This is what you get when you let a Blur Fan write a professional review on an Oasis album ....Brace Yourself.....



Daily Disc: Oasis, Dig Out Your Soul
Posted: October 06, 2008, 10:32 PM by Rebecca Tucker
Daily Disc

Dig Out Your Soul
Oasis
Sony BMG

Let’s face it, Oasis is a lot like the Nickelback of British rock.

Both bands are made up of a pair of cocky brothers. Both write album after album of derivative yet dependable tunes. (Oasis repeatedly channels the Beatles, Nickelback can’t get enough of the ’90s Seattle sound, albeit watered down.) As a result, both are given a rough ride by other musicians, critics, and the occasional “fan” — such as Daniel Sullivan, who tackled Oasis guitarist/songwriter Noel Gallagher during the group’s set at Toronto’s Virgin Festival in September.

Where the two bands differ, of course, is in recent record sales. While Noel and Liam Gallagher would like you to believe that Oasis is the MOST SUCCESSFUL AND IMPORTANT BAND in the history of rock ’n’ roll, their last three albums have sold a total of about 10 million copies around the world. In comparison, Nickelback’s last album, All the Right Reasons, sold 11 million copies on the strength of five Top 20 hits — including Photograph, If Everyone Cared and Rockstar.

Oasis won’t come close to matching those numbers with their seventh album, Dig Out Your Soul. (Neither will Nickelback with Dark Horse, due Nov. 18.) Not only are fewer people buying discs — leaks of Dig and every other major release in October are all over the internet — the Gallaghers just don’t have it in them to write one of those chart- topping hits which transcends borders, demographics and genres.

At one time, they did — 1995’s Wonderwall was arguably their finest hour, or at least their four-plus minutes of pop perfection. Wonderwall was also a reference to a George Harrison album, and, par for the course, Dig Out Your Soul includes several nods to the Beatles.

“Love is a litany / A magical mystery,” Liam Gallagher sings on the leadoff single, The Shock of the Lightning, which is layered with organs and tambourines. (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady is a druggy clapper reminiscent of The White Album, while guitarist Gem Archer’s To Be Where There’s Life is replete with vibrating sitars. Who can resist their warm and intoxicating hums?

Dig Out Your Soul isn’t a terrible album by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s not because of the group’s infatuation with the Fab Four. In fact, the Gallaghers and their sidekicks are at their best when they’re the least Beatlesque.

Falling Down is a wistful ’90s number, accented by strings, shuffly percussion and Noel’s melancholy vocals. He shows off a pseudo falsetto on Waiting for the Rapture, while bassist Andy Bell’s The Nature of Reality is a gritty blues stomper featuring Liam Gallagher’s trademark whines.

Of all his bandmates, Liam seems to be the most creatively “stuck.” Two of his three compositions, Ain’t Got Nothin’ and Soldier On, show no creative growth and are the weakest on the album. His third, I’m Outta Time, is one of the most touching — an acoustic-accented walk down memory lane — yet also sounds like every other previous Oasis ballad.

While Dig Out Your Soul offers glimpses of greatness, the Gallaghers really need to expand their record collection or take a few cues from their former nemesis: ex-Blur frontman Damon Albarn.
He’s not afraid to experiment — from the indie rock of Blur to eerie gothic Americana of the Ravenous soundtrack to the electro-pop of Gorillaz to his latest tour de force, Monkey, a Chinese opera staged in London.
Come to think of it, Nickelback could use Albarn’s help, too. Sandra Sperounes, Canwest News Service