Dolores O'Riordan - No Baggage
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Free Music Notes for No Baggage
Free Music Review: great album!
Hit: 5 Stars
alone or with company... Dolores always sound great!
waiting for the cranberries concert here in Santiago Chile!
I love the previous album, and this one is also great!
hope she things some of her solo projects during the concert! =)
Free Music Review: A Lot Of Cranberries Sound Shows Up On No Baggage
Hit: 4 Stars
No Baggage is Dolores O'Riordan's second solo CD, and I think it is an improvement over her debut Are You Listening?. She has changed quite a bit on this CD including record labels. She is now on Zoe Records home to one of my favorite artists, Sarah Harmer. However, she and Dan Brodbeck produced both CDs, and she wrote the songs on both so the differences would seem to be more artist driven than by the label.
Cranberries fans will find this CD much to their liking. A lot of what you hear sound like it could have been recorded with O'Riordan's old band mates circa Bury the Hatchet. One of my favorites on this CD is "It's You". It mixes electric sounds with acoustic jangle, and it has a tinge of sadness that isn't explained until the end as O'Riordan advises "Don't wish your days away" as she has done at times. "Stupid" is a piano driven song that also has a very distinct Cranberries feel to it. She seems to be wrestling with something that she can't get out of her mind.
Other tracks also suggest this to be a cathartic effort as "Switch Off The Moment", "Skeleton", "Be Careful", "Lunatic", and "Tranquilizer" all seem to point to something deep and dark within. It is not clear if she sings of herself or someone close to her, but it is clear that she has been a part of a number of struggles in some form or fashion. I thought that one of the best usages of instrumentation to create the mood that goes with the lyrics was on "Lunatic". Here the piano playing builds to a crescendo with the right chords to create the tension to go with the lyrics - "There's nowhere you can hide".
One song that has less of a Cranberries vibe is the first single "The Journey". The electric guitar has a brighter sound and the riffs seem fresh. Another more unique track is "Throw Your Arms Around Me". It starts with instrumentation that seems to suggest a jungle or island location.
Finally, I found it odd that No Baggage includes one carryover song from Are You Listening? in "Apple Of My Eye". It was not one of my favorite songs, and a second recording has not changed things. Fortunately, this is the only real low point on No Baggage.
Overall, No Baggage is a very good CD from Dolores O'Riordan. What is somewhat puzzling is why she created a CD that could easily be 75% Cranberries in form with different musicians. Adding further to the confusion is that The Cranberries are getting back together for a tour in which they will play both their old material and songs from *this* CD as well. In the end I guess it doesn't matter as long as it's good music.
Download this: It's You
Free Music Review: Good album
Hit: 4 Stars
I am a big fan of The Cranberries (Dolores O'Riordan's band) and I was desperate for some more of their music. I found out Dolores had solo albums so I thought I would give this one a try. This album sounds very much like a Cranberries album, but it also still has a unique quality about it. I love her unique voice. There are some really great songs on this album (Stupid, Apple of My Eye, The Journey, Tranquilizer). Apple of My Eye is my favorite and also my husband's. The other songs are decent but don't stand out to me the way those four do.Free Music Review: Running Out of Creative Steam
Hit: 3 Stars
I liked her previous solo album better than this one. Dolores has a great and unique voice but the songwriting is a bit tired and bland on this album. She's using all the same voice tricks and ta di de dah stuff that she has used on other songs in the past. I hear alot of old Cranberries in some of these songs, just not as good. This is an album you can't say is bad, but nothing stands up and hits you with a wow either. It's average material from an above average singer. When she kept saying 'I can't see the sun' on the first song I almost ejected the disc. The first 4 songs seemed super flat to me. I like 'Be Careful' and the final two tracks the best. At least something seems to be going on in those songs. The rest seem like standard formulations. Still she has great talent, I look forward to greater projects in the future.
Free Music Review: Losing her spark
Hit: 2 Stars
Back in 1992 , it was impossible to be a teenager and not to be in love with the Cranberries . Their music somehow enclosed all the vulnerability , insecurity and anger of that innocent age and both " Everybody Else Is Doing It..." and " No Need To Argue " and essential pop albums of the 90's . Third album " To The Faithful Departed " ruined their momentum but following releases , even though uneven , still contained enough pop gems to keep the public's interest (.. honestly it's been a long time since i heard anything as fresh and elegant as , let's say " Animal Instinct " on the radio ) .
When O'Riordan emerged as a solo artist a few years ago with " Are You Listening " , it was a welcome return . The record was nothing earthshattering and didn't claim to be , yet it had it's share of good songs like " When We Were Young " , the hit single " Ordinary Day " and the beautifully dark " Black Widow " . The lady was once more giving interviews and doing live shows and fans were delighted .
With 2009's " No Baggage " though , O'Riordan has released her most spineless record yet . What makes this such a dissapointment is not that it is bad music but how indifferent music it is . There are a number of nice pop songs here with nice hooks and nice refrains but nothing that really suprises or grasps the listener's heart like her old material did . The voice is as strong as ever but so professional and unable to brake the songwritting's rather banal limits . Only " Lunatic " and " Tranquilizer " slightly stand out thanks to their eerie aura .
From the interviews ive seen on tv , the singer herself seems to be going through the best phase of her life , happily married and now a mother of four . I don't know if domestic happiness has made her a less exciting songwritter , im glad for her but " No Baggage " is easily the weakest piece of music she has ever put her name on .