Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

小红莓的歌，最大的特色是给听者一种被救赎的感觉，尤其是当听到吉他重力刷弦、女主唱放声呼唤、高唱“Wake Up，Wake Up，Wake Up…”、“Save You…”的时候，都有种让人彻底放松的感觉。开场曲《Never Grow Old》整曲低吟，展现这是一张以渐进式方式铺陈的专辑；情歌《I Really Hope》属于主唱典型“宣泄型”的唱腔；《Dying Inside》、《Pretty Eyes》则展现主唱另一种唱腔：声音仿若行云流水般滑顺。虽然歌名似乎有点悲伤，但这种中板慢歌本身的旋律和主唱的声线是迷人的。《Every Morning》则是一支轻快、开朗、无忧无虑的歌，不论是校园吉他式的伴奏或不带压力的演唱方式，听起来都相当舒适。整体来说在听腻另类或Hip-hop、R＆B之余，这算得上一张兼具悦耳和摇滚的专辑。(By 阿品)   The second half of the '90s was difficult for the Cranberries, not just because of changing fashions, but because the group embraced both a social consciousness and a prog rock infatuation, crystallized by the Storm Thurgerson cover of "Bury the Hatchet." Thurgerson has been retained for their fifth effort, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, but the group has hardly pursued the indulgent tendencies of their previous collaboration with him -- instead, they've reteamed with producer Stephen Street and come up with an album that's as reminiscent of their debut as anything they've done since. So, even if it's wrapped in new clothing, this is essentially a return to basics, and it's a welcome one, since it's melodic, stately, and somber -- perhaps not with the post-Sundays grace of "Linger," but with a dogged sense of decorum that keeps not just the group's musical excesses in check, but also O'Riordan-Burton's political polemics (although she still sneaks in cringe-inducing lines like "Looks like we've screwed up the ozone layer/I wonder if the politicians care"). This doesn't really result in a record that will restore the Cranberries to the status they enjoyed in the early '90s -- after all, there's nothing as undeniable as "Linger," "Dreams," or even "Zombie" -- but it's a solid effort that feels like the true follow-up to To the Faithful Departed, which is notable in its own way.