Oasis ~ Don't Believe the Truth. (my first review!!)

Hmm.. yes, I've decided that I'm going to review albums just incase I get a chance in the future to do so for a newspaper or something, and this'll give me practice/possibly look good on a resume....

So, even if you know absolutely nothing about album reviews, critique me!


ahaha... its rather long. But its a good read! in my opinion, obviously.

I'm gonna use the guitartabs.cc layout, so perhaps it won't be too confusing.

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Artist: Oasis
Album: Don't Believe the Truth
Release Date: May 30, 2005



Now before I review Don't Believe the Truth, let me say that there is so much hype for this album (mostly because of Noel's comments about this being the best album since Morning Glory), that if its not as good or better than Definitely Maybe or Morning Glory, its bound to suffer the same fate as Be Here Now -- A *great* album, but with reviews so harsh that Noel and the band will throw all the songs in the garbage and never play them live again. But, unlike the Be Here Now times, Oasis have everything to prove. They are not the greatest band in the world. They are not in the position that they were in after the release of Morning Glory. They have everything to prove if they want to come back and reclaim the title of World's Greatest Rock Band -- something which they've been calling themselves for over a decade, its just too bad their music hasn't been backing their claims up.

Luckily for them, they have not recently released the two best albums of the '90s. Their last two albums were such musical failures, that unless they return to the half-assed neo-psychedelia of SotSoG or give up completely, Don't Believe the Truth has to be their best album since atleast Be Here Now.

Now, for the actual reviewing. The album got started out on a bad note even before it was released, with the band pushing "Lyla" as the lead single -- the 2nd or 3rd worst single they've ever released, and one of their most dull songs this side of "Magic Pie." One of the b-sides on the "Lyla" single brought down the hope that DBTT would be a great album even further, with "Won't Let You Down" being, arguably, their worst song ever. Perhaps they wanted the public to believe that the entire album was going be another boring, ego-ridden let-down...

The opening track, "Turn Up the Sun," was written by bassist Andy Bell. Oasis the band came into existance on Heathen Chemistry, and they finally become something more on this album, with each of the members' songwriting having their own distinct personality, instead of everything sounding like something Noel would've written -- hell, even Noel doesn't like Noel anymore. And with only that first track, DBTT is better and far more interesting than the two previous albums, and no, that is not a typo or an exaggeration. Who would have thought, though, that Oasis would record a "hippie anthem,' with the chorus being "Come on, turn up the sun/Love one another/love one another." Leaving the Summer of Love behind, Noel brings us to 1968 with "Mucky Fingers." Sounding like something off of White Light/White Heat (it even has the Sister Ray-signature organ!), the song is their best pure hard-rocker since "Some Might Say." All ready, the album is flying higher than even Be Here Now. But, as was expected, "Lyla" brings the album down back to Earth. Easily the worst song on the album, and its the only song that will be skipped over when going on DBTT binges. The only reasonable explanation as to why it was selected to be the lead single is because Oasis wanted to make the public believe that the band felt "Lyla" was the best song on the album, so that upon that first listen of DBTT, everyone would be blown away. It makes much more sense than not. From the dumpster into the heavens, the album rockets back up to the stars with "Love Like a Bomb." A Liam/Archer collaboration, the song is apparently Songbird 2.0. Next, Noel dives into the unknown with "The Importance of Being Idle." A song about wanting to do nothing for the rest of his life, this is one of the five masterful songs that shows just how much of a better writer the all ready great Noel Gallagher has evolved into. The next song is Liam's take on what would've happened if Elvis lived long enough to be influenced by The Stooges and Nirvana, "The Meaning of Soul." Another great Liam track follows, "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel." Revisiting the acoustic neo-psychedelia of "Born on a Different Cloud," Liam proves himself to be one of the greatest pop songwriters around today with this song. There are just not enough words to praise this track, it is that damn good and "out there," sounding like nothing that has ever been recorded to tape in music history. "Part of the Queue" follows, which is once again like nothing Noel has ever written before. Cuban percussionist Lenny Castro sits in here, and shows that his legendary status is not overrated, playing the best drums to ever grace an Oasis song. "Keep the Dream Alive," the second song written by Bell, sounds like it could've been a b-side in 1994, but seems rather weak when compared to the rest of the album. Gem Archer's second song to appear on an Oasis record, and his only solo-written tune on DBTT, "A Bell Will Ring" is another one of those songs that will leave you saying "God damn, I need to hear more of this."

The album ends with "Let There Be Love," and yes, the song deserves a paragraph all it's own. Originally set for release on Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, the song was born in late 1997. Pulled out of over-production and locked in the vaults because Noel didn't know what to do with it at the time, it was revisited after Heathen Chemistry was released, at the request of Liam. Noel returned to drugs and seemingly right away his creative juices started flowing out of him again. With Noel and Liam sharing vocals (something they have not done since "Acquiesce," and we all know how that turned out), the song is without a doubt one of the best and one of the most heart-clutching that they have ever recorded. The song comes to a dramatic pause at 3:16, with Liam quickly bringing it back to life crying the words "Who kicked a hole in the sky so the heavens could cry over me?" After another two minutes the song ends, with the listener possibly in tears and clutching his heart as if the love of his life just whispered into his ears "I love you" for the first time. There's no arguing that it is the best album closer since "Champagne Supernova," and it may as well be the best.

And so no, this will not be another Be Here Now. It won't even be another Definitely Maybe or Morning Glory. Oasis has left Oasis mark 2 behind, while getting to a level they never reached on their first two albums. Don't Believe the Truth not only has the best songwriting, vocals, and instrument-playing to ever appear on an Oasis record, but it shows Oasis as a band all their own. They managed to ignore all the crap that's being played on the radio today, borrowing absolutely nothing from pop-"punk," The Killers, annoying Britpoppers, or anyone else making money on a mainstream label, while creating a sound that is the most pure rock 'n' roll you will hear on radio airwaves for a long time. Yes, Oasis are back, and hopefully this time they are here to stay.


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Get this fucking album!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Nice job and thanks for taking the time to write the review...i already downloaded this album couple weeks ago The only good song that i have recognized is Lyla which is bad ass. I think Morning Glory is better.

 

Thanks.

Haha, I can't stand Lyla, I'm going to leave it off my burned copy and replace it with "Eyeball Licker."

I was actually not going to download the album, but I saw that allmusic gave it 4 1/2 stars so I just had to.

 

Yeah, fuck Lyla, Eyeball Tickler should be in Lyla's place.


lmfao... I called it "Eyeball Licker" in my previous post.

 

Good stuff mate, i'm no expert but i reckon youve got potential as a reviewer!


I've got to admit i've hardly listened to Oasis over the past several years now as frankly there is too much music out there which is.....well, better!

However, I will now give this album a listen as your review gives it a fairly strong thumbs up, i'll let u know what i think in due course.

The album I would choose to listen to still is Definately Maybe It is arguable as to whether it is their 'best' album but to me its classic Oasis when they were a bit more raw and untainted/brainwashed due to fame and fortune.

Sounds like they may have got it together again with this album, I hope so and I hope theres some good old fashioned Liam vocals on there cos when hes on form the boy can sing.

I'll look forward to reading more reviews in the future, maybe you could do some back catalogue reviews, maybe of classic albums, you certainly seem to know your stuff so why not?

 

Cool, thanks.

Oh yes, I give it 4 thumbs up and than some... if it weren't for Lyla, it would be without a doubt their best album... its my favorite though. I cant choose between the first two... too hard!

but if you like the unbrainwashed oasis of '94 to '96, you will be fucking shocked by this album! i read so many great previews of this album... but damn, i was not expecting this!

I dunno if I'll do many albums, I dont wanna annoy people.

ah but who knows... since when do I give a damn if I annoy people

 

That's really good, Chuck!!! You would be a GREAT music critic!!! I look forward to all of your other reviews in the future!

 

Whoo... I've been listening to the new album...

I feel like listening to Champagne Supernova... being stoned while listening to Oasis... great thing. A lot of their stuff is cold sounding, but I like it anyway.

For some reason, some of their stuff reminds me kinda like a less complex version of David Bowie's album "Earthling"...

 

Thanks Lennon.

Even if with all the hype, I wasn't expecting it to be nearly this good.

 

"(What's the story) Morning Glory?" is still my favorite album Oasis has made so far...

 

I like DBTT... "Mucky Fingers", "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel", "The Importance of Being Idel", "Part of the Queue", and "Let There Be Love" are my favorite songs.

I fucking love Noel's vocals on this album. Liam is great once again too... and damn, can Liam write songs!

 

I downloaded it a while back, listened to it a couple times, didn't really do anything for me.

 

Oasis will never know the meaning of talent..

 

Lets see here..

You like Maroon 5, Limp Bizkit, Run DMC, and Ben Harper. You have absolutely no idea what musical talent is.

And besides, I doubt anybody who says Oasis doesn't have talent has even listened to them. Either that, or you're just braindead.

 

Or peoples' taste might simply vary.

 

Perhaps, but bedlam has shown on these forums that not only does she know nothing about music, but she has absolutely no taste as well.

Saying that Limp Bizkit is a good band gives you no right to question any other band's talent.

 

I try to avoid criticising other peoples 'poor taste' howevr on this occasion I have to say that Maroon 5 and Limp Bizkitz (*spelling, well who cares anyway!) represent the arsehole of music and is all middle of the road filth aimed at 8-12 y/olds.

But hey we all like different things I guess!

 

4 1/2 stars on allmusic!!!! S.T. Erlewine even made the same comment about Acquiesce!!!!! !

Since Oasis has an instantly identifiable, seemingly simple signature sound -- gigantic, lumbering, melodic, and inevitable, as if their songs have always existed and always will -- it can be hard to pinpoint what separates a great Oasis song from a merely mediocre tune. It could be anything from overblown production to a diminished swagger, or it could be a self-satisfied laziness in the songwriting, or a panicky attempt to update their defiantly classicist pop with an electronic shine. All of these problems plagued the group's records since their blockbuster 1995 blockbuster second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, and while none of the three albums that followed were outright bad, by 2002's Heathen Chemistry it seemed that even Noel and Liam Gallagher had lost sight of what made Oasis great. While that record had its moments, it often seemed generic, suggesting that the group had painted itself into a corner, not knowing where to go next. Surely, all the reports from the recording of their long-gestating sixth album suggested a faint air of desperation. First, the electronica duo Death in Vegas was brought in as producers, bringing to mind the band's awkward attempts at electronica fusion on Be Here Now and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, but those recordings were scrapped, and then their second drummer, Alan White, left only to be replaced by Zak Starkey, the son of Ringo Starr, suggesting that the Gallaghers were coming perilously close to being swallowed by their perennial Beatles fixation.

All of which makes the resulting album, Don't Believe the Truth, a real shock. It's confident, muscular, uncluttered, tight, and tuneful in a way Oasis haven't been since Morning Glory. It doesn't feel labored nor does it sound as if they're deliberately trying to recreate past glories. Instead, it sounds like they've remembered what they love about rock & roll and why they make music. They sound reinvigorated, which is perhaps appropriate, because Don't Believe the Truth finds Oasis to be quite a different band than it was a decade ago. Surely, Noel is still the first among equals, writing the majority of the songs here and providing the musical direction that the rest follow, but his brother Liam, bassist Andy Bell, and guitarist Gem Archer are now full and equal partners, and the band is the better for it. Where Noel struggled to fill the post-Morning Glory albums with passable album tracks (having squandered his backlog of great songs on B-sides), he's now happy to have Bell and Archer write Noel soundalikes that are sturdier than the filler he's created over the last five years. These likeable tunes are given soul and fire by Liam, who not only reclaims his crown as the best singer in rock on this album, but comes into his own as a songwriter. He had written good songs before, but here he holds his own with his brother, writing lively, hooky, memorable songs with "Love Like a Bomb," "The Meaning of Soul," and "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel," which are as good as anything Noel has written for the album. Which is not an aspersion on Noel, who has a set of five songs that cut for cut are his strongest and liveliest in years. Whether it's the insistent stomp of "Mucky Fingers" or the Kinks-styled romp of "The Importance of Being Idle," these songs are so good it makes sense that Noel has kept them for himself, singing four of the five tunes himself (including the soaring closing duet "Let There Be Love," the brothers' best joint vocal since "Acquiesce"). But the key to this new incarnation of Oasis is that this move by Noel doesn't seem like he's hoarding his best numbers, or a way to instigate sibling rivalry with Liam. Instead, it emphasizes that Oasis is now a genuine band, a group of personalities that form together to form one gang of charming rogues. Apart from the tremendous, rambling "Lyla" that channels the spirit of the Faces and the occasional ramshackle echo of Beggars Banquet, there's not much musically different here than other Oasis albums -- it's still a blend of British Invasion, the Jam, and the Smiths, all turned to 11 -- but their stubborn fondness of classic British guitar pop is one of the things that makes Oasis great and lovable. And, of course, it's also what makes it hard to discern exactly what separates good from great Oasis, but all the little details here, from the consistent songwriting to the loose, comfortable arrangements and the return of their trademark bravado makes Don't Believe the Truth the closest Oasis has been to great since the summer of Britpop, when they were the biggest and best band in the world.



And I beat him to it! Muahaha! :H
His review is better.