Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants - Oasis > Reviews > Standing on their own shoulders

Author's product rating:   

Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency of tracks
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Value for Money

Advantages:	Far, . far Superior to Be Here Now .
Disadvantages:	People have turned against Oasis in a big way  -  unfairly so .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

F***** IN THE BUSHES

Excellent 'Spencer Davies Groupesque' jam, very much like middle Led Zep. Punctuated by thudding drums and heavy guitar, the song is an instrumental, save for the occasional sample during which the title is taken. Many muchness on the choir vocal from P.P. Arnold. In general, a great track. 8/10

GO LET IT OUT

Wall of sound, with a slow hypnotic beat. Tends to drag on, but get's better after repeated plays. The first stolen lyrics of the album (Is it any wonder why princes and kings). First single from the album, and in my opinion, fairly weak 6/10

WHO FEEL'S LOVE?

Reportedly the next single, and very good it is too. The double vocals between Liam and Noel work very well, in a Daltrey/Townshend type way. Excellently timed track, and suprisingly original. 8-9/10

PUT YER MONEY WHERE YER MOUTH IS

Starts very much like the song 'Morning Glory' Poor lyrics, and is a tad boring until the last 30 seconds where Noel's 'aahs' pick it up. Could of belonged on Whats the Story. Misses the mark but is a grower. 7/10

LITTLE JAMES

Written by Liam Gallagher. Hey Jude type opener, Liam's voice seems to be too aggressive. Not great lyrics, but that kind of adds to the charm. Trippy organ in the background works well. Very very good indeed when the rest of the band kicks in. The odd keyboard sound works very well. Considering it's only got 3 or 4 chords, it's very complex. Turns into perhaps their most Beatles like number near the end, with a few 'Na na na's thrown in 9/10

GAS PANIC!

Written about Noel's panic attacks whilst trying to give up Cocaine. Nice melody. Very tight when the rest of the band comes in. Reminds me of The Who, but unusually is not a rip-off. Backward's guitars revolve the song into an in depth joy. 8/10

WHERE DID IT ALL GO WRONG?

Instantly sounds like the Small Faces. Sung by Noel. Nicely minmalist. No wall of sound which they should have got rid of ages ago. Noel's voice is in fine fettle, in his trademarled screetching sadness mode. Heavy hammond in the back ground, and he's doing his own backing vocals, with is a good psychadelic trick. Great anthem, and Noel's guitar overdubs are understated. Returns to the chorus often, which, as it's a particularly infectious one. Just had the first 'hair on end' moment at 3:45 10/10

SUNDAY MORNING CALL

Another Noel track and also another potential single. It open's like Syd Barrett on Laudnum, then turns into a bit of a busker's song. The back just insn't right for the song. I've heard the acoustic versions of this song, and they're much better. The return to the chorus is a bit of a drag, actually. A generous 7/10

I CAN SEE A LIAR

First impression: Terrible, asbsolutely. Second Impression: Liam is very very whiny. Pretty good little middle 8, but it is predictable near the middle. This sounds like an outake from Defiantely Maybe. This track is really going through the motions. The only track on the album which could of been on Be Here Now. If this song was a Saint, it'd be Saint Polypockle, the patron saint of taking your dinner to the table, but forgetting the knives and forks. 6/10

ROLL IT OVER

Welleresque song. Not bad, but defiantely old Oasis. The middle 8 is a direct lift from something but I can't put my finger on it. Liam's voice is very Ian Brown (which is a complement) Plodding, like a lame shire horse. Whoah, get's good at 3:00 My god, that could Dave Gilmour on Guitar, Noel's obviously been listening to Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. Alright I take it back, its turned into a very nice little finisher. The begining promises something's gonna happen,. though I don't think it's quite good enough. This will definately be the last song before the encore at gigs. 9/10

VERDICT:

I'm quietly impressed. Certainly a far, far better album than Be Here Now, and save for a few slip ups here and there, It certainly is a very good album. It is noticably short at 47:57, (which is a god send after the 73 minute Be Here Now) and in fact it their shortest ever album. Known for turning back and forth to Oasis at any given moment, I would say that this has definately turned me towards them. It will be a great record to buy, and I'd advise you to do it.

On the whole, this is very good, and certainly the best album of the year so far. But in a year where Radiohead, Mansun, Richard Ashcroft and Gomez released new albums, it was interesting to see just how that will affected Oasis in the coming year.

A resounding 8/10