Song of the Day: The Cranberries “Dreams” (Dolores O’Riordan 1971-2017)
It is with great sadness that I write about the premature death of The Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan at the age of 46. The Cranberries were always one of those bands that, no matter ones overall musical tastes, everyone seems to like. A lot of this is because of the incredible vocal and songwriting capabilities of Dolores O’Riordan. Fusing the pop conceit of English alternative groups like The Smiths (there is no doubting the clear Johnny Marr influence upon The Cranberries lead guitarist Noel Hogan) with traditional Irish music, the group ended-up sounding fresh, unique and tuneful. O’Riordan was of course, the show stopper. A lilting mezzo-soprano singer capable of turning even the banal into the divine with her soaring voice and control. But of course, the songs she wrote alone and in partnership with Hogan were anything but banal.
“Linger” off their first album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, was (rightfully) always The Cranberries‘ biggest song. And why not? “Linger” remains an intelligent look at the inability to shake heartbreak, from a definitively female perspective and with a great melody to boot. My personal favorite, however, will always their first single, the whimsical, enigmatic “Dreams”. The song features a gorgeous, very The Smiths-influenced guitar line, production work from former The Smiths producer, Stephen Street, and a vocal tour de force from O’Riordan: complete with Celtic yodeling and ululations. The song is very of the moment it was written, pulling together elements of almost shoe-gaze, but as a pop song, it just works: whisking you off to a dreamy other place. Indeed, it remains one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. As a movie fan, I remember first hearing it when it was used in the trailer for the 1994 Wong Kar Wai film, The Chunking Express, and caused me to fall instantly in love with both the song and the film.
The Cranberries were founded in Limerick, Ireland in 1989 by brothers Mike and Noel Hogan; drummer Fergal Lawler and singer Niall Quinnn. When Quinn left the group, the band advertised for a female singer and Dolores O’Riordan responded to their ad. She also brought a collection of demos including an early version of “Linger” which saw her hired immediately. The band recorded a 3-track demo which got them signed to a contract with Island Records. The strength of the singles “Dreams” and “Linger” saw them propelled into mainstream success.
O’Riordan was also instrumental in pushing the band into political territory on their enormously successful second album, No Need to Argue. This album contained the song “Zombie” which dealt directly with the period of political tumult in Ireland and particularly in Northern Ireland known as “The Troubles” which saw semi-regular violence between the IRA and Unionist militias. A 1993 IRA bombing that infamously killed two children, prompted the song, which is easily the most anguished The Cranberries ever wrote despite its success in the pop charts.
The band had continued to work right up until O’Riordan‘s death. They released a well-reviewed album of acoustic re-imaginings of some of their biggest hits in 2017 and were apparently mid-studio sessions yesterday when O’Riordan died. As well as The Cranberries, she also sang in dark-wave synth pop side-project with former The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke and DJ Olé Koretsky called D.A.R.K.
Rest in Peace, Dolores!
