A year late, but worth the wait—the 25th-anniversary edition of No Need to Argue has finally arrived. The Cranberries’ landmark 1994 album gets the deluxe treatment, complete with remastered tracks, B-sides, demos, and live recordings. Speaking with Noel Hogan and Fergal Lawler, it’s clear that even decades later, there’s still plenty to unpack.
Delays? Blame COVID. The anniversary set was ready to go last year, but like everything else, it got pushed back. Now, with a November 2020 release, the expanded edition gives fans a fresh listen to tracks like Away, So Cold in Ireland, and even an obscure MTV Unplugged performance of Yesterday’s Gone—a song the band wrote, played once, and then promptly forgot about.
For an album that critics labeled “darker” and “heavier” than its predecessor, the band says that wasn’t entirely intentional. Sure, Zombie took things in a heavier direction, but Noel points out that the song was already part of their set long before Teen Spirit rewired the industry. And as for writing songs on the road? The Cranberries lived by it. Zombie evolved in real-time, with Dolores O’Riordan urging the band to go harder. “She was like, ‘It’s got to be heavy, it’s an angry song,’” Noel recalls.
The band also revisited one of the most ridiculous moments from the No Need to Argue era—the infamous Doors and Windows PC-ROM experience. “That was just… the worst,” Noel laughs, remembering the awkward blue-screen acting. “At least we weren’t the only ones who did those things,” Fergal adds, noting how every band in the ‘90s seemed to be experimenting with CD-ROM extras that have aged terribly.
Then there’s The Sofa—a prop-turned-icon that graced the album cover and multiple videos. Its fate? Burned in a metal band’s music video. “They threw beer and whiskey on it, then set it on fire,” Noel says, still shaking his head at the loss of the band’s accidental mascot.
Looking ahead, The Cranberries aren’t planning a return to the stage, but they are deep into a long-in-the-works documentary covering the band’s full 30-year history. “It started as a documentary just about the first album,” Noel explains, “but after Dolores passed, we knew we had to tell the full story.”
With No Need to Argue cemented as a classic—Zombie alone surpassing a billion views on YouTube—the album’s legacy continues to grow. “We never thought about it lasting this long,” Noel says. “You hope for it, but you don’t expect it.” Thirty years later, the world is still listening.
Watch the full interview above and then check out the videos below.
