The drummer of The CranberriesFergal Lawler, still gets emotional when he remembers the group’s singer Dolores O’Riordan (1971-2018)one of the most recognizable voices in 90s rock, and hear it again in the deluxe edition that the band has decided to release as tribute to the Irish woman after 33 years of her first album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?.
“It was not something that we had planned in detail, it simply happened, and that is also part of what is special about this project, which is not born from a strategy, but from something more natural. It is a tribute and a great act of respect towards Dolores,” explains the 55-year-old musician.
More than 8 years after the artist was found dead in a bathtub after a tragic accident involving pills and alcoholLawler believes that the group’s fans “deserved” to be able to listen to songs like Sunday.
So, what was going to be a sound revision for Dolby Atmos, became an almost collector’s edition.
This recent publication will feature new configurations of the songs, artistic notes from the band on each song and most importantly, with two versions made by the Mexican bands Bratty and ANASOF of the songs linger and dreams, respectively, the latter being sung in Spanish.
Photo: EFE
“Dolores always had great respect for the people of Latin America, she would have loved the idea, she always wanted to inspire young artists. I liked that it was in Spanish, it makes it special for the Latin American audience,” Lawler argues about the choice of artists.
The band was always grateful for the large amount of covers that were made in the 90’s dreams, a “flattering and very tasteful” gesture jokes Lawler, who remembers when he was young and listened as a fan to the groups The Cure or Depeche Mode of the time.
Possible The Cranberries documentary
A little less than seven years have passed since the dissolution of the band after the publication of their last albumIn the End (2019), and Lawler is aware that, in the midst of the rise of streamingit is inevitable that they will have their own documentary, although they ask fans for patience to find a “respectful” way to carry it out.
“It’s finding the right person that you can trust who will tell the story with pleasure and respect for Dolores. We are going to do it, but it will take time,” he says hurt.
The current composer recognizes that “it would be nice” for fans to tell some unknown stories that happened and prosperously narrate the journey of The Cranberries, who went from opening for bands like Suede to having more than 30 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
“It’s going to be very hard to see all that material again, to listen to interviews with Dolores. It’s something too emotional to endure,” he says.
Anasof version
One week was the time that Anasof, a native of Oaxaca, had to prepare dreamsa challenge that the singer took on remembering her beginnings in music, when at the age of seven her father taught her to play the guitar and she learned to sing covers of songs by rock groups like The Cranberries.
“I had the opportunity to record with the tracks originals, literally the raw voice of Doloresand it was something very strong for me. Obviously there was crying,” explains the 26-year-old artist.
In the song, the voices of Anasof and O’Riordan merge, sometimes in Spanish and other times in English, forming a kind of duet through the years with “simple” lyrics, but with a “deep and complex” essence that the Mexican did not want to alter.
“It is the greatest opportunity and honor I have had in my career as a singer and songwriter. This can open a great door for people to know me, especially in the Latin public,” she ends by acknowledging.
On May 22, the full version of the album will be released to the public so that fans can enjoy The Cranberries, either with the vocals of Bratty, Anasofo by Dolores O’Riordan. (AND)
