The Lingering Legacy of Dolores O’Riordan and the Cranberries (Part 1 of 2)

Celebrated Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries recently released a deluxe and expanded 30^th anniversary reissue of their landmark second album, 1994’s No Need to Argue. The new release appends the brilliant 13-track album with a bounty of bonus tracks: demos, live recordings and inventive remixes.

The return of The Cranberries’ best-selling album presented an opportunity to catch up with the group’s drummer, Fergal Lawler, and their producer, Stephen Street; both reflected on the band’s legacy and the tragic loss of lead vocalist Dolores O’Riordan, who died in 2018 at age 46. Shortly before O’Riordan’s death, Goldmine editor Pat Prince interviewed the singer-songwriter for the magazine’s podcast. With his kind permission, excerpts from that conversation are woven into this feature as well.

Early Days
The Cranberries’ history actually predates O’Riordan’s involvement by several months. Originally calling themselves The Cranberry Saw Us, the band formed in 1989 in the Western Ireland city of Limerick. Hogan brothers Mike (bass guitar) and Noel (guitar) were joined by drummer Fergal Lawler; all were still in their teens. “We had been playing with another guy for a while,” recalls Lawler. “When he left, we just continued as an instrumental band for a few months.” The trio wrote songs and played them without vocals.

Dolores O’Riordan auditioned for the group in mid-1990; within a week, she was in. Lawler and his band mates knew right away that when their newest member came on board, everything changed. “Dolores had an unmistakably unique voice. It was something she was very grateful for. She was conscious of not being constrained by technical rules,” he says. Lawler relates a story from O’Riordan’s youth that illustrates both her gifts and her understanding of their importance.

“Her piano teacher suggested she try singing lessons,” he recalls. “She sang some parts for the teacher who said, ‘Oh, you can’t do that!’ Dolores replied, ‘But why not? I should be free to use my voice to express myself in any way I choose.’ She never went to another vocal instructor again.”

Singles Success
When O’Riordan joined the group, her evocative lyrics and distinctive vocals quickly became a centerpiece of the band’s approach. The Cranberries’ first single, “Dreams” signaled the arrival of a major creative force. The single was well-received by critics and record buyers alike. Reflecting on the song more than 15 years later, O’Riordan admitted to Goldmine’s Pat Prince that it was indeed something special. “I think you only write a song like ‘Dreams’ once in your life,” she said. “That was like the first love.”

“And then ‘Linger’ is like the first time you really get your heart broken,” she added. Another of O’Riordan’s early efforts with the group, “Linger” came about when she added lyrics to one of the band instrumentals. “Linger” would eventually become The Cranberries’ second single, a No. 3 track on Ireland’s chart, and a Top 40 single in five other countries including the U.S. (No. 8 on the Billboard 100, No. 4 on its Alternative Airplay chart). Just a few years after forming, the band had arrived.

Creative Collaboration
Most of the group’s songs would be credited to O’Riordan (lyrics) and Noel Hogan (music), but in practice – and from the very start – songwriting was a collaborative endeavor. “Dolores or Noel would come up with an idea on guitar, keyboard or whatever, and say, ‘I have a few chords here. I have an idea for song,’” Lawler recalls. “They’d start playing. We’d listen, and then join in and start jamming.”

He says that the music would sway one way and then another, developing as it went. “It became an organic thing; we didn’t ever say, ‘We want to sound like this or sound like that.’” It was more a case of, “Yeah, that’s working,” or, “No, maybe that one isn’t working,” he says. “It was a magical process that took place intuitively for all of the band members.”

The Cranberries played live dates and built a following. Their road commitments meant that many of the songs that would appear on their debut album, 1993’s Everybody Else is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? were written while on tour, “in dressing rooms and hotel rooms,” Lawler says. “And then at sound check, we’d run through ideas. And then we’d stay onstage for a little while longer, just playing around as if it was a rehearsal room.” that spontaneous and informal approach yielded a strong set of songs.

Studio Savvy
Producer Stephen Street had already earned well-deserved fame for his work on sessions for The Smiths and other artists. “I was asked by Island Records to come in and have a listen to their demos,” he says. Street played the cassette and immediately thought, “Yeah, this is something I could work with.” It was the beginning of a long, close and creatively fruitful relationship.

“At the first gig I saw the band, Dolores was so nervous that she sang sideways onto the audience,” Street says. “No one had any idea that she would turn into the powerful stage performer that we all came to know and love.” He recalls witnessing all of the band members – but especially O’Riordan – gain in skill and confidence, early on during their time working together.

“When we were recording the first album, Dolores was very nervous, and was keen on having her boyfriend there to oversee her recording her vocals,” Street says. He put a stop to that, explaining that the only person judging her vocal takes would be him in his role as producer. O’Riordan took the direction well. “We soon developed a great working relationship,” Street recalls. “Dolores was very receptive to input from me, and she was full of ideas herself. So the recording of her vocals was a dream!”

Leaping Forward
Street would produce The Cranberries’ first two albums, and two more later in their career, so he has a keen and unique perspective on the development of the band as a whole, and its individual members. He says that time spent on the road promoting their debut album made The Cranberries a far better band.

“They’d done so much playing that they became much better at their instruments; they became much better musicians.” Coupled with a continuing emphasis on songwriting, the group that showed up in the studio to make No Need to Argue was poised to create something truly special. “It was the touring between albums one and two where I think the change happened,” Street observes. “Dolores really learned how to use the stage and how to perform; that informed her writing as well.”

They again worked closely with Street, who sometimes helped the band add subtle enhancements to the songs. “They weren’t filling in gaps just for the sake of it,” he emphasizes, “but [some songs] did need a little bit of embroidery, as it were.” Chiefly, though, Street says that a major objective was to capture recordings that showcased The Cranberries’ rock-solid rhythm section, “just making sure that Mike and Ferg were as tight as possible,” he says.

Click here to continue…