As promised, here are my grades (along with a short-ish review) for each Oasis album:
Definitely Maybe
Derivative, shmerivative; rock n' roll has always been about a handful of chords and palpable energy, and Definitely Maybe provides all of the above in spades. However, those cornerstone elements of rock n' roll only provide the foundation for the Gallaghers' not-so-architectural vision. Their confidence and ambition is evident from the start, and the songs, no matter their length, come across as anthemic. It's hard not to get sucked into Oasis' world; they think they're geniuses and, for a little while, their lack of genius was revelatory. You almost forget just how ridiculous songs like "Shakermaker" and "Supersonic" really are, and perhaps that's for the best. It's only rock n' roll, but I really fucking love it. A+
(What's The Story?) Morning Glory
Following a masterful debut is never easy, especially one whose apparent lack of effort was its greatest asset. How can you catch that magic on tape twice in a row? When your songs are fantastic, swagger becomes a luxury, not a necessity, and, as it turned out, Noel Gallagher was a pretty damn fine songwriter. Morning Glory still boasts a modicum of Definitely Maybe's "We're going to take over the world, and if you don't like our album, fuck you" attitude, and that takes songs like the title track and "Hello" to an entirely higher level. Of course, like I said earlier, the melodies, lyrics, etc. (EG: the songwriting) have only strengthened. "Wonderwall", "Some Might Say", and "Champagne Supernova" (whose bloat was exhilarating here, but proved to be a damaging influence on future Oasis outings) are all fantastic, and, outside of some moments of pretentiousness ("Cast No Shadow", two pointless instrumentals), it's yet another classic Oasis record. A
Be Here Now
It's a damn shame when bands figure out just how great they really are. There's something to be said about an individual (or a group of individuals) who honestly believe they have something to prove and will do anything to achieve that. Fact is, by 1997, Oasis were somewhere beyond confident. They really thought they could do anything and their legend (of, then, 3 years) could never be damaged by it. They were wrong. Be Here Now is a mess, the kind of record that only bands as popular as Oasis could have had the nerve to make. It's not that the songs are all horrible; no, Noel still had something left in the tank. However, at best, the tracks fall short of Morning Glory ("My Big Mouth", "Stand By Me"), and at worst, they're crushed under the weight of their own pretensions ("All Around The World"). The band's insane confidence could have been channeled into something great with a competent editor, but hey, who could have said "no" to these guys in 1997? Confidence can be exciting when it's justified. The rest of the time, it's Be Here Now. C+
Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants
You had the biggest, bestest band evar. You were all-powerful, all-knowing, and untouchable. Or so you thought. In the span of 6 short years, the grand Oasis empire managed to reach its apogee, and by 2000, it was floundering. The band apparently thought it the right time to shake things up a bit...it's just a shame that they only brought about 5-6 truly good songs along on their Magical Mystery Tour. The opening trio of songs here, "Fucking In The Bushes", "Go Let It Out", and "Who Feels Love" are a thrill; genuinely experimental, tuneful, psychedelic, and awesome. It's all downhill from there. "Put Your Money Where Yer Mouth Is" is straightforward Oasis, as hard as its facade of cheap electronica tries to betray that. There's no reason at all for the wandering "Gas Panic!" and "Roll It Over" to be 6 minutes apiece, as nice as they may sound. "Little James" is just really fucking terrible. Basically, this album is a set of inconsistent songwriting, buttressed by some truly gorgeous production. I'll take the good with the bad, and give them the benefit of the doubt. B-
Heathen Chemistry
As hard as the band tried, SOTSOG never really got off the ground. Sales weren't amazing, reviews were worse...hey, not everyone can be as accepting as their loyal fans, right? I suppose the band figured that trying something different from the norm was a lost cause at this point. And hey, even if they didn't, Heathen Chemistry provides nothing to make me believe the contrary. Trying harder than they've ever tried before, the album not only cherry-picks from the usual suspects, but now they've even begun to pillage themselves. For instance, "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" is such a blatant attempt to channel the epic, teary sweep of "Don't Look Back In Anger" that even I was tempted to ignore Liam's demand (advice?). "Force Of Nature" and "Hung In A Bad Place" aren't a ripoff of one particular Oasis track, but sound derivative of their entire sound circa Be Here Now. And they pretty much suck. The rest of Heathen Chemistry isn't so much "awful" as it is bland and uninteresting. "She Is Love" manages a nice melody, and "The Hindu Times" is a decent single. But, realistically, why would I ever want to listen to this again? C
Don't Believe The Truth
In early 2005, it must have been rough waiting for this album to surface. Oasis had just come off of a weak album, and went out of their way to hire Ringo's son as their drummer. "Is it just me, or do they like the Beatles?" a snarky internet hipster (who declined to mention that he once found "Live Forever" to be exhilarating) would intone. Fuck da hataz; this is a really good album. Oasis responded to their critics precisely the way they did with Heathen Chemistry, only this time, they brought some great songs with them. "Lyla" may cop "Street Fighting Man", and "Mucky Fingers" may take its insistent beat from "I'm Waiting For The Man", but at least they're not stealing from themselves anymore (though "A Bell Will Ring" strikes me as "The Hindu Times" with genuine energy), and the songs are damn good. This is a fun album, and they hadn't made one of those since...well...maybe the debut. A-
Dig Out Your Soul
With Dig Out Your Soul, Oasis, having been successfully resuscitated with Don't Believe The Truth, found itself in an interesting spot. They couldn't strip their sound down further, as that's just not the Oasis way, but beefing up their sound and stretching out their songs has only worked at select times in the past. However, what else could they do? DOYS manages to (somewhat) salvage Oasis' credibility as an experimental rock band, with a whole lot of help from David Sardy's exciting, colorful production, and some inspired sequencing. However, the songs don't hurt either. Outside of a few moments of tepid trad-Oasis ("Bag It Up", "Ain't Got Nuthin'", "Soldier On") the album is filled with inspired rockers and newfound confidence. This is a genuinely good record, and I'm curious to see how they build on it. Let's just hope they don't shoot for the moon and make a musical Tower of Babel that scatters the non-Gallagher members abroad. B+