O’Riordan and her band mates recorded 5 more albums since and sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making them one of the most successful rock bands to emerge from the 90s and one of the most outstanding Irish acts of all-time.

To mark the 25th anniversary of their radiant recording career, The Cranberries have released Something Else, a celebratory album featuring new material and a selection of their most standout hits.

Taking this album beyond the typical throwback compilation, The Cranberries breathed new life into their 20-something year old songs by re-recording each one with new orchestral and acoustic arrangements backed by the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

Among the re-worked tunes are the hits “Dreams,” “Zombie,” “Ode To My Family,” “When You’re Gone” and the fan-favorite “Linger.”

The tracks found on Something Else have not simply gone through a sonic revamp, Dolores tells me the storytelling standpoint and the delivery of the messages have also changed.

“When I sing songs like ‘Linger’ that I wrote when I was 17 or 18, I’m a different person singing from a different perspective,” Dolores says.

“Everybody changes and we’re obviously very different people than we were [25 years ago]. I was writing from a place of innocence and now [we’re performing] these songs from a place of confidence, maturity and experience. The songs are fresh.”

Three new tracks were produced as The Cranberries recorded Something Else with the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the University of Limerick, and then seamlessly woven in with the classic numbers. Among the additions is the band’s new single “Why,” a very personal offering written by Dolores in the aftermath of her father’s death.

Dolores’ intimate and self-reflecting lyrics have always been her signature. As the singer mentions, some things don’t change, like the duties and functions within the band.

“I’ve always done most of the writing. I write the lyrics and co-write the music with Noel the guitar player,” she says of their creative process.

A true testament to Dolores and guitarist Noel Hogan’s strong songwriting skills, these songs, initially conceived over two decades ago, are timeless and just as accessible today.

Take their MTV Europe Music Award-winning hit “Zombie” for example. Though written in 1993 in protest of the Irish Republican Army bombing in Warrington, Dolores could have penned the song yesterday. Her political commentary and cry for peace are ever-relevant and universal.

On their 1992 global success “Dreams,” Dolores voices the vulnerability and joy of falling deeply in love in such a way and with so much warmth and familiarity that it feels like she is singing your love story, but also that of your mother and her mother before her.

“It feels incredible that our music has an international appeal,” Dolores says. “And I think it’s amazing that people can still relate to the songs and that these songs still hold up.”

Seeing as Dolores and the band trusted their guitarist Noel Hogan with the track listing that makes up Something Else, I’ve assigned Noel the duty of curating a playlist that represents The Cranberries and their favorite acts.

You Never Give Me your Money – The Beatles

“It could have been any track from the Abbey Road album because it’s just one of those albums that has no fillers. This track is particularly great. It starts as one thing and ends as something completely different.”

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10:15 Saturday Night – The Cure

“This track is taken from Three Imaginary Boys. This was the one of the first albums I heard that made me think about being in a band.”

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This Night Has Opened My Eyes – The Smiths

“This is this from the band that most influenced me musically. I could do a list of just Smiths songs, but I will pick this for now. It’s a classic.”

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Perfect Circle – R.E.M.

“I was a massive R.E.M. fan, particularly in the early part of the 90s and their first album Murmur was played almost every day for a few years. For me this is the standout track on the album. A beautiful melody.”

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Lump Sum – Bon Iver

“I was late coming to his album For Emma, Forever Ago. Our producer Stephen Street introduced me to it. I haven’t been able to stop playing it. It’s a beautiful album, this is my favorite track from it.”

Something Else is available on iTunes now. See the track list below.

01 Linger
02 The Glory
03 Dreams
04 When You’re Gone
05 Zombie
06 Ridiculous Thoughts
07 Rupture
08 Ode to My Family
09 Free to Decide
10 Just My Imagination
11 Animal Instinct
12 You & Me
13 Why

Posted by Marc Andrew on Jan 17 2018. Filed under Celebrity Playlist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.