Essential albums: 'No need to argue'

Yay. It's the very first edition of the music-geekette's music rants/reviews/explanations! Today I want to rant about the first in my personal series of 'essential albums'.

What?
'No need to argue' was the second album by Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries, following an ep and their debut 'Everybody else is doing it, so why can't we'. On that first album from 1993, they had their first hit. A melancholy song about love gone wrong, 'Linger' was the first real indication of what would turn out to be The Cranberries' true legacy: Sad ballads, delicately sung by singer Dolores O'Riordan in her style. 'Linger' was the first album's best indication of what came next. 1994's 'No need to argue' contained the biggest hits for the group thus far, and charted in a lot of countries in Europe.

Contents of note:
'No need to argue' starts off with a perfect example of what made 'Linger' such a hit. 'Ode to my family' might seem like an odd choice for album opener, being as it is one of the two quieter songs on the album. But right from the first vocal line, it's apparent that the album has a special mood and 'Ode..' is the perfect example. A song about growing up and the choices your childhood forces on you, by way of upbringing. Dolores' voice is reminiscent of Sinead O'connor at her finest, and the song inhabits the same territory as much of Sinead's early work.

Track 4, 'Zombie', was to become the band's biggest hit and it's not difficult to see why. Set against a dramatic video, it was in heavy rotation on Mtv (which played music back in the mid 90's). A slowburning and dramatic anti-war song, it followed the 'quiet verse - loud chorus' template that was popular in the early 90's (for other examples, see Nirvana, Alice in Chains) and again featured Dolores' voice prominently. The song reached the top ten in at least ten countries and was actually played until the next Cranberries album came out.

At track 7 and 9, we find two of my favourite songs by the band, 'The Icicle melts' and 'Ridiculous thoughts' respectively. Similar in build, different in execution, both of them were in largely the same tempo. 'The Icicle melts' is another sad lyric, this time about reactions to reading about a child's death in the paper. 'Ridiculous Thoughts' is another one about a past relationship, which features a catchy uptempo chorus.

Best and worst:
The best song is 'Ode to my family', a strong sentiment and the perfect Cranberries song if they ever made one! The 'worst', which in this case isn't even so bad, would have to be the kind of indifferent 'Yeat's grave' which just doesn't do it for me compared to the obvious classics that surround it.

Verdict:
This was one of the first albums that I really got into, playing it from begining to end without skipping often. It contains one or two filler tracks, but overall it is a perfect representation of the Cranberries' strengths: Melancholy songs and Dolores' heartfelt voice. In my opinion, they never bettered it. 'No need to argue' gets a solid 9 out of 10, and is the recommended starting point for getting to know the music of the Cranberries. Dolores O'Riordan is the clear MVP, and has also had the most success in her solo career so far, out of all the Cranberries members.