Oasis

Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants

it's great, though I can understand the criticism

Review Score:

(10/10)
I can see why people wouldn't like many of the songs on this album. It's true that basically we HAVE heard these songs before. Basically every song has familiar chord changes or a familiar melody line or both. The order of the songs is also a little bizarre (perhaps intended)--I kind of have my own relative order I like the songs to be heard in. And on rockers like "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is", one could argue the open wound rush of the 'old' Oasis sound is frustratingly absent. However, the songs, though in several cases not quite perfect (an occasionally slighly forced or halfbacked moment) as almost all of the "Be Here Now" songs were, are extremely effective. Noel comes up with a really great & thought-provoking line of lyric here & there, matched with a potent melody that really kind of "sets up the song". Every song is great. Are there ARE some classics: the moody "Gas Panic!" is intense, "Go Let It Out" is loaded with great hooks, & "Little James", a song from Liam to his step-son, is beautifully & irresistably charming (yeah--"Hey Jude" comparisons are pretty inescapable, but it's a fantastic song nevertheless). "Roll It Over" is also up there with the dreamy & forceful Liam vocals, & a flawless "Come Together"-ish guitar solo.

It's worth mentioning that 2 of the B-sides so far for this album ("Let's All Make Believe", "One Way Road") actually sound like the innovative Oasis some listeners were likely expecting on this album. Perhaps they were recorded a little bit later on, or Noel simply felt they didn't fit in. One wonders this even more since "Let's All Make Believe" was on a bonus disc that was included in early pressings of the album.

I think it's a great record, even though I wouldn't argue it's their weakest yet, this is their 4th great record straight. Talk about a great band...

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