The Cranberries – Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?

The first album was not bad, but the Cranberries began to see real success with the second album and until 1999 with Bury The Hatchet, that is, the album that closed the splendid period of this band.

Bought Christmas 1993 and still have it. The quality of this CD is incredible. I also have this on vinyl and it doesn't sound as good as this original CD. I have alot of memories associated with this album also and maybe that's why I love it so much.

If folk, techno and rock could be so brilliantly incorporated, why were The Cranberries the first to formulate such musical alchemy without being accused of thievery? Simple, no other band retained the crossover appeal that they did. Wisely taking their cues from shoegaze and grunge, The Cranberries subscribed to the rapidly emerging indie scene and demarcated themselves from their contemporaries by proudly exhibiting a wonderfully palpable, undiluted Celtic slant correspondent with their Irish roots. Integral to this dream-pop majesty was the lead guitarist Noel Hogan and iconic frontwoman Dolores O'Riordan, who both conceived of the majority of the band's compositions, delicate, tear-jerking lyrics, charging music and all. As produced by '80s engineering stalwart Stephen Street, a precise balance of tact and discharge is achieved, with every aspect of the recording coming off as immaculate and organic instead of turbulent and contrived. O'Riordan's vocal acrobatics are neutralized on the reflective, acoustic numbers, most likely at the behest of Street, who favours the melodic aspect of the band over the more full-on and jarring. From the utterly exhilarating "Dreams", paradoxically restrained and rampant in of tightness and execution and combining elements of world and dance music to great effect, O'Riordan's swooping and Hogan's guitar blasts are filtered through a commercial prism, with the lovely, ethereal "Pretty", exquisite "Sunday" and the wistful, string-laden break-up anthem "Linger", possessing comparable immediacy.

"Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" is a slick, sweeping and romantic delight that sparkles from beginning to end, never losing momentum for a second. It is a complete arrangement intentionally sequenced to be heard in that exact configuration, for that is where its brooding beauty lies, in the unfolding of each song, the fusion of dramatic, earthy and plaintive moods and brash yet economical rhythms and gorgeous harmonies they would never again realize so smoothly. Without Street's magic touch, it is difficult to imagine how the band would have achieved something so dynamic and cohesive in their embryonic stage.

On their stunning debut, The Cranberries mastered barely controlled tautness and bittersweet, introspective warmth, underlined by a perceptible angst, strangely uplifting quality and spiritual lilt. It spawned two smash hit singles and catapulted the band to mainstream success, but "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?" is nowhere near as esteemed as other classic '90s albums, which is baffling. It should be recognised as the milestone of alternative rock that is so unquestionably is.

Rating: 4.5/5

Estamos ante el mejor disco de The Cranberries, pese a que No need to argue vendió cerca de 20 millones de copias, y en él se encuentra el mayor éxito del grupo irlandés. Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we es un ejercicio magistral y hermoso de combinación del rock clásico, del blues y del dreampop con el folk irlandés, destacando todos y cada uno de los temas.
Es cierto que los dos mayores hits de este disco son Linger y Dreams, pero otros temas como Sunday, Not sorry, Put me down, Still can't o I will always superan el 9/10 en mi humilde opinión. Los temas menores como Pretty o Wanted también son excelentes, ¡y es que no hay ningún tema que no sea reseñable!
El fracaso comercial de Loveless fue restituido con este disco de otra banda irlandesa, que sí tuvo la oportunidad de dar a conocer al mundo el sonido dreampop. Es cierto que con No need to argue, The Cranberries abandonó este estilo definitivamente, pero bandas como Cocteu twins, The Sundays o Sonic youth deberían estar agradecidos eternamente a The Cranberries por su labor divulgadora del dreampop y shoegaze.
Con este ábum, The Cranberries tocó el cielo, y con No need to argue se instaló en él definitivamente. Siempre será una de las mejores 50 bandas del siglo XX.

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This is the best Cranberries album, despite the fact that No need to argue sold close to 20 million copies, and it contains the Irish group's greatest success. Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we is a masterful and beautiful exercise combining classic rock, blues and dreampop with Irish folk, highlighting each and every one of the themes.
It is true that the two biggest hits on this album are Linger and Dreams, but other songs like Sunday, Not sorry, Put me down, Still can't or I will always sur 9/10 in my humble opinion. Minor themes like Pretty or Wanted are also excellent, and there is no topic that is not noteworthy!
The commercial failure of Loveless was restored with this album by another Irish band, which did have the opportunity to make the dreampop sound known to the world. It is true that with No need to argue, The Cranberries abandoned this style definitively, but bands like Cocteu twins, The Sundays or Sonic youth should be eternally grateful to The Cranberries for their work in promoting dreampop and shoegaze.
With this album, The Cranberries touched heaven, and with No need to argue they settled on it for good. It will always be one of the best 50 bands of the 20th century.

In the CD it puts that is 1992, not 1993.

Reissue LP coming this June 16, 2017 . . .