Welcome everyone to the latest edition of Top Five Fridays! It was a sad day in the world of alternative music on Monday when The Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan suddenly passed away at the age of 46. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the Cranberries music over the years so in honor of her and the group, here’s my top five favorite songs by the Cranberries.
5. Just My Imagination
One of the later songs in the group’s discography and it’s just as good as their earlier material. The opening guitar riff is my favorite part of the song because of the sudden stop. It’s something about that happening makes me think the record skipped, but it works.
It has a simple theme and is just so catchy that you can’t help but tap your foot while listening to it.
4. Dreams
I don’t know what it is, but songs with this title are some of my personal favorites and will be a part of a future top five down the road. I just love the slow build with the instruments and then you hear Dolores sing about falling in love for the first time ever.
In an interesting twist, her then-boyfriend Mike Mahoney sings those backup vocals at the end of the song. It’s a hauntingly beautiful way to end a song.
3. Zombie
Undoubtedly their biggest single and it’s understandable why considering the music that was out around the same time the group’s second album. It also marks a departure from their usual sound and it was clear that they wanted to rock out a lot more on this track.
What’s interesting about this song is that it was written while they were on their tour of England and was written to be a song of peace among England and O’Riordian’s native country of Ireland.
2. The Glory
One of the last original songs released by the group last year in the album “Something Else” is amazing. The simplicity of the song and the entire album (which has some of their biggest hits stripped down) works perfectly with O’Riordian’s vocal talents.
The lyrics are another example of why The Cranberries were such a big hit, especially the chorus “Then I see the rose/I see the glory in your eyes/And winter comes and then it snows/I see the glory in your eyes”.
1. Linger
This was the first song I ever heard from the group and it’s safe to say that it will always be my favorite track by the group. What’s crazy is that O’Riordian wasn’t part of the group at the time this was written. When she joined the group, she turned it into a haunting song about regret based on a soldier that she had fallen in love with.
With her passing, this song will linger on in many fans minds and stand the test of time in my opinion.
-Clint@1063RL