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The importance of asking questions has occupied the human mind since time immemorial. Posing questions to friends, figures of authority � even oneself � can lead not only to information, but also enlightenment. Such has been the approach of singer/songwriter Dolores O�Riordan. First bursting upon the music scene as lead singer of The Cranberries (whose debut album was snappily titled Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can�t We?), O�Riordan has been following a solo path since 2003. Her first solo disc, Are You Listening?, came out in 2007; now she presents her Cooking Vinyl Records follow-up, the slyly-titled No Baggage.
�I probably haven�t worn my heart on my sleeve like this since the second Cranberries album [1994�s No Need to Argue],� she says. �It�s at times very confessional and dealing with my true emotions. Everyone, through their experiences or their background, has had terrible moments where they think they can�t handle it. With this record I�m trying to show that, no matter how bad things may seem, it�s not really that bad in the big picture.�
Looking forward and backwards � sometimes simultaneously � is one of the new work�s primary themes, as evidenced on such key tracks as the quasi-Beatlesque �Fly Through� and its yearning for unambiguous solutions, the bittersweet nostalgia of the insinuatingly catchy �It�s You�, and the blunt, seemingly self-critical �Stupid�. �That one�s about how some people, maybe a lot of people, can feel when they find themselves in a difficult situation,� O�Riordan explains, �and how that can continue to affect them years later.� A similar approach permeates �Skeleton�, which takes its title not just from the physical structure at each person�s core but also from the all-too-common �skeletons in the closet� that we all have. Not for nothing does the song advise that, despite frequent wishes to the contrary, �You can�t outrun your skeleton�. �The way children, and many adults, have this fear of skeletons was something I wanted to explore,� O�Riordan says. �We all have one, physically and spiritually, and realizing that can make you a stronger person. Learning to accept your experiences, and see how they�ve made you the person you are, is something I feel very strongly about.�
Always a keen observer of human behavior in its many manifestations, O�Riordan says that lately she�s been taking a closer look at her place in life, securely in what she calls a �middle generation� between her parents and her children. �It�s been said before,� she muses, �but it�s incredible how quickly life evolves. Life really is a journey, and there�s no such thing as perfection, really. I�ve come to see how important it is to accept the challenges and uncertainties that come up, and to accept them as a part of life. I never lack for inspiration,� she adds, noting the ever-developing perspectives she shares with her various family members. �A lot of this material was written and inspired by what�s around me. I know I�m fortunate to still have my parents, and I didn�t want to be one of those people who�s always on the road or in the studio who suddenly realizes they should have spent more time with their children. Certain moments only last for so long,� she notes, �and it�s important to live within those moments.� Those moments nowadays are often spent with her husband Don Burton, their three children (aged 3 to 12), and a 17-year-old son from Burton�s previous relationship. Together they split time between Dublin and Ontario, Canada, where she takes solace and inspiration from a home �deep in the woods. There�s lots of wildlife around, and it�s about as far away from �society� as you can get. It makes for a nice little escape.�
O�Riordan knows something about escape. Born in 1971 in Ballybricken, Limerick, Ireland, she answered an ad in the early 1990s placed by brothers Noel and Mike Hogan seeking a lead singer for what was then called The Cranberry Saw Us. Impressed by O�Riordan�s soaring vocal style and songwriting skill � she already had a rough version of �Linger� in hand � they soon offered her the gig. Led by �Linger�, debut album Everybody Else Is Doing It � eventually hit #1 in Britain. Follow-up No Need to Argue cemented the group�s popularity via such popular tracks as �Zombie� �Ridiculous Thoughts�, and �Ode to My Family� ultimately being certified 5x platinum in Europe (hitting # 1 in Germany, Austria, and Australia, and # 2 in the U.K.), and 7x platinum in the U.S. A massive tour followed, with stops in England, Europe, the U.S. and Mexico, and the band � in particular, O�Riordan � started regularly popping up on the covers of music magazines, from Rolling Stone and Pulse to Q, Vox, and Musikexpress. Sold-out shows in Japan and Australia soon followed. The heavier-sounding To the Faithful Departed (1996) � which also hit # 2 in the U.K. - was followed by 1999�s Bury the Hatchet and 2001�s Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, each amply illustrating an evolving maturity and confidence � but also increasingly hinting at a growing world-weariness on the part of its seemingly tireless lead singer. Accolades and opportunities continued to proliferate: In 1996 she appeared at Luciano Pavarotti�s annual �Pavarotti & Friends� charity concert in his hometown of Modena, Italy, performing �Ave Maria� with the maestro and a version of �Linger� with Duran Duran�s Simon LeBon.
After thirteen years, five albums, countless concerts (including some opening stints on the Rolling Stones� Licks tour), and enormous international success with The Cranberries, in 2003 O�Riordan decided she�d had enough. �It had become too much of a compromise,� she says of stardom. �At the end of the day, I was very much feeling like a product. The weird thing about having success with a record is that everyone says, �Okay, now the next one has to be bigger and better!� Eventually it becomes very much a ball-and-chain situation, and I got tired of it. I wanted to be free of that collar.� Living in the wilds of Ontario became a meditative experience, time which O�Riordan spent painting, volunteering at a local school, and generally �becoming human again. I needed to figure out that, if I wasn�t the singer of The Cranberries, then who am I?� Walking away from music for good, however, ultimately proved not to be an option. �I started writing just for the sake of writing,� she recalls, �and over time I realized I wanted to get back into the spotlight a bit. There was a sort of �Why do you want to do it all again?� feeling, but by that time the world was a different place, and I was surprised to find that I�d been missed. There was a kind of respect there, waiting for me. Sometimes it�s good to go away for awhile,� she laughs. Indeed, even during her prolonged break she was invited by Pope Benedict XVI to appear at the Vatican�s annual Christmas concert in 2005, performing �Adeste Fideles� with Italian singer Gianluca Terranova and a new version of �Linger� � her only live performance of that year. Meanwhile, sessions for Are You Listening? went smoothly and a tour followed its release.
Falling back into bad habits was, however, never on the agenda. �There�s only so much wine you can drink on the road,� she declares, �so instead I took to writing songs to hold me together. You always feel guilty for being away from your family when you�re touring, but I was able to create this spiritual outlet. A lot of the songs came really fast.� O�Riordan co-produced No Baggage with Ontario-based Dan Brodbeck, resulting in a bright, clean sound that finds the singer�s still-astoundingly emotive voice front and center, be it on the gorgeously piano ballad �Lunatic� or the forthright, anthemic rocker �Be Careful�. But there�s also room for sonic experimentation, most obviously on �Throw Your Arms Around Me�, with its Indian-styled instrumentation and structure. It�s a song that O�Riordan is clearly proud of. �That song�s really about how there are two kinds of people: those who are believers and have faith, and those who scoff at such things,� she says. �It has a kind of mysterious sound to it, unpredictable; it doesn�t sound anything like normal.�
Some fans may also be surprised to hear that O�Riordan remains friends with her former bandmates, but, after all, The Cranberries never really split up; instead, they went on hiatus. In fact, in January, O�Riordan played a set at Dublin�s Trinity College with the brothers Hogan to commemorate her being made an Honorary Patron of Trinity�s Philosophical Society. �We sort of checked each other out at first, counting gray hairs and examining waistlines,� she laughs. �But when we started playing it was as if we�d never stopped; there were no nerves, nothing weird. It was completely natural, and it was nice to know that we still have that.� Small wonder, then, that the ever-inquisitive O�Riordan continues to view life � and her place in it � with stoic calm.
The question posed by No Baggage is, clearly, meant sardonically. �I hope listeners find some comfort and can relate to what they hear with this record,� she says. �The key is to realize that there�s always hope. Thinking that can make it so.�
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