Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants - Oasis > Reviews > Panic Is On The Way?

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Gas Panic, still quite good, although not quite as good as it could be
Disadvantages:	Little James, Vocals a little flat at times

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

For every band there is the album that everyone seems to take pleasure in hating. Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants was that album. It was released in 2000 on their newly launched record label and expectation was at its highest. After 3 decent albums the world expected Oasis to return with something magnificent, to top all 3. When the release finally came round there was an overwhelming feeling of disappointment, the music press slated it and so did many fans.

I wasn't that keen on it originally. I liked a few of the tracks, but didn't really take to any tracks from the first time I heard them like the first three. For me there was something lacking from the album as a whole, I couldn't quite put my finger on it and as a result banished it to my CD collection to start collecting dust. Then about 6 months or so ago I decided to listen to it again, I'm not sure what prompted it but I dusted it off and listened to it. After a few repeats of the album I really started to take to it. Turns out that it really is a long term grower.

There are a few terrible tracks on here that there can be no excuse for and even Oasis can't pull them off. For instance Liam's debut with a pen, "Little James", is really rather poor. In fact for me it's the worst track on the album and one of the main reasons it was cast into the CD case for so long. The beat is quite samey and dull and even Noel's odd introduction of live doesn't save it. Even Liam's vocals sound quite flat and uninteresting, which in turn brings the quality of the whole album down instantly.

On the other side though the album also contains one of my favourite Oasis tracks ever. Quite a contrast considering the song above is possibly the worst. "Gas Panic" follows straight on from the above and it's the perfect example of Oasis at their best. The long meandering guitar riffs are punctuated with an excellent drum beat that shows the glimpses of brilliance Oasis are renowned for. In fact that is pretty much the story of this album. There are some moments of pure brilliance spoiled by mediocre tracks.

It's still musically quite a good album and it's simply in the lyrics and vocals that I really felt it feel a little bit flat. There are a few outstanding tracks where the guitars sound amazing. The introduction of Andy Bell and Gem Archer seems to have taken the sound in a slightly different direction. With half the line up changing it was almost inevitable that this album wouldn't be the success everyone expected. I do feel now though that it was also given a lot of unnecessary stick. It's not the best album Oasis have made and in places it's terrible, but a lot of bands would be glad to create an album like this.

There is still the traditional Oasis sound throughout and Noel sounds as good as ever on guitar. For the most part it's a very well written album, from a musical point of view anyway. The bass sounds good throughout and creates a good melody, even on the poorer tracks. Even the drums do their bit on each track but in places it just fails to compare with classic Oasis material and that's where people's disappointment comes from. To be honest it would have taken a lot for them to produce 4 albums in a row of totally amazing material and that's where the criticism comes from.

Overall it's an album that has split the Oasis fans in two. There are those that absolutely hate it and then there are people like me who actually quite like it. The more I've listened to it the more I've enjoyed it and the more I like certain tracks. It may not be the best album they've ever made but that still doesn't make it a terrible album. Musically it is just as good as most of the others, it's just lyrically it lets it self down. Maybe one for the more devoted fans, rather than those who like just the odd track.

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