Cait O'Riordan: Songwriter(?)

[wordnat]

I just had the misfortune of hearing "Broken" in its entirety for the first time in at least a decade, and it was such an excutiating experience that it got me wondering just how much input Ms. O'Riordan could have actually had in the handful of so-called EC/Cait co-writes in existence. After all, could the author of such a ham-handed, tuneless piece of post-adolescent nonsense really have stood toe-to-toe with EC as they hammered out tunes as complex and dazzling as "Baby Plays Around" or "Tokyo Storm Warning"?

Or was it all merely a "Paul n' Linda" lovefest sham?

[migdd]

Good question. We may never know the answer.

[And No Coffee Table]

Elvis told the story of Cait writing "Baby Plays Around" too many times — even saying he played Cait's demo for Anne Sofie von Otter — for me to think he's making it up.

I find it interesting that after three consecutive albums with one co-written song each ("Lovable," "Tokyo Storm Warning," "Baby Plays Around"), the later co-writes were all songs written for other artists ("Basement Kiss," "Earthbound," "London's Brilliant," "Puppet Girl," "We Despise You," "The Judgement"), movie soundtracks ("My Mood Swings," "You Stole My Bell"), or both ("Punishing Kiss," "I Throw My Toys Around").

It makes me wonder if Elvis needed Cait's help to finish these songs because he was working on a deadline.

[cwr]

Well, perhaps I have no credibility on this, as I actually LIKE the song "Broken" (along with every other track on MLAR, still my all-time favorite EC album from start to finish), but I think the Costello/O'Riordan body of songwriting holds up pretty damn well against his other songwriting partnerships (McCartney, Bacharach, Toussaint...)

Of course, the question still stands: how much of a role did she play in the writing of those songs? Was this Paul & Linda, or Waits/Brennan? I doubt we'll ever really know.

If I had to guess, I'd probably go with the skeptics on this one. But those are still a pretty great bunch of songs...

Maybe she'll make an album of her own someday-- that would tell us a lot...

[wardo68]

I've never had a problem with "Broken".

[Ypsilanti]

I actually LIKE the song "Broken"

Yeah--I like "Broken",too. I like it quite a lot, actually--Always have liked it, since MLAR first came out. I never cease to be shocked--really shocked--that's it's do disliked. I was actually a bit disappointed when I realized Elvis didn't write it alone.

I've always assumed Cait's role was relatively small in most cases, but Elvis made a big deal of it because he wanted to be proud of his wife, encourage her--make her feel useful and creative & get her signed up for a little royalty $$$.

She probably did write most of "Baby Plays Around", though--I believe Elvis' story. By the way, this is a song I'm not too crazy about--have always found it too maudlin and self-pitying. And there's something a bit off-putting in the phrase "Baby plays around". It just bugs me.

[thepopeofpop]

The correct answer to the question is "How many songs has Cait written by herself, or with other songwriters?"

[King Hoarse]

The correct answer to the question is "How many songs has Cait written by herself, or with other songwriters?"

I've written about 300 unused songs. Never felt a need to record them. I'm sure Cait has a drawer full or two.