The Cranberries detail 25th anniversary box set

Last year, the four members of the Cranberries – Dolores O’Riordan, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan, and Fergal Lawler – came together to plan a 25th Anniversary box set release for their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?, one of the definitive indie albums of all time. Following O’Riordan’s untimely death in January this year, the remaining band members have decided to go ahead with the album’s expanded 25th Anniversary Edition box set, which is set for global release on October 19th by Island/UMe in 4 CD and digital audio formats. On the same date, a 2 CD Deluxe package pairing the remastered album with session outtakes, B-sides, the band’s debut EP, and early demos will be released, as well as digital and vinyl editions of the remastered album, including a 180-gram black LP and a limited edition color LP.

Originally released March 12, 1993, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? hit the No. 1 spot in both the UK and Ireland and has sold more than six million copies worldwide. At the time of the album’s release, O’Riordan remarked that the universal appeal of the Cranberries’ songs was based on “My own life and experiences as a human being, how human beings treat each other.”

In 2016, the Cranberries received a Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) Award for three million radio plays of their debut Island Records single, “Dreams.” Two 1991 demos for the song, taken from an original cassette, are included in the extras collected for the album’s 25th Anniversary Edition.

As the band’s wordsmith, O’Riordan was the source of all the band’s album titles. Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? stemmed from her dogged determination to succeed. “Elvis wasn’t always Elvis,” she said. “He wasn’t born Elvis Presley, he was a person who was born in a random place, he didn’t particularly have a lot, but he became Elvis. And Michael Jackson was born somewhere, and he became Michael Jackson and so on and so forth. And I thought we were just born in a random place so why can’t we be that successful, as well? And I believed we could, but the majority of people were saying, ‘You’re absolutely nuts, you’re not going to make it, you can’t make any money out of it, you should do cover versions!’.” A simple but clever title, it answers its own question by implying why not? Why shouldn’t a band from a small city in the southwest of Ireland get signed, make a great record, and conquer the world?

Indeed. By Christmas 1993, the band had toured extensively throughout Europe and the U.S. and their return to Ireland was a triumphant affair. Their debut album had now clocked sales of more than 800,000 copies in the United States and “Linger” had reached No. 8 on the Billboard charts. The album achieved platinum sales status in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. It became a No. 1 album in Ireland and the UK; in the U.S., it peaked at eighteen on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

The phenomenal success and continued popularity of Everybody Else… should not only be judged by its total sales – six million copies sold worldwide to date, including five million in the U.S. alone – but also by the quality of the repertoire. Although influenced by indie bands such as the Smiths, the Cure, and New Order, the distinctive sound of the Cranberries’ first album is an example of how the best popular music often comes from cross-pollination and hybridization. Just as a young Johnny Marr was influenced by the music of Rory Gallagher and Thin Lizzy, the Cranberries were, in turn, influenced by the sound of the Smiths and made their own from what they heard.

The alchemy of Noel and Dolores as co-songwriters, combined with Noel’s shimmering guitar playing, rock-solid backing from Mike and Fergal, and Stephen Street’s aptitude for space all contributed to the album’s distinct sound. O’Riordan’s unique mix of Gaelic, Catholic, and indie vocal influences, joined with her ability to write lyrics perfectly capturing the frustrations of late adolescence, gave these songs universal appeal. In the 25 years since its release, this carefully crafted debut has stood the test of time as a landmark album.

4 CD | 2 CD

CD 1: Original Album, Remastered

1. I Still Do
2. Dreams
3. Sunday
4. Pretty
5. Waltzing Back
6. Not Sorry
7. Linger
8. Wanted
9. Still Can’t…
10. I Will Always
11. How
12. Put Me Down

CD 2: Album Outtakes / B-sides / Debut EP / Early Demos

1. Íosa
2. What You Were (Demo)
3. Linger (Dave Bascombe mix)
4. How (Alternate version)
Single B-sides
5. Liar
6. What You Were
7. Reason
8. How (Radical mix)
9. Them
10. Pretty (Prêt-à-Porter movie remix)
Debut EP
11. Uncertain
12. Nothing Left At All
13. Pathetic Senses
14. Them
Early demos (recorded as The Cranberry Saw Us)
15. Dreams (Unmixed)
16. Sunday
17. Linger
18. Chrome Paint
19. Fast One
20. Shine Down
21. Dreams (Pop mix)

CD 3: Live at Cork Rock (June 1, 1991)

1. Put Me Down
2. Dreams
3. Uncertain – Live at Féile, Tipperary (July 31, 1994)
4. Pretty
5. Wanted
6. Daffodil Lament
7. Linger
8. I Can’t Be With You
9. How
10. Ode to My Family
11. Not Sorry
12. Waltzing Back
13. Dreams
14. Ridiculous Thoughts
15. Zombie
16. (They Long to Be) Close to You

CD 4: Radio Sessions

1. Dreams [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1991]
2. Uncertain [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1991]
3. Reason [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1991]
4. Put Me Down [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1991]
5. Waltzing Back [John Peel, BBC Radio 1 session, 1992]
6. Linger [John Peel, BBC Radio 1 session, 1992]
7. Wanted [John Peel, BBC Radio 1 session, 1992]
8. I Will Always [John Peel, BBC Radio 1 session, 1992]
9. The Icicle Melts [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1993]
10. Wanted [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1993]
11. Like You Used To [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1993]
12. False [Dave Fanning, RTÉ radio session, 1993]

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com