Reviews

Title aside, what {$the Cranberries} were doing wasn't that common at the time, at least in mainstream {\pop} terms; {\grunge} and {\G-funk} had done their respective big splashes via {$Nirvana} and {$Dr. Dre} when {^Everybody} came out first in the U.K. and then in America some months later. Lead guitarist {$Noel Hogan} is in many ways the true center of the band at this point, co-writing all but three songs with {$O'Riordan} and showing an amazing economy in his playing, and having longtime {$Smiths}/{$Morrissey} producer {$Stephen Street} behind the boards meant that the right blend of projection and delicacy still held sway. One can tell he likes {$Johnny Marr} and his ability to do the job just right: check out the quick strums and blasts on {&"Pretty"} or the concluding part of the lovely {&"Waltzing Back."} {$O'Riordan} herself offers up a number of romantic ponderings and considerations lyrically (as well as playing perfectly fine acoustic guitar), and her undisputed vocal ability suits the material perfectly. The two best cuts were the deserved smashes: {&"Dreams,"} a brisk, charging number combining low-key tension and full-on {\rock}, and the melancholic, string-swept breakup song {&"Linger."} If {^Everybody} is in the end a derivative pleasure -- and {$O'Riordan}'s vocal acrobatics would never again be so relatively calm in comparison -- a pleasure it remains nonetheless, the work of a young band creating a fine little synthesis. [{^Everybody Is Doing It, So Why Can't We: The Complete Sessions 1991-1993} adds several bonus tracks, including {&"Reason,"} {&"Them,"} {&"What You Were,"} {&"Liar,"} a remix of {&"How,"} and the remix of {&"Pretty"} that ended up on the {#Pret a Porter} soundtrack.] ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide