|
|
Post by webm@ster on Apr 25, 2007 22:43:42 GMT -5
Be Here Now - was it really so bad?
The next issue of Q, onsale 1st May, celebrates the 10th anniversary of Oasis' controversial third album, Be Here Now. Hailed as a masterpiece upon its 1997 release, its reputation swiftly deteriorated. Today it's usually dismissed as a disastrous, overblown folly - the moment when Oasis, their judgement clouded by drugs and blanket adulation, ran aground on their own sky-high self-belief. Noel Gallagher himself remembers is as "the sound of five men in the studio, on coke, not giving a fuck."
Our cover feature, in which we both reappraise the album and explore the remarkable events surrounding its recording, recounts a tumultuous tale of loathing and excess. This is how producer Owen Morris remembers the sessions: "The only reason anyone was there was the money. Noel had decided Liam was a shit singer. Liam had decided he hated Noel's songs. So on we went. Massive amounts of drugs. Big fights. Bad vibes. Shit recordings."
But was Be Here Now really all that bad? We came across this footage of Noel Gallagher performing Don't Go Away on an obscure Japanese TV show in 1997. Stripped of the dense layers of distorted guitars that cluttered the album version, it emerges as a heartfelt, affecting ballad - easily the equal of, say, Slide Away, or Cast No Shadow. OK, the lyrics are excruciating, but that hardly makes it unique in the Oasis canon.
Whatever you think of the song, the clip is worth watching for Noel's visible embarrassment at performing the song in such bizarre circumstances, surrounded by baffled studio guests and backed by cheesy video footage. Of course, the original version was sung by Noel's brother Liam. Are we alone in thinking Noel actually delivers it with more soul and sensitivity?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2007 0:38:07 GMT -5
I'll pick it up, but I expect it will say "ololo its shit ololo".
Personally, I think Be Here Now is just a fuckin' amazing, immense, over powering record.
|
|
|
|
Post by Moorish on Apr 26, 2007 5:50:44 GMT -5
Said it before, will say it again: Be Here Now is the nugget of a great record struggling to get out from under a blizzard of coke, OTT guitar noise, overlong songs and the occasional terrible lyric.
And when I say terrible lyrics I am not rerferring to Don't Go Away as the smug bastards say above, the lyrics there are beautiful, especially the way Liam sings them. I am referring to Be Here Now in particular. "Sing a song for me / One from Let It Be" has to be up there as one of Noel's dumbest and laziest couplets ever. Why not invite some MORE Beatles comparisons while you're at it? Blimey.
|
|
|
|
Post by caro on Apr 26, 2007 9:56:29 GMT -5
I love BHN  |
|
|
|
Post by Linnhe on Apr 26, 2007 10:35:05 GMT -5
|
|
Lowell Wallagher
Oasis Roadie
To be someone must be a wonderful thing.
Posts: 435
|
Post by Lowell Wallagher on Apr 26, 2007 13:33:02 GMT -5
I listen to this album more than the others combined.
|
|
|
|
Post by Beady’s Here Now on Apr 26, 2007 19:05:05 GMT -5
yeah, i listen to BHN a lot too. i find it fuckin mega. personally, i think 1 overblown album like this is needed. Oasis have a career of 6 albums spanning more than 10 years, this type of album is needed imo, shows the true power of Oasis and what the hell? I find DGA as a fantastic song, and the lyrics are great too i feel.... D'yknow What I Mean Stand By Me DGA All Around the World and even the vibe and guitars from Its Getting Better Man fuckin mega  Oasis can do no wrong in my books. even their worst albums have quality songs on it. cant say that for most bands, can you. |
|
|
|
Post by caro on Apr 26, 2007 19:27:45 GMT -5
it has to be cos it was the song who put me into oasis ;D |
|
Venus In Furs
Oasis Roadie
so swoon baby starry nights
Posts: 268
|
Post by Venus In Furs on Apr 26, 2007 20:22:24 GMT -5
I think BHN is a great album. It may be a too loud at times, but over all I think its a brilliant record with great tunes such as DYKWIM... I like the video too.
|
|
|
|
Post by bwilder on Apr 26, 2007 21:37:37 GMT -5
Not their best but under the circumstances and pressures of the time, it's a great album. I tend to listen to Definitely Maybe the most these days, and of course, MG- but this is my third favorite Oasis album. There's a great vibe to this album... Very, "Look-Ma-I'm-On-Top-Of-The-World" feeling to this record. "Don't Go Away" is one of LIAM'S best vocals.
|
|
koeman4
Oasis Roadie
Saor Alba
Posts: 192
|
Post by koeman4 on Apr 28, 2007 20:14:23 GMT -5
class album,the 3rd best from the boys
|
|
|
|
Post by Beady’s Here Now on Apr 28, 2007 22:41:45 GMT -5
I think BHN is a great album. It may be a too loud at times, but over all I think its a brilliant record with great tunes such as DYKWIM... I like the video too. liam looks cool as fuck in that video |
|
|
|
Post by tcrown on Apr 29, 2007 11:00:17 GMT -5
They don't make videos like DYKWIM anymore. I did not get the album when it came out because I was neck deep in my rap phase. Which has thankfully long passed. I remember when MTV America played the GMEX gig on TV and just thinking it was awesome. Be Here Now is essential to the Oasis story. It was the culmination of the excesses they had been indulging in. It was inevitable that they would make an album like this.
Classic album, and best Liam vocals.
|
|
|
|
Post by TheEXPERIENCE on Apr 29, 2007 13:11:19 GMT -5
I don't get why so many people hate the BHN album. I do understand why the so-called "critics" didn't love it...since it's definitely one of their albums that should be listened to when high, so I can understand why they were bored by tracks like "Fade In-Out," "DYKWIM" and "All Around the World" which I guess have been accused of being bloated and over-produced. I'm not one of those people...I think "Stand By Me," "DYKWIM" and "All Around the World" are fucking brilliant. I even think "Fade In-Out" is brilliant...I think the lyrics are awesome and I think it's kickass how the first half of the song is Beatle-like and the second half is just insane and almost sounds like a Motley Crue song. Just the fact that one song can be split in 2 different genres is brilliant to me and I think it deserves props, not criticism. But I guess you can't make everyone happy...I just wish BHN wasn't constantly referred to as a pile of shit.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 29, 2007 15:47:55 GMT -5
Brilliant.
|
|
|
|
Post by globe on Apr 30, 2007 9:07:09 GMT -5
oh good, another bhn debate ;D i know people have different tastes but a classic album?!! get a grip ffs, it has 4 good songs on it, the rest are garbage. yes liams vocals are great, but that doesnt stop crap songs being crap!  |
|
|
|
Post by caro on Apr 30, 2007 10:04:15 GMT -5
go away! you're banned from all BHN topics you're a bad spirit |
|
|
|
Post by brumoscardo on Apr 30, 2007 18:11:08 GMT -5
bhn is the fucking top
|
|
|
|
Post by noelvsliam on Apr 30, 2007 18:39:02 GMT -5
Fuck critics. Be Here Now has some great songs on it.
Don't Go Away and Stand By Me alone make the album worthwhile, IMO. That's not even to mention All Around the World and Do Ya Know What I Mean.
That right there is 4 great songs, and 4 great songs is a helluva lot more than what any other band can release on one album.
My only complaint with Be Here Now is that although both Stand By Me and All Around the World are great songs, they just go on too long. Especially All Around the World. That song is at least 3 minutes too long.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2007 22:30:53 GMT -5
oh good, another bhn debate ;D i know people have different tastes but a classic album?!! get a grip ffs, it has 4 good songs on it, the rest are garbage. yes liams vocals are great, but that doesnt stop crap songs being crap! 12 does not equal 4 and last time I checked Be Here Now had 12 songs. |
|
|
|
Post by Moorish on May 1, 2007 5:40:12 GMT -5
My only complaint with Be Here Now is that although both Stand By Me and All Around the World are great songs, they just go on too long. Especially All Around the World. That song is at least 3 minutes too long. That is my main problem with the album (although I stand by earlier comment regarding OTT noise factor). It is bloated in places beyond belief. Why is AATW 9 mins long? Could make the point and still be great inside 6. Why is IGBM 7 minutes long? It just goes on and on and on and on and on with "wer'e getting better man!" and it gets boring - kncking 2 mins out of the song would increase it's enjoyability massively. People say Oasis "had" to make this record "cos of the excess at the time". Bullshit. They didn't HAVE to do it, they just did do it cos Noel got a bit caught up in his own excess and couldn't see past the end of the rolled up tenner he had up his nose. That is the main reason why all the songs go on so long. |
|
ozfan2
Oasis Roadie
Posts: 307
|
Post by ozfan2 on May 1, 2007 6:51:39 GMT -5
like it better than anything they have released since.
|
|
|
|
Post by oliverlewis on May 1, 2007 7:06:56 GMT -5
I really enjoy BHN, its overblown, over produced but has classics on it like DYNWIM, SBM, DGA, FIFO, AATW. It sound like oasis being OASIS, I think I listen to it as much as MG or DM.
Of the others since, ummm. I could probably make one decent album from all the songs but apart from The Masterplan (classic) they don't sound like oasis being oasis. oasis seem to have lost their sound, the magic which made them unique. (Owen Morris perhaps??)
When it came out in got 10/10, 5 out 5 reviews across the board. Unfortunately and inevitably the backlash came and oasis became unfashionable.
My theory is that if bands become too big they become fashion. Fashion is fickle and what is this years fashion is next years so last year...
They shouldn't think too much about it, just be natural, be themselves. I am holding out for the next one.
|
|
|
|
Post by talktonight89 on May 2, 2007 22:03:34 GMT -5
In my opinion i think the songs were top on be here now. just over produced, too loud, and too long. i think if alot of the tunes only had a few guitar tracks on them rather than 1000, and if noel had put a bit more thought into acouple of lyrics, than be here now would have had a much different affect on the bands future. every song on that album for the most part had potential in my opinion, just werent done quite right
|
|
|
|
Post by mape on May 2, 2007 23:22:22 GMT -5
I don't have any problem with the lengths of AATW, SBM, DYKWIM, and FIO. Even though AATW is really long, it's still really enjoyable.
The others, especially magic pie, it's getting better man, and my big mouth need to be chopped down.
|
|
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5