Oasis

Be Here Now

"Be Here Now"

Review Score:

(8/10)
Since I believe that the time and place you were in your life impact how you feel about a record, let me take you back to a time not too long. Like, say, the summer of 1997.
I had been a big fan of Oasis since I heard "Live Forever" on the local modern rock station in late 1994, so the release of "Be Here Now" was pretty big in my book. I loved the lead off single, the peculiar, staggering "D' You Know What I Mean?" and the Saturday after this record came out, a friend of mine and myself hit the closest Circuit City and I bought this. Upon returning to his house, we put it in, turned the volume up to eleven and listeneed to "Be Here Now" in its entirety. And at the end, I thought to myself, "holy crap, they're crazy to release this record in the same year as "OK Computer", yet alone the same month!" (this is not a diss to the brilliance of "OK Computer"). "Be Here Now" was, and is, a record out of time, a lost relic from the seventies, where rock bands were expected to release tunes that were big, pompous and extravegant. And "Be Here Now" is brilliant.
So this record was the soundtrack to the fall of my freshman year of high school. Where my other friends were playing Jon Spencer Blues Explosion or the Prodigy, "Be Here Now" was the record loudly playing through my headphones. And everytime I lsiten to it, seven years on, I still think this is a great rock record.
"Be Here Now" isn't a drastic change from Oasis, but rather a larger, more rocking version of "(What's the Story) Morning Glory". The sogns run six to seven minutes long, and are filled with distorted guitar, old school rock grooves and infectious melodies that are oddly familiar even on the first listen(okay, I know this isn't the most origanel band ever).
"My Big Mouth" is a hilarious take on Oasis' critics equipped with an arena ready chorus. "Girl In The Dirty Shirt" is the best Rolling Stones song since, well, "Exile in Main Street". "Fade In-Out" is a slightly haunting number, with credible slide guitar played by none other than Johnny Depp, and with one of the greatest screams from Noel ever recorded, while "Don't Let Go" is a powerful, remorseful power ballad. And "All Around the World" is quite possibly the most arrogant, pompous song ever written, but somehow its brilliant, with one of Liam's best vocal takes ever, all snarling attitude and grandeour. If you doubt the fact that Liam is one of the best singers of the last twenty years, you really need to take a listen to this record.
People complain that this record is too arrogant, too over produced, too big, and in some ways they are right. But that's what makes it so good. Modesty isn't for rock 'n' roll. Loud guitars and catchy songs are. And "Be Here Now" delivers the goods.
I would give the record five stars, except that the record does run two songs to long, with the dull "(Its Gettin' Better) Man" and the worthless "All Around the World(Reprise)" closing out the disc making the end anti-climatic rather than huge.
"Be Here Now" may not be the best Oasis record, but that doesn't mean that its any less great. This is rock 'n' roll ladies and gents played by five guys who knew what rock 'n' roll was supposed to be: attitude, bravado, tunes. This is a great record. Plain and simple.
Thanx.

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