Thirty years after forming in Limerick (initially as The Cranberry Saw Us) THE CRANBERRIES are set to release their eighth and final album, "In The End", on April 26. With Stephen Street once again taking producer duties, the 11-track record brings a remarkable career to a fitting and powerful closure. Announcing the album, the band has shared the first single "All Over Now" that blends rock, alternative and catchy almost pop-sounding melodies to deliver a classic CRANBERRIES sound.
THE CRANBERRIES — Dolores O'Riordan, Noel Hogan, Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler — emerged from the pre-Brit-pop scene of the early '90s, with their trademark indie guitar sound and Dolores's distinctive Celtic-tinged lilting vocal style — described by Melody Maker as "the voice of a saint trapped in a glass harp". Their rise to global fame was nothing short of meteoric; best known for their now classic songs "Linger", "Zombie" and "Dreams", the band have sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
While it is tinged with sadness following Dolores's unexpected death on January 15, 2018, "In The End" is not a valediction, it is a celebration, one that stands as a powerful testimony to the life and creative work of Dolores and her brothers in music Noel, Mike and Fergal.
The genesis of "In The End" began in May 2017 while the band were on tour. By winter of 2017 Noel and Dolores had written and demoed the eleven songs that would eventually appear on the album. "Dolores was so energized by the prospect of making this record and to getting back out on the road to play the songs live," recalls Noel.
In coming to terms with her tragic passing Noel, Mike and Fergal listened to the songs and, with the support of Dolores's family, wanted to honor their close friend, and collaborator by completing the record.
Speaking about the band's concerns at the time, Noel said: "we knew this had to be one of the, if not the, best CRANBERRIES album that we could possibly do. The worry was that we would destroy the legacy of the band by making an album that wasn't up to standard. Once we had gone through all the demos that Dolores and I had worked on and decided that we had such a strong album, we knew it would be the right thing and the best way that we could honor Dolores."
With the songs at various stages of completion they turned to Stephen Street — who had produced four of their previous albums including "Everybody Else Is Doing It", "So Why Can't We?" and "No Need To Argue" — and spent four weeks in a London studio building the sounds around her vocals from the original demos. "It was a bittersweet time. The joy of recording new tracks is always exciting and one of the best parts of being in a band. At the end of every day when we'd laid down our parts there was a sense of sadness, knowing that Dolores wouldn't be in that evening to work on that day's track," remembers Noel.
The album is a strong goodbye from the band to their fans, a fitting tribute to their bandmate and friend and, most importantly, a collection of powerful songs that can take their rightful place with THE CRANBERRIES' previous six records.
Speaking about the single and the album, Dolores's mother said: "I miss her awfully, specially today, as does the entire family. That said I can't think of a more fitting way to commemorate the first anniversary of her passing and to celebrate her life than to announce to the world the release of her final album with the band. She was very excited about this new album and was really looking forward to its release. I have no doubt that she is happy now and would be delighted with today's announcement."

Pink Floyd 的 The Wall 也许是音乐史上极具迷惑力和富想象力的专辑。The Wall 录制于1979年，联合艺术家电影公司在1982年拍摄了这张专辑的同步电影 The Wall。
故事是围绕着一个虚构的，将一位名为 Pink Floyd 歌星的孤独比喻成一堵精神上的墙这个故事所展开的，而墙是由他在人生各个阶段所产生的，而且无法排斥的一种精神失落，它不以个人意志为转移并随他的人生成长也日益增长演化发展而成的。专辑的开篇便是通过邀请无意识的观众进入 Pink 的演出（In The Flesh?）而展开的，刚一出世 Pink 就面对着如履薄冰的人生（The Thin Ice），然后转回到孩提时代对在二战中阵亡的父亲的回忆（Another Brick In The Wall [Part 1]），上学后又不得不面对填鸭式的刻板教育制度的伤害（The Happiest Days Of Our Lives 以及 Another Brick In The Wall pt. 2）；回到家中他的母亲又对其的过分看护而使其感受不到任何家庭的温暖（Mother），他不由得自问「我该相信政府吗？他们会把我送上火线吗？我该修建一堵墙吗?」；但在甜言蜜语的回答中，他看到的却是这个世界依旧充斥着漫天而降的炸弹和奔向掩体的平民（Goodbye Blue Sky）；他迷惑了，不知何去何从（Empty Spaces）；于是他自甘堕落下去，在他对性的憧憬和渴望中（Young Lust）高喊到「I need a dirty girl」；然而在现实无奈的空虚中，只能假装一切都好，但日复一日，爱变得灰暗，他却变老并得不到任何快乐（One Of My Turns）；他感到的只是剃刀般的冰冷和葬礼的鼓声，以及对女友离去后所发出的凄惨的哀鸣（Don't Leave Me Now）；此时的 Pink 已经完全绝望，他已不再相信任何人，他觉得他就象一块墙上的砖头被强行禁锢在其中迷失了自我（Another Brick In The Wall pt. 3）；最后，在他结束曲（Goodbye Cruel World）中彻底将自己和周围的世界隔离开而结束了第一盘的内容，而此时，Pink 已完全建立起来的自我封闭的墙，它表明他已深深地陷入精神失落的旋涡里。
第二盘在 Pink 面对外面的世界寻求自我解脱（Hey You）中开始，而美妙的吉他演奏曲（Is There Anybody Out There?）以及低沉的管乐曲（Nobody Home）折射出此时 Pink 的孤独情感，对人生迷茫的他哀叹到「..But I've got nowhere to fly to」；精神忧郁的 Pink 面对电视中反映二战时期的电影时唤起他悲伤的回忆，不由发出痛苦的哀鸣（Vera）；随后在一片鼓乐齐鸣般的古典弥撒风格的颂歌合唱中，引出了整部专辑的核心曲目（Bring The Boys Back Home）中则唱出了他强烈的反战心声；当他的唱片公司使用药物诱使其完成（Comfortably Numb）后,他不由得想逃避，发问到「这场表演还要继续下去吗?」为何不转身逃走？然而此时此刻，他已没有退路，他不得不将这场表演进行下去（The Show Must Go On）；在演出现场，他那种忧郁不振的情绪最终异化为一种莫名的憎恶和歇斯底里般的法西斯式发作（In The Flesh），他嚎叫到「If I had my way, I'd have all of you shut」；他不愿被社会带走他的灵魂，宁愿（Run Like Hell）；在温暖但混乱的战栗中，他再度迷茫，孤立无援只能（Waiting For The Worms），伴随着痛苦，他的心在流血，精神已疲倦不堪，终于将这场表演（Stop）；而在（The Trial）中，他通过对自己在精神上进行的审判，最终将他心灵中的这面墙推倒后，Pink 终于走出墙外（Outside The Wall）和人们又会聚在一起而结束全曲。回首往事，墙那边又是一群疯狂的小孩们，他们是否又在建造他们自己的墙吗？这张唱片向我们展示了追求理想的曲折路程，它以内心的沉思为主，以「墙」比喻人性的枷锁，在经历种种挫折和失败后，不再沉沦，不再逃避，勇敢地走出「墙」外，寻找自己的新天地。
这部专辑广受注目的一个重要原因是它与当时的社会背景紧密配合。例如，在专辑中多次出现的反战内容唱出了广大美国社会民众对越战深刻反思的心声，而把自己比作是「墙上的一块砖头」且无足轻重，便采取逃避的方式以求解脱，这种思想又与当时美国社会中「垮掉的一代」的处世态度不谋而合，因此也同样赢得了广泛的社会共鸣。这部抱负不凡的概念专辑凭其极富社会反叛性的内涵而在全球掀起热潮。该专辑在美发行后于当年 12 月 15 日进入美专辑榜并名第列 51 位，六周后升至榜首并一举蝉联 15 周冠军，而在美国同期发行的单曲 Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2) 也以其特有的叛逆性而成为其单曲榜的4周冠军，并且也是他们历史上唯一一首单曲榜冠军歌曲。The Wall 的演出则是一部耗费心力的舞台表演（如此奢华以至于乐队只能将它带到少数几座城市进行演出）并被改编成一部完整的电影。该专辑同期在全球攻陷了几乎所有西方工业化国家的排行榜并占据榜首位置（在日本和英国可能没有那么好的评价，英国Q杂志给出的很普通的三颗星的打分）。The Wall 同样标志着 Waters 和 Gilmour 最后一次作为合作伙伴在一起工作。乐队在下一部专辑 The Final Cut 完成后便宣告解体。