35 years ago, The Cranberries released their debut EP, the 4-song set “Uncertain,” on Xeric Records, a label connected to the much larger Island conglomerate. The hubbub was yet to come, but the EP does have its charms, and of course, there is a backstory. An anniversary reissue makes total sense, and that’s exactly what Island and UMG Recordings have done with a limited remastered edition that’s available now.
It’s no secret that before they were The Cranberries, the band’s name was The Cranberry Saw Us, and they released three cassette EPs under that moniker. The first two, “Anything” and “Water Circle,” were demos (the second has the original version of “Linger” as track two). The third, “Nothing Left at All,” was a commercial release. Its title track and “Pathetic Senses” are reprised for “Uncertain.” All three EPs were released in 1990.
It’s been said that the worst thing that happened to Big Brother and the Holding Company was that Janis Joplin joined the band. It’s a statement that’s largely a joke, but with a truth attached. Specifically, Joplin’s participation changed everything, and then she bailed for the greener pastures of a solo career, leaving Big Bro to reestablish their direction.
The above is definitely not the case with The Cranberries and Dolores O’Riordan, who joined after the “Anything” EP was released and is first heard on “Water Circle,” replacing vocalist-guitarist Niall Quinn. O’Riordan didn’t take baby steps in solidifying her role in the Cranberry Saw Us, cowriting all the tracks on “Water Circle” and “Nothing Left at All,” and also on this first proper release as The Cranberries.
It’s not as if she was usurping the input of the members who stuck around, namely guitarist Noel Hogan, his bassist brother Mike Hogan, and drummer Fergal Lawler. On the first EP, Quinn cowrote two songs and was the sole composer of the other two, so O’Riordan effectively filled a void, with Noel as her cowriter.
The foremost observation about “Uncertain” is that the songs are all solid, if not so strong that the big splash that occurred the following year with the release of their first full-length feels inevitable. The opening title track establishes their songwriting core as essentially fully formed, if not their sound. For one thing, O’Riordan isn’t as robustly throated as she would be later, though the EP’s finale “Them” gets very close.
But breathy? Oh fuck yeah. And the multitracking of her voice on “Nothing Left at All” and “Pathetic Senses” is worthy of note. It’s a tactic as appealing as the injection of thunderstorm sound effects in “Nothing Left at All” is not. This gets to the bigger point of Pearse Gilmore’s rather dated production, which was apparently a point of contention, as Stephen Street stepped into the helmer’s chair for Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We?
The gated drum sticks out on the title cut, and “Pathetic Senses” is so instrumentally busy it sounds like a bonus remix. That doesn’t make it a blunder; it’s just a growing stage. “Them” features water sound effects, like they recorded the cut in a cave, or in what the Brits call a lavatory. But again, that’s alright, as “Them” is the best cut on the EP.
The bottom line is that fans of The Cranberries are unlikely to own an original physical copy of the “Uncertain” EP. It’s an engaging enough set of tunes that snatching it up now is more than just a completist gesture.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
B+
