No Baggage

Being sceptical of this album prior to its release, due to the decision to introduce a second version of ’Apple of My Eye’, and the snippets of some tracks from the official site, I purchased this album without much expectation, just to remind myself as a faithful fan. After listening to the entire album even for the first time, I must say I am a faithful and happy fan. Dolores O’Riordan’s sophomore album is definitely a must-buy for fans and non-fans alike. Although I am not sure if the songs in ’No Baggage’ will make a stronger emotional impact than some of those in ’Are You Listening?’, more than 2 years of wait for this album is worthwhile. My personal favourites from this album are ’Skeleton’, ’Be Careful’, ’Throw Your Arms Around Me’, ’Fly Through’ and the new version of ’Loser’ (only available in the Japanese edition). Like ’Are You Listening?’, there is not much ’The Cranberries’ in this album, which is probably a good thing considering ’Wake Up And Smell The Coffee’ and half of ’Bury The Hatchet’. But if you did like ’WUASTC’, you will love this album. ”You can’t outrun your skeleton.” I believe this applies to Dolores’ musical talent as well. Not much, if any at all, breakthrough in this album, just a presentation of life’s different aspects and moments, in addition to those in ’Are You Listening?’, in a melodic way. A negative connotation this may carry, but nonetheless, ’No Baggage’ is sufficient to satisfy my yearning for good and inspirational music for a long time.