After I finished my retrospective look at SOTSOG, my mind starting thinking about all the post 2000 releases Oasis recorded.

I believe the 90’s albums no longer are up for discussion, they are part of a psyche, engrained in our brain, almost like muscle memories; you know the songs inside and out and can listen to any 5 seconds of music and know what song it is from. It’d be rare (maybe the reissues will change this) to listen to them and hear a song in a different way or hear something you’ve never noticed before in a song. I’d argue that this isn’t the case with the new millennium material.

I’ve been quite scathing in my handful of posts already since joining Live4ever about this particular album but truth be told I hadn’t actually listened to it from start to finish for about 8 years or so…. That was until two days ago,

This is widely considered by most to be Oasis’ worst moment. An arthritic rock dinosaur of a record offering loyal fans nothing new,

To others it is return to form containing their last truly great stadium filling anthems and blowing the cobwebs off 2000’s dark and depressing Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

I had gotten into Oasis via a friend in the summer of 2000. Two full years of anticipation followed, listening to bootlegs of live versions of new songs and listening (and believing) interviews from the band that this was a true return to form and was the album that should have followed Morning Glory. Being 16 at the time of release; this was the first album by any artist I was truly hyped for.

I’d heard live versions of The Hindu Times and Hung in a Bad Place in late 2001. Both were decent enough but they could have been 4 minutes of feedback I didn’t care! These were new Oasis songs and for the first time they were new Oasis songs since I’d been a fan, they almost felt like they were ‘my’ Oasis’ first ever songs.

Months followed and people speculated on forums about what songs were to be included; would ‘Revolution Song’ or ‘It’s A Crime’ make an appearance? Finally in May-a full 2 months before the official date- the full album leaked online. My mate burned me a copy and dropped it through my letterbox whilst I was out, I could not believe it! The new Oasis album was in my hands!

The opening sound of ‘The Hindu Times’ reverberated around my room and then the guitars kick in; I cannot tell you how excited it was.

However I digress the opening was just to emphasis just how much this album meant to me but how about now?
The aforementioned song was the lead single; achieving the almost customary number 1 spot in the UK for first singles off Oasis albums. How about the song itself? It doesn’t sound like anything from SOTSOG for starters. It’s rawer and Noel’s found the volume settings from Be Here Now again. It’s not just the guitars, Liam’s voice on this track in particular is taking its first steps to the becoming the growl it eventually became to be, a far cry from a bastard son of Lydon and Lennon he started out as. Much like ‘Go Let It Out’ did, it does the job. It doesn’t set the world a fire but it’s a solid start. Sure it’s rift is a direct rip off from the Stereophonics’ ‘Same Size Feet’ but no more so than ‘Cigarettes and Alcohol’ is to T-Rex.

However after the mild promise THT offers, the alarm bells start ringing almost immediately after. The production on ‘The Hindu Times’ is organic to put it kindly. SOTSOG as mentioned in my previous post was stunningly sounding. In hindsight this song sounds to me like it was recorded in their garage. The unfortunately fuzz which crept onto BHN is back and there are no intricacies, no layers, it is 5 guys playing their respective instruments. In fact it almost sounds like they did it in one take. They do like to work quickly and without a producer to guide them it would no surprise me if it actually was.

This song then sloppily fades into ‘Force of Nature’. This is another older track originally dating back a number of year’s pre SOTSOG and quite frankly should have stayed there. It plodding, monotonous and for the first time on record, Noel’s voice irritates me. The lyrics are appalling but they’re also supposedly angry. Whether Noel is attempting to convey this emotion in his voice I can only guess but it does not suit him. The lyrics come from the same school of thought as the most of SOTSOG’s second half, the party was over and Noel is realises his ‘friends’ or maybe ex-wife (by this album) were not the best thing for him. Whilst SOTSOG’s lyrics seemed more considered, Noel decides to rhyme ‘stash and cash’ on this track. This typifies the unfortunate themes which will continue.

One thing this album did introduce was the song writing democracy which subsequently became the norm on Oasis’ follow up albums. It was certainly a bold move. You have the greatest songwriter of the past decade within your ranks- who pre ‘97 was churning out so many phenomenal songs that some singles contained more bona fide classics than most bands best of collections- deciding that he was only going to write half of the latest Oasis album. How does it work?

Gem’s ‘Hung in a Bad Place’ which as I mentioned had been heard by most the year previous, arrives first on the album. It certainly sounds like Oasis however so do many other far inferior bands. Oasis were never the most innovative or unique band however what made Oasis stand out from so many similar bands was the songs. In the wake of Oasis’ initial success, bands seemed to appear from nowhere, supposedly imitating the Gallagher’s brand of rock ‘n’ roll. Working class lads were learning 4 chords in their dad’s garage, thinking they could make it. It is a nice belief to have however as I found out when I was younger just because I had a similar background, hair- cut and wore the same boots as Robbie Fowler didn’t make me God; you need talent first and foremost. These bands could sound like Oasis all they wanted but without the songs it’s pointless. The point I’m making is Gem could play the guitar far better than Bonehead, he looked the part better than Bonehead but that doesn’t mean he could instantly contribute to the songs any better than Bonehead. ‘Hung in a Bad Place’ sounds like it could have come from any of those ‘Noel Rock’ bands of the mid 90’s, it’s ok but that’s all it is. Had it been a B-side nobody would have complained.

Andy Bell who 10 years earlier had written a great album with Ride was even more disappointing. A minute or so instrumental which sounds like a pub band jamming as they start the second half of their set. Is that all he had to offer?!

More intriguing was Gallagher Jr’s offerings. On SOTSOG he had contributed Little James which was his first foray into his older brother’s specialist subject; on this album he has 3!

They couldn’t be more of a mixed bag, in terms of sound and success. The albums closer (I refuse to even discuss the Cage) Better Man has a certain groove to it and an ending which feels like it could go onto together however very much like HIABP it just sounds like Oasis. It doesn’t feel like Oasis. DM finished with the bittersweet beauty of Married with Children, MG has the bombastic, epic Champagne Supernova, BHN had a 60 piece Orchestra playing the 10th and 11th Minute of the most overblown song in Oasis’ history and SOTSOG had the underrated, operatic Roll it Over. HC has this mediocre rocker, again not the worst song they’ll ever do but I always believe an album should start and end well, this is just not good enough.

Born on A Different Cloud is a song which Liam originally said back in 2000 was written about his son Lennon. It’s actually the best produced track on the record in my opinion and finds Liam back channelling his inner Lennon (John not his son). It’s obviously ripped straight from late 60’s Beatles (Happiness is a Warm Gun in particular) but I think it works. The lyrics are an obvious progression from Little James and he shows true promise with this track.

The promise is almost fulfilled with the 3rd of Liam’s contribution’s. ‘Songbird’- the album’s 4th UK single (the first Oasis had done this since MG) is still his greatest accomplishment IMO. The beauty is in the simplicity; Liam’s ode to his then girlfriend-later wife, now divorcee- Nicole Appleton is over in 2 minute with nothing but an acoustic guitar and organ accompanying Liam’s singing. Liam mentioned a few times that he doesn’t like singing acoustic tracks well I can’t think why because his delivery is perfect on this track. Overall over of the 3 tracks Liam more than stands his own and makes a worthy contribution to HC.

Strangely however a bulk of the problems lie with the genius behind Oasis success. I’ve already mentioned two of Noel’s songs, the decent ‘Hindu Times’ and the turgid ‘Force of Nature’ however the remaining four do not offer enough for what the man is capable of. After Andy Bell’s pointless contribution comes a Noel double whammy ‘(Probably) All In the Mind’ and ‘She is Love’, both of which are without doubt amongst the worst Oasis songs committed to disk. PAIMT is a pseudo- psychedelic bore of a track, which makes ‘Who Feels Love’ sound like ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ in terms of how a conventional rock band can adapt psychedelic elements. Noel constantly says he was uninspired writing SOTSOG, this to me is actually his least inspired song. The lyrics are tepid and the song matches.

Even worse somehow is the following track ‘She Is Love’. Here we find Noel all loved up and happy in life. For goodness sake give the man some coke or piss through his letter box or ANYTHING! Please do something to change his mood because I don’t think I could sit through another 3 minutes of anything resembling ‘She is Love’ again. The melody is sickly, the words are straight from a greetings card and the whole experience makes me feel ill. Shockingly bad song IMO,

This leaves the two ‘anthems’. ‘Little By Little’ was yet another song touted for SOTSOG, here it finds its place dead centre of the album, providing fans with a song to sing along to. That’s all it is for me, Oasis by numbers. It’s decent, like THT but it’s not outstanding, works well as a single with a simple, memorable chorus. It harks back to the MG days but in is nowhere near as considered or relevant to the time it was released. Even back in 2002 it sounded outdated and like a band trying to be Oasis

Finally we reach the albums best song and a true Oasis classic. ‘Stop Crying Your Heart Out’ is one of Noel finest post 2000 achievements. Still to this day when it builds, it brings back great memories and it a truly great piece of music. Also Liam’s vocals sound as powerful as ever. Never thought they did it justice live however.

The songs on HC are simply not good enough and because the production is amateur at best, it doesn’t cover up any of the cracks; in fact it exposes them even more.

I gave it another chance but overall Heathen Chemistry sound like a massive step backwards following SOTSOG, the sound of a band regressing into a house they had built tall 8 years earlier with truly world class songs. However the house was now half the size and made with twigs instead of bricks; to make matters worse everybody else in the neighbourhood had moved out a long time before, exposing their structural weaknesses.

This for me was Oasis’ worst moment. An arthritic dinosaur of a rock record; horribly dated and completely irrelevant to the time it was released. What’s worse is that it was released at a time when Rock music was on its way up again after the manufactured boom. Bands such as The Strokes, The Vines and The White Stripes sounded exciting, Oasis sound bored, going through the motions; you would not have said that in the 90’s. Why would anybody have picked this over ‘Is This It’ or ‘White Blood Cells’?

Thankfully they improved with DBTT but the damage had been done