REVIEW: Oasis, Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants (Epic)
- Bob Gajarsky
Guigsy's gone. Bonehead's gone. What's a band to do?
Fortunately for Oasis fans, the Gallaghers - lead vocalist Liam and main songwriter Noel - are still here. Cue the entrance of Andy Bell (formerly with Ride and Hurricane #1) and Gem Archer (formerly of Heavy Stereo) along with drummer Alan White, and Oasis is back up to their traditional five-piece lineup.
The Gallaghers are in complete control, as if there was ever any doubt. And whilst Noel and Liam have 'grown up' with proper families, conducted any well-documented fights outside the view of the media and dropped the drug requests from the unofficial riders, The one unifying factor in both brothers lives - music - has returned front and center on the new album.
And this time around, Noel's modified the formula a bit. There are plenty of obvious musical references here, but he chooses to gently veer from a safer, blander direction (_Be Here Now) and wander down a more risky path.
"Fuckin' In The Bushes" opens up Standing, and marks the greatest departure from any 'traditional' Oasis tunes. Closer to early Led Zeppelin blues, not unlike the direction John Squire and the Stone Roses were trying to take on their Second Coming disc, "Bushes" only lasts for a little more than three minutes. But the fact that Oasis lead off Standing with this unusual instrumental is more significant than the actual song.
For the most part, the songs on Standing reflect the psychedlic age the Beatles went through. First single "Go Let It Out" takes a swirling feel with tosses towards "Strawberry Fields Forever" and Oasis' own "D'You Know What I Mean?", and even includes 'elements' from (not quite a sample, but influenced by) Johnny Jenkins' "I Walk On Gilded Splinters".
The drifty music benefits from the production and engineering collaborations of Mark Stent. With production credits including Madonna, Bjork, and Massive Attack on his resume, there should be little surprise that the Gallaghers are trying to get closer to the Chemical Brothers audience than before. For the first time, Noel Gallagher says, "I was working with someone who understood club culture, who could get the sounds heard on dance records and apply them to an Oasis album."
Nowhere is this more apparent than on the album's second single, "Who Feels Love?" Sandwiched somewhere in between the Beatles' "Within You, Without You," "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and "Tomorrow Never Knows," a good remix of this track could prove to be Oasis' entry into the late night dance clubs.
Liam Gallagher's first attempt at writing, "Hey James", is Oasis' answer to "Hey Jude". Though not a timeless classic, this slow track displays a tender human side of the often broody, arrogrant lead singer. And just when the song keeps teasing that there will be a "Na na na na" ending, Liam mimics - in a different key, and slightly different pace - that of the Beatles' original. Just as brother Noel, Liam makes no effort to hide his influences.
Other key tracks includes "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is"
- which owes just a wee bit of debt to the Doors, even going so far as to steal the lyrical phrase "put your hands upon the wheel", and "Where Did It All Go Wrong" which amalgamates some recent Dad-rock Weller with heavier guitars, and resides on the same library shelf as Morning Glory's "Cast No Shadow".Despite all these classic rock influences, it appears that Noel Gallagher is no longer content to play things safe (as he did on Be Here Now), and wants to establish Oasis as a long-term player in the music industry. "It (_Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants) goes about a third of the way," Noel declares, "to where I want to be with the band in about five years." It will definitely be interesting to see where the Gallagher brothers - and Oasis - ultimately arrive.
