Oasis

Be Here Now

Criminally underrated...

Review Score:

(10/10)
When it was released, Be Here Now was greeted by rapturous reviews and unbelievable sales (885,000 copies sold in Britain that week, the equivalent of 4-5 million copies in a week here). Within a couple of months (largely due, in my opinion, to the comparative brilliance of OK Computer and Urban Hymns) Be Here Now was reviled as a cocaine excess and Oasis' short reign as the biggest group in the world was over. Oasis certainly has never recovered. But this is a great album, full of long, loud songs that never forget the importance of a great tune. Sure, the lyrics are naff but who cares when they're being sung by the best singer of his generation, Mr. Liam Gallagher (except for Magic Pie, a top song despite the absolute worst, most pretentious lyrics ever). I'm not going to go through the strengths and weaknesses of each song (others have done it better) but let me just point out three songs:
1. Do You Know What I Mean? A massive, massive song, the first new Oasis song to follow the trailblazing Morning Glory album. This song is so 1997 but still conjures up a feeling of companionship, the idea that we're all in this together. Just awesome.
2. Fade In-Out: Not everyone loves it but this song really is the missed opportunity for Oasis, their chance to truly become the Stone Roses of the nineties. But Oasis zigged when they should have zagged, going mellow when it was time to rock out. But at least we have this song. The scream three minutes into the song is one of the most exciting moments in rock and roll.
3. Don't Go Away: I'll never understand why this one didn't strike the same chord as Wonderwall. If it had gotten the airplay it deserved, this album wouldn't be considered such a flop. Beautiful with Liam's voice keeping it from being too sentimental (a problem in the last couple of Oasis albums where Noel's decided to take on more of the singing duties).

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