Greatest Hits Cranberries

[Charlesetta Blare]

Theday that many of us thought we would never see, is finally here, and Cranberries.com couldn't be happier to announce the news. Dolores O'Riordan and the original members of The Cranberries have announced that they will reform for the first time in nearly seven years for a live tour. "I've decided to reunite with my former band members in The Cranberries and we will be writing new songs and performing tracks off my new album as well as our greatest hits during the shows. I'd love to see you out there." O'Riordan stated.

In January, O'Riordan played a set at Dublin's Trinity College with band members and brothers Noel and Mike Hogan to commemorate her being made an Honorary Patron of Trinity's Philosophical Society. The performance was the first time the band members had seen each other since 2003. Never officially broken up, the band instead has been on hiatus, and being in the same room and playing music together for the first time made them realize how much they had missed each other. Touring will begin at the end of the year in North America and make its way to Europe in early 2010 with dates announced shortly

Today also marks the release of Dolores O'Riordan's solo album, No Baggage, via zoe/rounder records in the US and Canada and Cooking Vinyl in the rest of the world. With No Baggage, O'Riordan's unforgettable, distinguished voice is back and better than ever. She co-produced and wrote all of the tracks on the album with Ontario-based Dan Brodbeck, resulting in a bright, clean sound that finds the singer's astoundingly emotive voice front and center, be it on the gorgeous piano ballad "Lunatic," the forthright, rocking track "Be Careful," or the infectious, driving lead single, "The Journey."

"I probably haven't worn my heart on my sleeve like this since the second Cranberries album (1994's No Need To Argue)," she says. "It's at times very confessional and dealing with my true emotions. Everyone, through their experiences or their background, has had terrible moments where they think they can't handle it. With this record I'm trying to show that, no matter how bad things may seem, it's not really that bad in the big picture." says O'Riordan.

In the eighties, pop duo simple Minds issued one of the classic hits of the decade, "Don't You Forget About Me." With the release of their new album, Good News From the Next World, that song now proves prophetic. Many thought that Glittering Prize, their 1992 greatest hits compilation, signaled an end to their inspiration. Yet, just when they had almost faded from recent memory, Simple Minds make a comeback with a newer, fresher sound.

Apparently Simple Minds learned a thing or two from the likes of U2 and the Cranberries during their three years of soul-searching. Gone is the lush, synthesized sound of their previous hits, such as "Alive and Kicking" or "Belfast Child." Filling out the arrangements with more guitar work and complex rhythms, the newer, more astringent style strikes the listener, whereas before it merely made for harmless listening. Vocalist Jim Kerr and guitarist Charlie Burchill self-consciously acknowledge this change in their opening track, "She's A River":

Harsher, more urgent and more coherent, the duo aims to convey the uneasiness of contemporary times. As the millenium draws inexorably towards a close, the two project the current generation's ambivalence into their music.

Simple Minds set themselves the task of writing the musical equivalent of T. S. Eliot's The Wasteland. They try to capture the same vision of a bleak present mixed with a hopeful future. Drawing on the confidence they find in their rejuvenated sound, their attempt is at once captivating and convincing.

The first track, "She's A River," not only reflects the change in their musical direction, but also pulls the listener immediately into the album's spirit. This song's forceful rhythms, effective riffs and strong melody come together to grab the listener's attention. Kerr sings of his "spirit of creation," his muse, that will carry through the songs that follow.

The first stop on Kerr's journey is love, the theme of the album's third track, "Hypnotised." Built over a persistent bass, the song's fervor enthralls. Together with its soulful guitar counterpoint, Simple Minds express the obsessive quality of an unrequited love.

Like "Hypnotised," each song on the album each focuses on some aspect of the search for a spiritual truth in postmodern times--redemption ("Great Leap Forward" and "My Life"), faith ("This Time") and courage again ("And The Band Played On").

Though it attempts to take the listener on a spiritual odyssey, Good News From The Next World does not become a collection of cheesy anthems. Simple Minds continually zoom in on the many difficulties in the way, such as the temptations acknowledged in "7 Deadly Sins."

Taken together, the songs coalesce into a contemporary musical statements that aspires to universal relevance. Simple Minds chose not to rest on their laurels, and the result is a new voice for the present times.

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