Live review Dolores O'Riordan review by Ieuan Llewellyn |
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Former singer with the Celtic group the Cranberries Dolores O'Riordan is back with an atomic bang. I was lucky to attend with fellow reviewers and music lovers a gig at London's famous private members club "The Hospital" situated in the capital's Covent Garden. Dressed casually in jeans she sang eight tracks and the megastar was very relaxed, confident yet still possessing that feisty Irish unpredictable buoyancy. Dolores chatted with the crowd throughout the songs and like all greats was not phased by the reappearance of going solo as such. She even joked to the wine sipping onlookers "Mine's a pint of Guinness" which indicated she still feels at ease with her stardom and has not become complacent about her fame. The evening was sublime! Her version of "In the Ghetto" was truly meaningful and I would never of given credence that a female vocalist could stamp such authority on such a masculine song, but Dolores made it her own. She used the stage like a hit-man would pull the trigger she just appeared so in control it was a tremendous performance. The Cranberry juice may of dried up but I have a certain feeling that Dolores will be very fluid in the months to come. The album ‘Are You Listening?’ Debut Solo Single ‘Ordinary Day’Released April 30th on Sequel Dolores O’Riordan is back on April 30th with her debut single as a solo artist, the remarkable ‘Ordinary Day’. Inspired by the birth of her third child, it’s the first track to be taken from the eagerly awaited debut solo LP ‘Are You Listening?’ (May 7th). A deftly impressive return to form for the accomplished singer/songwriter, it’s her first new material in 4 years. Produced by BRIT Award winner Youth - whose previous credits include The Verve, Embrace, Primal Scream, U2 and Paul McCartney – it glistens with melody and is the perfect introduction to the new album. “Ordinary Day is a lovely song… one that doesn’t try too hard,” says Dolores. “Youth certainly brought his own vision to the table and softened it without affecting its integrity or passion.” “It was something I wrote a long, long time ago that was never recorded because it originally lost its direction. Several years later when recording the album, I was convinced to give it a new spin. We resurrected it.” Co-produced by Youth, Dan Brodbeck and engineered by Rich Chycki, the eagerly anticipated album is not only a 12-track tour de force, but also a personal reflection. Written and recorded between her homes in Canada and Dublin, it’s punctuated with angular chords and that crystalline voice. Folk-tinged, electric and deftly powerful, it’s also a relentlessly melodic success. “My time after The Cranberries was a clean slate – no pressure and no contracts,” Dolores enthuses. “It was the first time in my life I was a free agent. I had no inhibitions, which is how I felt when I first started out. That’s all visible here.”Review date: March 2007 |
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