The Cranberries played a big part in my youth, album such as Everybody Else Is Doing It So Why Can’t I, No Need to Argue, To The Faithful Departed and Bury The Hatchet were inspirational and actually touched on important topics. Fast forward a few decades later and The Cranberries are now releasing an acoustic version of some of their most famous tracks and have also included some new songs, which hopefully will delight fans. Additionally the band is back on the road supporting the new release and who knows maybe more music is to come?
Vocally you can’t fault Dolores O’Riordon and this is apparent in her flawless and beautiful renditions of each and every track on this album. The vocals and music compliment each other perfectly and the combination makes for something rather beautiful and haunting. The Celtic aspects of the album are very interesting to me and really show how The Cranberries will always stay true to their Irish roots.
If you are a fan of the band or even just familiar with their greatest hits the acoustic versions of tracks such as Linger, Ode To My Family and Zombie will bring back some memories. The ballads of course work very well in the acoustic format but its the band’s heavier material like Zombie and Animal Instinct that shines acoustically and shows how well the music has aged.
New track The Glory has a real sense of nostalgia about it. It shares similar aspects with Linger but feels darker still. Another new track on the album is Rupture, who starts of quite promisingly. The vocals on this track are quite haunting and lyrically it does share the dark poetry of former songs.
Last but not least is new song, Why. The last track on the album keeps in theme with the record and sticks to a dark and nostalgic sound. Why does pick up its pace halfway through and the harmonies become more uplifting as the song progresses. This is probably my favourite new track as it could potential sound pretty big with a heavier production
I am not sure what this album is trying to be, it doesn’t really strike me as a compelling new album and doesn’t fully give a sense of nostalgia like conventional greatest hits do. That being said I do love The Cranberries and some of the tracks sound brilliant acoustically but not enough to solicit a whole album. As for the new material, I am again unsure about it and whether it is capturing the band’s essence. Do I recommend the album? If you like The Cranberries then yes by all means get it. Did the album inspire me? I can’t say it did but I remain a fan of the band and hope to hear more new material from them in the near future.
Track List: 1.Linger (acoustic) 2. The Glory 3. Dreams (acoustic) 4. When You’re Gone (acoustic) 5. Zombie (acoustic) 6. Ridiculous Thoughts (acoustic) 7. Rupture 8. Ode to My Family (acoustic) 9. Free to Decide (acoustic) 10. Just My Imagination (acoustic) 11. Animal Instinct (acoustic) 12. You & Me (acoustic) 13. Why Record Label: BMG Released date: 28th April 2017
