Search - Cranberries :: Wake Up & Smell the Coffee

Short shelf live

ronaldbrian | Quezon City, Philippines | 12/21/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Just one song in this album enjoyed significant airtime: "Analyse." I remember even hearing it blaring from a jeepney in the Philippines. This album was born in 2001, right after 9/11. The video of "Analyse," with the silhouette of a man walking among high-rise buildings, took on a particular poignancy. But the songs were still Cranberry-hopeful. In "The Concept" Dolores chants: "Hold on to the concept of love, always darling/ Hold on to the concept of love, always/ Night all night, all night/ Night all night, all night."



Wake Up and Smell the Coffee sounds like a rehash of the third album, with all its sins intact. To the Faithful Departed earnestly sang of the Bosnian conflict; it was panned by critics. I remember a review from Time magazine. It said the band's understanding of theconflict was wrong, that it was a case of music and politics mixing badly. Wake Up and Smell the Coffee also couldn't let go of clichéd didacticism/preachiness (item: "Looks like we've screwed up the ozone layer/ I wonder if the politicians care") and whimsical existentialist yearnings (item: "I hope you'll never grow old/ I hope you'll never grow old / I hope you'll stay/ Forever Young"--"Never Grow Old"). The songs in this album have a very short shelf life.



"

Static remembrance

IRate | 03/31/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"2 1/2



Try as they might, Cranberries were never quite able to recapture the essential spark that made their mild alternative rock so endearing on two start-up releases, so listeners slogged through a few more albums attempting to salvage redemptive scraps of melodic purity, as lyrical content stubbornly preaches. Even if some relatively solid songs remain, the juice feels all but extracted."

A fine brew

B. Pierce | Jacksonville, NC United States | 08/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wake Up and Smell The Coffee has become one of my favorite Cranberries CDs. Dolores O'Riordan seems to have worked through a lot of the issues from Bury the Hatchet, and this reflects in the calmer, more hopeful music. The lyrics are more introspective, the depth of the lyrics is broader and the music is less angry and more cheerful. The hidden track, Cape Town, is one of best songs on the entire CD, a true gem about escaping the daily grind and going off on your own to do what you want.



If you are a fan of the Cranberries at all, this is well worth any investment might make."