The Cranberries' 'To The Faithful Departed' Expanded For Reissue

08-29-2023

(Reybee) The Cranberries' monumental third album To The Faithful Departed will be reissued as a deluxe edition on vinyl and CD on October 13, 2023 via Island/UMe. Selling over six million copies worldwide and reaching Number One in six countries, it became the band's highest-charting album on the U.S. Billboard Top 200.

"I hadn't heard these tracks for a long time but have spent many days over the past year or so listening intently to these songs," remembers drummer Fergal Lawler. With the tragic passing of powerhouse vocalist Dolores O'Riordan in 2018, his remembrance of the recording is bittersweet. "As difficult as it was to hear Dolores' voice, they brought back many fond memories. I was shocked at how powerful they sounded and the strong emotions that I felt as I listened."

Originally released on April 30, 1996, the album yielded four singles including the U.S. Number One Modern Rock single "Salvation." In this deluxe reissue, the original album has been remastered by John Dent at Metropolis. Available in its original configuration as 1LP, an expanded 2LP set, and a 3CD set (whose tracklisting the digital version mirrors), To The Faithful Departed deluxe editions contain an abundance of bonus tracks and material. The 2LP and 3CD configurations include three previously unreleased album demos recorded with Tim Palmer in Paris. The sleeve notes by Eoin Devereux includes contributions from the remaining band members as well as archived material which includes interviews with Dolores.

"When we were on tour for our second album No Need to Argue, we began discussions about recording the next album," recalls Lawler about the record's origins. "We had spoken to Island Records about the possibility of trying a new producer and they suggested Tim Palmer who had worked with Tears for Fears. So we decided to demo some new songs with him. We had a few days off in Paris and we recorded 'When You're Gone', 'Free to Decide' and 'I Just Shot John Lennon.' Tim was a lovely guy and the recordings sounded great but we felt he was a little similar in style to Steven Street [who had produced the band's previous two albums] and we wanted to try something different. We had been touring a lot and wanted more of a live sound."

Switching gears, they chose Bruce Fairbairn who was known for working with hard rock bands such as Aerosmith, AC/DC and Van Halen. "When the tour finished, we took a short break and met with Bruce and his genius engineer Mike Plotnikoff in Windmill Lane studio in Dublin," he continues. "It was a very different experience for both ourselves and Bruce, he was used to working with heavy rock bands and we were used to working with Steven [Street], but it worked out really well. Bruce and Mike managed to capture that big, live sound we were looking for at that time, especially on songs like 'Salvation', 'Hollywood' and 'Electric Blue' but they also did a fantastic job on softer songs like 'When you're Gone', 'The Rebels' and 'Bosnia.'"

The digital and 3CD set includes unreleased outtakes and early mixes of the studio album and twelve rare live tracks recorded on the band's 1996 "Free to Decide."

1LP
LP1 - Side A
1. Hollywood
2. Salvation
3. When You're Gone
4. Free To Decide
5. War Child
6. Forever Yellow Skies
7. The Rebels
LP1 - Side B
1. Just Shot John Lennon
2. Electric Blue
3. I'm Still Remembering
4. Will You Remember?
5. Joe
6. Bosnia

2LP
LP1 - Side A
1. Hollywood
2. Salvation
3. When You're Gone
4. Free To Decide
5. War Child
LP1 - Side B
1. Forever Yellow Skies
2. The Rebels
3. Intermission
4. Just Shot John Lennon
5. Electric Blue
LP2 - Side C
1. I'm Still Remembering
2. Will You Remember?
3. Joe
4. Bosnia
5. Cordell
LP2 - Side D
1. The Picture I View
2. Go Your Own Way
3. When You're Gone (Paris demo)
4. I Just Shot John Lennon (Paris demo
5. Free To Decide (Paris demo)

3CD / DIGITAL
Disc One - To The Faithful Departed - Deluxe Remaster
1. Hollywood
2. Salvation
3. When You're Gone
4. Free To Decide
5. War Child
6. Forever Yellow Skies
7. The Rebels
8. Intermission
9. I Just Shot John Lennon
10. Electric Blue
11. I'm Still Remembering
12. Will You Remember?
13. Joe
14. Cordell
15. Bosnia
16. The Picture I View
17. Go Your Own Way

Disc Two - Unreleased Demos and Outtakes
1. When You're Gone (Paris demo)
2. I Just Shot John Lennon (Paris demo)
3. Free To Decide (Paris demo)
4. The Rebels (Outtake)
5. Hollywood (Outtake)
6. Cordell (Early mix)
7. Bosnia (Early mix)
8. Salvation (Early mix)
9. When You're Gone (Early mix)
10. Electric Blue (Early mix)
11. Intermission (Early mix)
12. Joe (Early mix)
13. Free To Decide (Alternate mix)

Disc Three - 1996 Free To Decide tour
1. Intermission + Forever Yellow Skies (Live in Toronto)
2. Sunday (Live in Toronto)
3. Linger (Live in Toronto)
4. The Rebels (Live in Toronto)
5. Waltzing Back (Live in Toronto)
6. I Can't Be With You (Live in Toronto)
7. Free To Decide (Live in Detroit)
8. Dreams (Live in Detroit)
9. Hollywood (Live in Detroit)
10. Zombie (Live in Detroit)
11. Dreaming My Dreams (Live in Detroit)
12. The Icicle Melts (Live in Detroit)
13. Salvation (Live at Milton Keynes Bowl)