Heathen Chemistry - Oasis > Reviews > This Society Of Heathen Chemists

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	It's rock n' roll in it's purest from
Disadvantages:	Album is too short

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Heathen Chemistry was released on the first of July in a blaze of Internet fuelled speculation. The title of the album by the way, coming from a t-shirt that Noel Gallagher saw whilst doing a photo shoot for NME magazine. Wishing to stay away from the internet saga, I bought the album first thing on the Monday morning of its release and took it home to listen to straight away. What I heard was a new Oasis that had matured since (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? To resurrect what some thought, was a sinking ship. The previous two albums did not live up to the hype that they were given, although I felt Be Here Now was treated rather unfairly by the press, and this was the make or break album for Oasis. Noel writes seven of the songs, Liam three, Gem one and Andy one also, here then is the album track by track.

Written to be “The most Oasis sounding Oasis song ever” according to Noel Gallagher, and also taking its name from a t-shirt Noel saw, The Hindu Times is the album’s opening track, spiritually fading in to a roaring crash of distorted Epiphone guitar strings. Within four bars this song can only belong to one band and this thought is characteristically affirmed by the simple, yet divine riff that plays over the top of the proceeding four bars of music. “I get up when I’m down/I can’t swim but my soul won’t drown” croons Liam; the opening line possibly the most positive, that Gallagher senior has written since the likes of Supersonic and Bring It On Down. The first verse ends and blends artistically with the bridge before ripping into the chorus in a wave of guitar fuelled rock and roll, unmatched by any band in the country, and possibly even the world. A second verse and bridge/chorus combination, precede the short yet suitable solo, before Liam soothes us into the crescendo of the last chorus and then the fade out. This song is lively from start to finish and proves that Oasis can still make hits; this being the first song lifted from the album and also going straight to number one in the British and Canadian charts.

Originally the first song Oasis were going to release before the conclusion of The Hindu Times, Force Of Nature is introduced by a simple drum pattern courtesy of Alan White. The pounding guitars come in, thudding along with the bass and drums, in a chord pattern similar to Supersonic; however completely different timing and accentuation of the guitar strum pattern, masks this well. Many critics believe that this song is aimed at Noel’s ex-wife Meg Matthews, but this is far from the truth. The song was in fact written for a film and had been intended to be on Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants, but it was kept back along with Little By Little, for this album, because it stood out from the other songs that were on that album. Anyway, back to the song itself, the verse’s lyric is about betrayal (the theme of the film) and the chorus echoes this with the two opening lines “You’re smoking all my stash/You’re burning all my cash”. The crunchy guitars give the song a sort of ‘strutting’ atmosphere, you can imagine Noel walking along, two fingers in the air with an arrogant air of nonchalance about him; brilliant.

Hung In A Bad Place is the only song on Heathen Chemistry written by Gem Archer, and was written about having a big...well, use your imagination; all will become clear as I point out some of the key lyrics if anyone is still unsure of what I speak. The song crashes through your speakers as it opens, and would certainly not be out of place on Definitely Maybe. Four bars in and Noel tears through the commotion of distortion with another simple, yet catchy riff to bring us into the first verse. “I can go where I wanna/Be what I wanna be now” again these are very positive opening lyrics, more reminiscent of earlier records than any other song on the album. Liam’s vocals throughout the verse are spot on and show that he has developed as a singer, and is taking a more mature approach to the way he puts across the lyrics he his vocalising. The chorus is catchy: “Yeah I’ve been…..hung in a bad place/No sun…..on my face/ For too long” A neat riff then follows, allowing Andy Bell to show his nimbleness up and down the fingerboard of his bass as the second verse begins. “I can squeeze all the hours I choose to devour with ease now…You’ve been bought and you’re stalling/Nature is calling for me” Now do you see what the song was written about? A break comes in before the chorus again ensues, as the coda begins and leads up to the outro, which consists of more bassy riffs from Noel, Gem and Andy B.

The second single lifted from Heathen Chemistry is Stop Crying your Heart Out. A classic anthem written again by Noel; it began life as an acoustic demo that gradually built up to become the almighty lighter wave-athon that it finished as. The song opens with haunting piano chords, tinkled by Gem, while Liam excels himself over the simple vocal lines “Hold up/Hold on/Don’t be scared/You’ll never change what’s been and gone”. Originally Noel was going to sing this song but he was so impressed with Liam’s effort, that he didn’t bother, except for his usual backing vocals, combing nicely to echo the lines Liam sings. The chorus commences and the first strains of the accompaniment gradually build to give a good overlay of the band as they play and build up to the second verse. A pounding on the drums from Whitey and the full orchestral accompaniment comes in and the song is suddenly brought to life The second verse is more alive than the first and blends smoothly into the chorus, before a brief respite for Liam intervenes. The song finishes with two thunderous repeats of the chorus, before the song fades off to the gentle strumming of Noel and the keyboard expertise of Paul Stacey. The song reached number two in the British charts.

Fifth up is the outstanding Songbird, written by Liam when he was In France after he just met his partner Nicole, formerly of All Saints. The song is wonderfully produced, nothing overbears and the right level was found during the mixing process between Liam’s vocal, Noel’s acoustic guitar, and Paul Stacey’s mellotrone (type of synthesiser). The song consists of two verses and a chorus, which is repeated after each verse. The music is simple, two chords, with an intermediary bass between the transition each time. The lyrics are sublime, especially the chorus: “I’m gonna write a song so she can see/Give her all the love she gives to me/Talk of better days that are yet to come/I’ve never felt this love from anyone”. Super stuff from the younger Gallagher. The song has to be played repeatedly as it is only 2 minutes and eight seconds long. The wary of you will also note a second guitar arpeggios over the most prominent one that is audible. This was the song on the album that stood out for me, it is very simple, yet perfectly executed, and a joy to listen to.

Track six is Little By Little. This will be the third song to be released when it comes out in August. I would rank this song up with Don’t Look Back In Anger as an Oasis classic because the lyrics are superb, Noel came up with the spellbinding: “You know I didn’t mean, what I just said/But my God woke up on the wrong side of his bed” pure genius. When I first heard this song I thought it was somehow influenced by the September 11th tragedy: “We the people fight for oyr existence/We don’t claim to be perfect but we’re free/We dream or dreams alone with no resistance/Fading like the stars we wish to be”, maybe I am wrong however. The song is acoustically orientated, but has a nice balance of electric guitar over it, to give the song a feeling of uplift and marvel.

A Quick Peep was written by Andy Bell and is a short instrumental track that features tingly guitars and deep pounding bass and adds a nice change in style for Oasis as they progress musically.

Track eight is (Probably) All In The Mind and is another good rock and roll tune from the boys. Built around the bass of Andy Bell, the guitars are turned down slightly to give the song a bassy edge that is welcome at this point in the album. There is a guest appearance by Johnny Marr of The Smiths who adds a thrilling guitar solo and a problem for Noel. Nobody in the band can do the solo and Oasis are unable to perform the song live! The song is probably most likely to fit well onto Be Here Now, as the guitar distortion is quite clean and jangly.

She Is Love is an ode to Sara, Noel’s partner and is a beautiful song with heartfelt lyrics that are a joy to listen to. “You’re in all my thoughts of passion, and the dreams of my delight/Whatever stirs my mortal frame will you keep it warm t night” “I don’t know where you come from, no I haven’t got a clue/All I know is I’m in love with someone who loves me too”. This song is mainly acoustic, with the mellotrone and a small guitar riff over the top of the main chord pattern. This song, along with Songbird, is a reminder of why The Masterplan was so successful, simple acoustic songs that capture the listener’s imagination and bring music just what it needs, quality songwriters singing quality sings.

Born On A Different Cloud is the most diverse song I think Oasis have ever done. Written By Liam, it is very Beatles-like in everything. The song opens with feedback and breaks into a sombre procession style beat. The verse follows this, then the second verse changes key and contrasts to become almost a different song entirely. The song returns to the original chord pattern before bridging into the solo. The guitar solo is haunting, it has the same ease of play and flow in its melody, as something that the late great George Harrison would write. The next part of the song goes very dark and sinister despite having the ironic line “baking up your mother’s pride” which Liam sneers away so it stays on the dark side of funny. The song is very lonely and reflective, but is encapsulating and tells its own story.

The last titled song on the album is Better Man, the final offering from Liam, and has definitely got an attitude. This is THE song to strut to, lyrics at a minimal, the guitars are allowed to roam free to produce a strong arrogant tune that is almost saying “up yours” to the critics. A stomping bass line and echoey drumbeat add to the song to give it a strong character and sense of being above the rest of the songs. Metaphorically I’d say this is the Oasis song that is saying to the other bands “come and try to emulate us, because we know you won’t even come close”.

Finally is the “bonus” track, thirty three minutes and ten seconds into track eleven. I am unsure what it is called, but I have a sneaky suspicion it is Slow written by Andy Bell, because in a recent interview Noel said “I am sure Slow will find it’s way to be a B-Side or something”. Perhaps I am mistaken, who knows. The song is very reminiscent of the seventies, and feels as if it was written by The Who, due to it’s slow tempo and melodious guitar riffs. The music is the same more or less as Fade In-Out from Be Here Now, and is another sign of the talent the band now has to write songs that are good musically as well as lyrically.

Overall the album is easy to listen to and has no obvious errors in song choice, although time will tell as various songs appear on B-Sides, whether the right decisions were made. So far though, although I think Idler’s Dream and Shout It Out Loud are excellent songs, they are not worthy of a place on the album itself. The album flows well and the two new songwriters in the band acquit themselves well, as does Liam, who I now forgive for the less than satisfactory Little James.

Heathen Chemistry went straight into the album charts at number one proving Oasis still have what it takes to delight, enthral and capture their audience. Their songs aren’t bad either.