With the release of the Cranberries Limited Edition of Hot Press magazine and several recent gigs across Europe, The Cranberries have had the chance to briefly speak several times about what they plan for the coming year. Below are a few quotes gathered from various appearences.
Giving her goodbye message last Monday, December 2nd in Amsterdam, Dolores told the crowd before announcing Dreams, “Thank you guys! This is our second time here in one year; Amsterdam absolutely rocks! Thank you for your support, seriously. You know, it’s coming up to Christmas, and we’re going to take a little break from touring at Christmas, ‘cos I think we’re all getting confused as to where we are every day, but after the summer next year we’re gonna come back here, so I look forward to seeing you again, OK? Thank you so much for your support again.”
Additionally, Fergal Lawler told a gathering of fans outside the Forest National in Brussels, Belgium on November 30th that plans to open for The Rolling Stones are, in fact, in the works, but that nothing has been officially confirmed as of yet. Unfortunately for Cranberries fans, tickets for The Stones’ European tour go in sale in a few short days, and Stones fans often gobble up tickets like chickenfeed. By the time we know for certain of the exact “opener” dates, it may be too late for some European Cranberries fans to get good seats.
But of course the quotes causing the most amount of discussion are the ones that Dolores made to Hot Press for their special Cranberries edition (scans). It seems that some of the quotes have been taken far out of context, causing organizations like Showbiz Ireland to draw the false conclusions that Dolores is quitting the band entirely. However, Dolores’ full statement reveals that this is only something she is doing for her own personal enjoyment and may not be something that is commercially released at all! For the record, here is the full quote, as it appears in Hot Press:
You’ve just come back from playing Turkey. Listening back to “Dreams” off the Greatest Hits album in that context, there was stuff going on in your vocal that was suggestive of Eastern European sacred music.
“When I was out in Turkey, at the Mosque at five o’clock in the morning, through the PA system they have this chanting every two hours — the day we flew out of there was the first day of Ramadan. And for me, I’m so taken with that, if I do a solo project I’m definitely going to go into that kind of stuff, ethnic music. I’m definitely going to mess around now after the Greatest Hits, I’m definitely not going to go back and do another Cranberries album. I need to do a different project completely, and the boys need some freedom for awhile. I’d like to do a little bit more work in the studio, or a little bit more flying out to places like Turkey or Africa and recording some different ethnic things and bringing it back for inspiration. Nobody might ever listen to it or get it, but these are things in life you have to do for yourself.”
You touched on that area before with Jah Wobble’s Invaders of the Heart, and it was mooted that you’d work with Brian Eno at one stage. Is that still a possibility?
“It would be, yeah. The reason we didn’t at the time was because Brian likes to experiment in the studio, he likes to go in with pretty much nothing and just write in there. And we were like, ‘Aw, but sure we’ve everything written!’ So with The Cranberries we have a format and we write a certain way and that’s that, so I think it’s important for us to go and experiment now.”
Do you think the boys are capable of stretching as players?
“No, I think Mike’s a bass player, Ferg’s a drummer and Noel’s a guitarist and that’s it. I don’t think Noel’s gonna suddenly take up the piano or double bass. I think if he was going to he would’ve done it in the last five years, I think that’s his gift and his talent and he likes to stick with that. He likes time off to be time off. As regards people playing different instruments, you would have to pretty much hire those.”
And the last new revelation of great importance comes to us from the December 6th issue of the Irish gossip tabloid The Star. In it, Dolores tells the paper, “It’s a relationship, as if you were going out with a girl for a long time but needed a break. If you miss her, you go back, if you don’t, you don’t go back.” The rest of the article is quoted as saying, “The relationship is now on a temporary break, as all involved decide if they want to continue together or seek pastures new… As for the future, she talks about working again with The Cranberries, on their own terms, and maybe getting involved in film soundtracks.” Of course, when reading this, keep in mind that this is a gossip magazine, so take it with a pinch of salt.
Zombieguide will have more as we know it. Thanks to Stéphane, Mickael, and an anonymous contributor for the information.
“Ooof, now I’m becoming verklempt, talk amongst yourselves!”
Source: Exclusive!
