Album title: Something Else
Artist: The Cranberries
Genre: Alt-Rock
Nationality: Irish
Release date: April 28
Position in Discography: Seventh
Estimated Rating:
Familiar with this artist? A little
Familiar with the genre or subgenre? No
Average RYM Score: 3.28
It's always poignant to review an album after the artist has passed, especially when that passing has been so recent. It's doubly so when they come from your own country, and when they're so young. Ironically, this album serves, unintentionally, as a last testament to and retrospective of the Cranberries, with the passing of Dolores Riordan earlier this year. I'm not going to pretend I was a fan: I know the singles, and they're good songs, but ask me to name one of their albums, or a track that wasn't a single, and I can't. In fact, I used to get them mixed up with the Cardigans! As it goes, this album is a collection of acoustic and orchestrally-enhanced versions of some of their hits, with three new tracks, and it's nice to hear the likes of “Linger”, “Zombie”, “Dreams” and, well, other hits I don't know but you might, given new treatment by the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
I wouldn't be so crass as to find fault with this album, though had Dolores still been alive would I have been more critical? I don't know: I'm not that fond of retrospectives, and usually they wouldn't get covered in this thread, but this one is different as it isn't just a collection of songs you can get on other albums: they've taken the time and made the effort to work on them and produce different versions, so I think it deserves to be given a chance. No doubt it will sell far better than it would have done had Dolores not died, but that's the music business and human nature for you. No doubt, too, it will be a painful but perhaps bittersweet reminder for the remaining members of the band of the colleague and friend they lost, and the musical talent the whole world lost.
It is, obviously, unintentional but yet chillingly appropriate that the last song ends with Dolores singing the words "Somewhere between here and Heaven I can hear you asking me why?" Indeed. A question we all wish we knew the answer to. Rest in Peace, Dolores.
Check out more from this artist? I don't know
Check out more from this genre or subgenre? Yes
Actual Rating:
