Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? [debut]release date: Mar. 1, 1993
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,98]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Island Records - nationality: Ireland
Track highlights: 1. "I Still Do" - 2. "Dreams" - 3. "Sunday" (4,5 / 5) (live) - 7. "Linger" (4,5 / 5) (live and unplugged) - 8. "Wanted" (studio session) - 9. "Still Can't..." - 11. "How" - 12. "Put Me Down"
Studio debut album by Irish band The Cranberries consisting of Dolores O'Riordan on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, the brothers Hogan: Noel (older brother) on lead guitar and backing vocals, Mike on bass guitar, and with Fergal Lawler on drums and percussion. The brothers Hogan and Fergal were longtime friends and together with Niall Quinn (who also played in the band The Hitchers) they formed The Cranberry Saw Us in 1989 - the quartet played gigs and recorded demos, and in '90 Quinn left to concentrate on his other band, The Hitchers, and the trio then was joined by O'Riordan after which she soon became the band's primary songwriter.
Musically, The Cranberries play a softer version of alt. rock and dream pop with obvious jangle pop parts. It's not far from other contemporary artists like Cranes, The Sundays, Echobelly, Slowdive, but it also reflects musical bonds to Cocteau Twins and more melodious tracks by My Bloody Valentine, and perhaps the most obvious inspirational source: The Smiths. Most tracks here have lyrics by O'Riordan and music written by Noel and O'Riordan (three songs are solely written and composed by O'Riordan).
The album debut peaked at #1 both in Ireland as well as in the UK, though none of the two singles, "Dreams" and "Linger" - both issued prior to the album release - made remarkable entries on the singles chart lists. Both singles were re-issued in '94 with much more success when peaking at number #3 and #9 respectively in Ireland.
I must admit that I didn't appreciate the band all that much when the album was released. I simply couldn't come to terms with the voice of O'Riordan because, in my ears, she sounded too much like Sinéad O'Connor, whom I saw then as a greater songwriter. However, both The Cranberries and O'Riordan proved not to be short-lived nor minor artists, and today I see this album in a much more positive light, and Dolores... well, she is not just a major contemporary singer and songwriter, she is just in a league of her own.
