Cranberries - No Need to Argue

  by Zena Grieg

published: 5 / 12 / 2023

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intro

Zena Greig reflects upon Irish pop/rock outfit The Cranberries third album ‘To the Faithful Departed’, which has just been re-released in a deluxe edition.

On its original release in1996, ‘To The Faithful Departed’, the third, multi-million selling album by the Limerick-based quartet The Cranberries, marked a new departure for them, combining their indie-pop sound with mainstream rock. The group’s highest-charting album on the US Billboard Top 200, it met with a mixed reception with its darker shift in mood and tonality and unflinching confrontation of existential themes including death, war, and the cost of fame. The deluxe reissue, available in its original configuration as a single LP, expanded 2 LP set and 3CD set, remastered by John Dent at Metropolis, contains various demos, outtakes, B sides and live versions and is a poignant tribute to their singer and songwriter Dolores O’Riordan, who died in 2018 and whose powerful, expressive vocals embody the songs. Highlights of this new collection include: the catchy, punk-rock US number one rock single ‘Salvation’ on drug addiction and depression; the sombre, disturbing ‘I Just Shot John Lennon’ with its gunshot ending; the enigmatic, compelling chant ‘Electric Blue’ with its unexpected Latin chorus; ‘Bosnia’ with its scathing lyrics: “Life was so unfair/We live in our secure surroundings/And people die out there”; an emotive, soulful cover of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’; the liberating ‘Free To Decide’ with its acerbic lyrics about ending a relationship: “Return to where you dwell/Because harassment’s not my forte/But you do it very well” and its liberating chorus: “I’m free to decide, I’m free to decide/And I’m not so suicidal after all”; and a moving, engrossing live version of their anti-war song ‘Zombie’, with its passionate protest against the violence of The Troubles. This new reissue provides a welcome opportunity for new and existing fans to immerse themselves in the music of this enthralling band.

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