This album is said to be Oasis's worst album. After hearing Heathen Chemistry, I knew that it had to be bad to beat that disappointment. But that album has nothing to compare. This album is without a doubt the worst Oasis album, and it's honestly hard to listen to at times.
This album was being recorded when the band lost two founding members, "Bonehead" and "Guigsy." As a result, Oasis rerecorded the album as a three-piece, and added electronic elements to the music. The album sounds entirely different from their earlier work, and almost comes off as an attempt for the band to completely expand. This album utterly fails in that regard.
The result of this turbulence is a mediocre to awful album that stands out as the worst Oasis album. The fault here comes from both bad songwriting and Be Here Now-esque indulgences. The entire album is filled with experiments that go nowhere and overly simplistic songs. It has a disconnect to it, and yet it seems to flow because every song is similar in some regards. But the dichotomy of this album is unintentional, and comes off as faulty. Albums that have working dichotomy can intrigue the listener, like Wilco's Summerteeth. But this album merely bores or annoys the listener.
Unless you are a committed Oasis fan, you will not enjoy most of this album. And even if you are a committed Oasis fan, some of these songs will test your patience.
1. F**king in the Bushes - 7/10 A strange opener. It's an instrumental that features a loud blaring riff, chaotic drums, and screaming background voices saying "kids are running around f**king in the bushes!" The song gets too repetitive, which is where I dock the points, but it does have a lot going for it.
2. Go Let it Out - 10/10 A very Beatle-esque song and the best on the album. This song sounds like a basic softer Oasis song that was embellished with electronic sound, and it works incredibly well. The song has a hypnotizing sound to it, being somewhat repetitive, but it doesn't go to any extreme.
3. Who Feels Love - 4/10 A lousy Indian style song. It's got lousy lyrics and an incredibly repetitive sound. The song has been so over-embellished that it just sounds clunky. The best part is a looping melody that acts as the bridge. It might have been sampled at the start of Bender's Game.
4. Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is - 1/10 A loud, steamy pile of garbage. Featuring a heavy distorted sound effect and punk-esque vocals, it's repetitive and goes on and on, never getting out of the same few lines.
5. Little James 1/10 Crap. A big fat pile of crap. This is the vocalist Liam Gallagher's first song that makes it on an Oasis album, and it's just bad. Repetitive, simplistic, and hard to listen to, it's the worst song on the album, and according to a majority of fans, the worst in the entire Oasis catalogue.
6. Gas Panic 7/10 One of the more renowned tracks on the album, this song has a lot going for it. Featuring a repetitive series of beats, an eerie synthesizer, and Liam's haunting vocals, this song is a standout on the album. But there's two things that undermine it. One is the length. Clocking in at six minutes, it drags on. And that ties into the other problem. It's too repetitive. If it was whittled down a bit, this would be the best song on the album.
7. Where Did It All Go Wrong 7/10 A classic sounding Oasis song that gets put through the same electronic filter. Like Gas Panic, there's a lot going for it, but it gets cut off at the knees, this time due to overproduction.
8. Sunday Morning Call 9/10 A close runner-up for best song on the album. This song, like Gas Panic, is crippled by length, but unlike Gas Panic, this song survives and thrives. Built around Noel's gentler vocals and an electronic melody, this song is catchy and enjoyable, even at its 5 minute length and lack of dynamic qualities.
9. I Can See a Liar 2/10 Ever listen to one of AC/DC's early albums and completely forget about a few songs? This song is an homage to those. It's got an Angus Young riff and goes absolutely nowhere, and at its end the listener didn't get anything out of it. Forgettable nonsense.
10. Roll it Over 4/10 A long, slow, repetitive closer. It's got power to it, but unlike Champagne Supernova or Gas Panic, there's no direction. The song is aimless, meandering along, never finding its voice, and finally it peters out. If this song had a better melody and direction, it would be a shining star in the Oasis catalogue. As is, it's barely passable.
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