Ok, there has been enough mudslinging on this forum since Holy Mountain was released. Some hated it with a passion, saying it was the worst single Noel has ever done, others have rated it quite highly, and some have even rated it as the best single since the 90's (I'm one of them, in case you hadn't already noticed).

But now with the release of Fort Knox, it has become apparent that the sound from this third solo album is becoming more and more like the deafening, booming, multi-layered, upbeat, overly optimistic wall of sound from that infamous third Oasis album, Be Here Now. Noel has even included the sound of a plane flying in the opening track to the new album, mirroring the opening to D'You Know What I Mean? Intentional maybe?

Yes, I know this is 2017 and not 1997. Twenty years ago Oasis were at the very top of their game, and at the very peak of their popularity. The band were out of control with excess cocaine, and very loud songs that didn't know when to end, in an era where Britpop ruled the waves.

Twenty years later, we are talking about a very different era. Noel on his own, no band around him, no excessive cocaine, no wild characters like Owen Morris encouraging the deafening wall-of-sound chaos. Instead this is a mature, calm, sober-ish Noel, locked away in a studio with a film composer, experimenting with an approach to making music that Noel has never taken before. This is, on the surface, light years away from those wild, crazy days of 1997.

And yet - the approach Noel has taken with this album is from one of joy, of being in a good, happy place. Maybe this is down to the collaboration with the new producer, encouraging Noel to push himself into unfamiliar territory, out of his comfort zone, leaving Noel to discover his love for making music again. But this approach has also led Noel to do something he hasn't done since 1997 - throwing everything-but-the-kitchen-sink at the tracks. Lots of loud multi layers, and judging by Fort Knox, not knowing quite when to end a song, and perhaps letting it ride longer than it should.

The last time Noel was this happy making a record was of course, on a beach at Mick Jagger's gaff, in 1996 when he set about writing the songs that would end up on Be Here Now. 

So is this Noel's third album syndrome? Is this that third controversial album from 20 years ago, disguised as something different and new? Is this unfinished business for Noel, who after all these years still holds massive regret to how that elusive third album turned out? After playing with the mixes on DYKWIM again last year, did this reawaken the sleeping beast from 1997?

Is this really Be Here Now Part II?