Artist: THE CRANBERRIES
Album: TO THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED - THE COMPLETE SESSIONS 1996-97 (CD)

Year: 1996/ 2002
Media type: CD

To the Faithful Departed turned out to be where the Cranberries' best intentions finally and thoroughly tripped them up. Switching producers to Bruce Fairbairn was a troubling enough move to begin with; Stephen Street's ear for the band's dynamics was note-perfect, but Fairbairn's work with arena-rock monsters like Aerosmith meant that on Departed everything was scaled up accordingly. The results may have been more commercial, but they took the identity of the band with it -- the opening song "Hollywood" was a sludgefest that, ironically, didn't give the band the muscular kick that propelled songs like "Zombie." O'Riordan, meanwhile, decided she was a generation's spokesperson, fully taking over the songwriting, except on a couple of cuts with Noel Hogan, penning some appropriate liner notes, and running with it. Songtitles say it all -- "War Child," "I Just Shot John Lennon," complete with cheesy gun shots, and perhaps most painfully obvious at the end, "Bosnia." Then there's lead single "Salvation," which preaches against heroin addiction in a manner worthy of afterschool specials and with about as much depth. Not that good songs can't and haven't been written on these subjects, of course, but O'Riordan, lacking a truly individual or unique take on them, is not the person to be writing them. Or singing them -- her wails and yelps now run rampant, being less voice-as-instrument as it is signature calling card to be employed throughout. There are bright points -- every so often Hogan's guitar comes through at its best, and there's the retro-'50s finger-snapping "When You're Gone" and the nicely arranged "Electric Blue." Still, when compared to No Need and especially Everybody, Departed completely suffers in comparison.

TRACKLIST:

 = Original Complete 1996 Album =

1  Hollywood  5:08  
2  Salvation 2:23 
Baritone Saxophone [Baritone Sax] – Michael Buckley
Performer [Horn Section] – Bruce Fairbairn, Michael Buckley, Richie Buckley
Tenor Saxophone [Tenor Sax] – Richie Buckley
Trumpet – Bruce Fairbairn 
 
3  When You're Gone  4:56  
4  Free To Decide  4:25  
5  War Child  3:50  
6  Forever Yellow Skies  4:09  
7  The Rebels  3:20  
8  Intermission  2:01  
9  I Just Shot John Lennon  2:41  
10  Electric Blue  4:51  
11  I'm Still Remembering  4:48  
12  Will You Remember?  2:49  
13  Joe  3:22  
14  Bosnia
Saw [Performed By] – Henry Daag  5:40  

 = Plus 5 Extra Tracks From That Period =

15  Cordell  3:41  
16  The Picture I View  2:28  
17  Ave Maria
Arranged By [Arrangement] – Giancarlo Chiaramello
Composed By – Ballotta*, Schubert*
Performer – Dolores O'Riordan, Luciano Pavarotti  4:13  

18  Go Your Own Way
Written-By – Lindsey Buckingham  4:03  

19  God Be With You  3:34