''To the Faithful Departed'' is the third studio album by Irish

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

band

the Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

, released on 30 April 1996. The album was made in memory of

Denny Cordell Dennis Cordell-Lavarack (1 August 1943 – 18 February 1995), known as Denny Cordell, was an English record producer. He is notable for his mid-1960s and early 1970s productions of hit singles for The Moody Blues, Leon Russell, The Move, Procol ...

who signed the band to

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

and Joe O'Riordan (vocalist

Dolores O'Riordan Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan ( ; 6 September 1971 – 15 January 2018) was an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. She was best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist for the alternative rock band the Cranberries. One of the most recogniz ...

's grandfather), who had both died that year. The album reached number one in four countries and became the band's highest-charting album on the US ''Billboard'' 200, where it peaked at number four.

Packaging

The album sleeve photo session was made up of two parts, the first being the original design for the front cover, a naked baby boy (supplied by their press officer Smash at Island Records) lying on his back, which was shot in photographer Andy Earl's new studio on

Shad Thames Shad Thames is a historic riverside street next to Tower Bridge in Bermondsey, London, England, and is also an informal name for the surrounding area. In the 19th century, the area included the largest warehouse complex in London. Location Th ...

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, and the band seated in a yellow room. At the last minute, at Dolores O'Riordan's request, the two were swapped and the yellow room became the front cover. The yellow room was designed to be an echo of the previous two album sleeves. It was built in London and transported to the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or '' fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

and erected in a forest near Loughrigg Holme. Snow fell on the day of the photoshoot, and the band spent as little time as possible on the shoot clad, as they were wearing new purple

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cos ...

outfits. A new logo and typeface were decided upon signifying the band's desire to move on from the strict repetition of the previous album sleeves. Incidental studio photos were included, taken by Cally in the band's studio in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Canada. Cally added: "I attended the surreal

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

where Jarvis Cocker invaded

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's stage and left soon after to drive through horizontal snow to get to the Lake District in readiness for the photo shoot the next day. On waking in the Ambleside Hotel I saw Jarvis on the front cover of every paper, being released from jail with Nigel, The Cranberries A&R man beside him. Things only became more surreal when we realised that later we were shooting the band bravely clad in thin purple suits under snowfall in a yellow room in a forest in the Lake District".

Television performances

To promote ''To the Faithful Departed'',

appeared on different television shows (1995–1996).

Free to Decide World Tour

In 1996, the Cranberries toured in

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and North America to promote their third studio album ''To the Faithful Departed''. The band embarked on a 117-date world tour which began on 30 April 1996 in

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

but was stopped on 8 June 1996 in Cairns during the Australian leg, due to a knee injury of O'Riordan. The remaining dates of the Australian tour were canceled and O'Riordan returned to Ireland for surgery. The tour resumed on 1 August 1996 in North America but was stopped after twenty-eight concerts because of poor physical and mental health of O'Riordan. The Cranberries complained that they never had a rest since the beginning of their career and invoked saturation. O'Riordan was pressured by managers not to stop the tour because of a cost between $8 million to $14 million. Despite this, the remaining dates of the North American tour and the European leg of the Free to Decide World Tour were canceled.

Dates

Track listing

Original release

1996 US version

Personnel

The Cranberries

– vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards,

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

, mandolin * Noel Hogan – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin * Mike Hogan – bass guitar *

Fergal Lawler The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

– drums, percussion

Additional musicians

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was born ...

– orchestration *Henry Daag –

saw A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood, though sometimes metal or stone. The cut is made by placing the toothed edge against the material and mov ...

("Bosnia") *Richie Buckley –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

("Salvation") *Michael Buckley – baritone saxophone ("Salvation") * Bruce Fairbairn – trumpet ("Salvation") * Randy Raine-Reusch – additional percussion

Producing and technical staff

* Bruce Fairbairn – producer *

The Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland. Originally named the Cranberry Saw Us, the band were formed in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was ...

– producer *Mike Plontikoff –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing *Andy Earl – photographer *Adrian Myers – assistant photographer *Baron Kallstein – incidental photographs (aka Cally: art director)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Cranberries official discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:To The Faithful Departed 1996 albums The Cranberries albums Island Records albums Albums produced by Bruce Fairbairn Albums recorded at Armoury Studios