(Sony Music Video)
The first time in There and Then that you realize once again just how bloody marvellous Oasis is occurs right when Liam opens his mouth to sing "Acquiesce", about three minutes into the video. 30,000 people join in. Loud. Word perfect, and it's a sodding *B-side*. Noel's bashing away on the Union Jack Epiphone, Liam's doing the hands behind back, face on the microphone bit, and the loping around banging the tambourine bit, and they just look perfect, the world's biggest band indeed. Recorded at Maine Road in Manchester and London's Earl's Court, There and Then is a perfect record of late 95/early 96 Oasis, shortly before they outgrew stadiums and started playing whole counties. It would be another few weeks after Maine Road (30,000 people, filled two days running), that Oasis would play two days at Loch Lomond, and two at Knebworth for a combined total of about half a million people. Since future Oasis gigs are up in the air since the well-publicized US fiasco a couple of months ago, this video is about as close as anyone's getting for a while. Luckily it's all here, the acoustic ballad bits, the monstrously loud singalongs, and more classic Liam incoherent shouty bits between songs.
There and Then is split just about evenly between Maine Road and Earl's Court. The set list is fairly heavily from (What's The Story) Morning Glory? and associated singles, though there's a couple songs from the first album, Definitely Maybe. Notable clips include Noel's acoustic "Morning Glory", Liam's surprisingly restrained "Cast No Shadow" and "Wonderwall" (about time they let him sing those two on stage), and a surreal "I Am The Walrus" featuring Beatles tribute group the Bootleg Beatles, in full Pepper regalia, jamming with the band. For a second there, you'd swear it was Lennon banging away on that keyboard.
The Earl's Court footage may be a little better musically than Maine Road. It was a few months earlier, and Liam's voice seems less strained (the attitude's more in check too). There's a brilliant take on "Champagne Supernova", a song that's rarely successful live, and a blinding "Supersonic". Whilst not technically as good though, the Maine Road footage can't be beat for the sheer scale of it all. It's a permanent singalong, the band are clearly delighted to be playing at home, and the power of it should be enough to convert the most casual Oasis listener into yet another devotee. Now let's have the new stuff, please...
