I would be lying if I said I didn't harbour secret fantasies about being a journalist, specifically a music one. Thus, I write reviews for various websites. Here are some of the choice cuts.
Oasis "Heathen Chemistry"
Little By Little, We Gave You Everything You Ever Dreamed Of"
And they did. Suddenly anything seemed possible. It's didn't matter that the riffs were stolen and the lyrics were embarrassing. There were two human embodiments of 'rock 'n' roll', that seemingly old fashioned notion, plying their trade here and now. The brothers Gallagher were proper, groupie shagging, coke sniffing, snarling pop stars. Need I remind you of those extraordinary shows at the Astoria to celebrate a chart busting 1994, or the joy of "Some Might Say" getting to Number 1, the era defining performance at Maine Road? Everything we ever dreamed of. Of course, it all went wrong the minute they stepped out in front of too many people at Knebworth, and then made one of the most gloriously bloated records in living memory in "Be Here Now". They lost their relevance, their energy, their power to astound and amaze even the harshest critic.
2000 saw them shed their two old Manchester mates, Guigsy and Bonehead, and employ Andy Bell and Gem Archer, fine songwriters both, particularly Bell, to give a much needed energy boost to a band many people were talking about in the past tense. It was a brave, if necessary move. With Noel and Liam now the only original members, that joyous working class Us v. Them mentality had been replaced by an almost middle class conformity. The Wembley shows of two years ago demonstrated how irrelevant Oasis now were, as they pumped out their tired pub rock anthems to 30 year old estate agents who had to leave by 11 to make sure they were home to put the kids to bed. Oasis looked a beaten act, an out of date irrelevance. So where are we now? "Heathen Chemistry" is where. And it's not a bad place to be.
It would be churlish to consider this record to have anywhere near the impact of their debut, or it's mega selling follow up, but song for song, it certainly matches them.
Granted, there are moments of lapse into the kind of pub rock arseness that Be Here Now stunk of, such as the faux glam nonsense of "Force of Nature", or the Rutles like Beatles parody of "(Probably) All In The Mind".
But mostly, this is a warm, exuberant record, full of classic Oasis tunes, waiting to be played to death at some post pub singalong in a darkened flat somewhere.
Interestingly, you've already heard Gallagher senior's best contributions. "The Hindu Times" crackles with all the fizz of their early records, and "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" is a worthy addition to the canon of Oasis anthems. His "Little By Little" sounds tired, and rehashed, if affecting enough. And "She Is Love" is a charming acoustic strumalong, but pales into comparison with Liam's "Songbird".
Possibly one of Oasis' greatest ever songs, "Songbird" is two minutes and seven seconds of simple, heartfelt emotion. So uncomplicated in it's presentation, it's primed to melt even the most cynical fans heart.
Liam's other contributions are similarly joyous. "Born On A Different Cloud" sounds like nothing Oasis have ever done before, it's swirling psychedelic atmosphere is like an incense filled room of mystery. Closer "Better Man" shows all the young pups of the No Name Scene precisely what the joy of rock 'n' roll is all about.
A triumph then. If not an all conquering Brazil like victory, then certainly a South Korea pull it out of the bag like surprise.
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