Cranberries Wake Up And Smell The Coffee CD - Import

UK pressing of the Irish quartet's fifth and final album from 2001 features three bonus tracks: 'In The Ghetto' plus live versions of 'Dreams' and 'Promises'. MCA.

Contains the hidden track "Cape Town" which follows "Chocolate Brown."
The Cranberries: Dolores O'Riordan (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Nigel Hogan (acoustic & electric guitars); Mike Hogan (bass); Fergal Lawler (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Windmill Lane, Dublin, Ireland.
U.K. edition adds three songs.
CD contains 3 bonus tracks.
The second half of the '90s was difficult for the Cranberries, not just because of changing fashions, but because the group embraced both a social consciousness and a prog rock infatuation, crystallized by the Storm Thorgerson cover of Bury the Hatchet. Thorgerson has been retained for their fifth effort, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, but the group has hardly pursued the indulgent tendencies of their previous collaboration with him -- instead, they've re-teamed with producer Stephen Street and come up with an album that's as reminiscent of their debut as anything they've done since. So, even if it's wrapped in new clothing, this is essentially a return to basics, and it's a welcome one, since it's melodic, stately, and somber -- perhaps not with the post-Sundays grace of "Linger," but with a dogged sense of decorum that keeps not just the group's musical excesses in check, but also O'Riordan's political polemics (although she still sneaks in cringe-inducing lines like "Looks like we've screwed up the ozone layer/I wonder if the politicians care"). This doesn't really result in a record that will restore the Cranberries to the status they enjoyed in the early '90s -- after all, there's nothing as undeniable as "Linger," "Dreams," or even "Zombie" -- but it's a solid effort that feels like the true follow-up to To the Faithful Departed, which is notable in its own way. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The Cranberries may have changed labels for the first time in a decade, but they've chosen to go back down a familiar path on their fifth album WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE. Reuniting with Stephen Street (who produced the band's first two albums), this Irish quartet returns to the distinctive alt-pop sound of early records like EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT, SO WHY CAN'T WE and NO NEED TO ARGUE. Frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan still possesses the same crystalline phrasing that makes her sound like Sinead O'Connor's little sister, particularly on the delicate lullaby "Chocolate Brown" and the atmospheric "Pretty Eyes."
Guitarist Noel Hogan is also in fine form as he slashes and burns his way through "This Is The Day," gilds the dream-pop "Every Morning" with shimmering slide guitar, and significantly ups the jangle quotient on the Smiths-like "Do You Know." The birth of second children for both O'Riordan and Hogan also finds some of the songwriting touching on social issues like global warming and nuclear threats (the soaring "Time Is Ticking Out") as well as more personal ones like the steady corruption of a soul (a melancholy "Dying Inside"). A welcome return from one of Ireland's musical treasures.

Q (11/01, p.118) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...Charming..."