Wake Up and Smell the Coffee by The Cranberries

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

by The Cranberries

Released: October 22, 2001

Pop rock, alternative rock

01

The Album

"Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" is the fifth studio album by Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries, released on 22 October 2001. It was the band's last album before a six-year hiatus, selling 170,000 copies in the US by April 2007 and 1,300,000 copies worldwide by 2002. This album marks their only release on MCA Records, following the merger of PolyGram, which owned their previous label Island Records, with MCA's parent Universal Music Group in 1999.

Stories and details

Interesting Facts

Initially, the album did not have a vinyl…

Initially, the album did not have a vinyl release, but on 16 February 2023, it was announced that a limited vinyl edition would be issued for Record Store Day on 22 April 2023.

The album features several different covers, with the…

The album features several different covers, with the most widely recognized showing a man lying in bed on the beach, surrounded by gym balls.

Later European editions, such as the UK special…

Later European editions, such as the UK special edition, use a brighter image taken at a different time of day.

The American version features a close-up of the…

The American version features a close-up of the gym balls as the main cover art, with the man in bed on the reverse side.

The Japanese edition depicts the gym balls bouncing…

The Japanese edition depicts the gym balls bouncing on a grass field instead of the beach.

Start listening here

Essential Tracks

01

The Concept

The concept evolved from an interior space to an open beach location, with a test shoot conducted at a grass aerodrome near London.

02

Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

"Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" is the fifth studio album by Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries, released on 22 October 2001.

Full background

The Complete Album Story

"Wake Up and Smell the Coffee" is the fifth studio album by Irish alternative rock band The Cranberries, released on 22 October 2001. It was the band's last album before a six-year hiatus, selling 170,000 copies in the US by April 2007 and 1,300,000 copies worldwide by 2002. This album marks their only release on MCA Records, following the merger of PolyGram, which owned their previous label Island Records, with MCA's parent Universal Music Group in 1999.

Initially, the album did not have a vinyl release, but on 16 February 2023, it was announced that a limited vinyl edition would be issued for Record Store Day on 22 April 2023.

The album features several different covers, with the most widely recognized showing a man lying in bed on the beach, surrounded by gym balls. Later European editions, such as the UK special edition, use a brighter image taken at a different time of day. The American version features a close-up of the gym balls as the main cover art, with the man in bed on the reverse side. The Japanese edition depicts the gym balls bouncing on a grass field instead of the beach.

Designer Storm Thorgerson, who also created the cover for their previous album Bury the Hatchet, explained that the idea of the red balls represented granules of coffee awakening the senses. These were enlarged to gym balls to enhance the visual impact. The concept evolved from an interior space to an open beach location, with a test shoot conducted at a grass aerodrome near London. The artwork's concept bears resemblance to Thorgerson's earlier work for Pink Floyd's A Momentary Lapse of Reason and recalls elements from his 1970 album cover for Elegy by The Nice.

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