Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants
What better way to mark Leap Year 2000 than with a new cd by the world's greatest band?
Being one of the few internet friendly Oasis fans who refrained from downloading the album mp3s, I was especially excited for the album release and have been listening to the new songs for a good part of the day. Here are my thoughts:
Fuckin' In The Bushes is an oddly amusing instrumental track with sound clips from a 1970 film entitled "Message To Love." This song quite modern sounding in comparison to most of Oasis' material, but it isn't good enough to be considered ground-breaking. I suppose it's an alright song, for what it's supposed to be. -Just an energetic and somewhat unique way to open up the album.
Go Let It Out, the catchy single that we all have grown familiar with over the past month, is a solid track with a catchy chorus and bassline that will leave the tune in your head long after you've heard it. It's just a great rock song from start to finish..you've gotta love it!
Now we move on to Who Feels Love. Rumored to be the second single, we first caught a glimpse of this song back in December when Noel performed acoustic versions for some North American radio stations. The album version, with Liam on main vocals, is much more entertaining than the drawn out acoustic version. The catchy beat and keyboard effects on this track will make you want to sing and dance along. The lyrics, however, seemed more poignant in Noel's version. Liam snarls them out in his usual fashion, but because he's a better vocalist than Noel it all works out in the end.
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is...wow, what a rocking tune! It's heavier than most of the songs on the album, but it's still catchy. It's one of those songs you just wanna blast from your car stereo. My only complaint is that Liam's vocals are a little too drowned out, but all in all it's a top rock song.
Little James is one of the sweetest songs I have ever heard; I found it to be the biggest tear-jerker on the album. The lyrics have been criticized for their simplicity, but I think people are forgetting that this is a song written in honor of a child . The lyrics are from the heart, which makes them all the more special! "I'm singing this song for you and your mum and that's all..." Oh, get out your kleenex!!
Gas Panic! is a brilliant song with bone-chilling lyrics about Noel's drug-induced panic attacks. (Or was it the panic attacks he suffered while trying to get off drugs?) Either way, it's a very dark song, but absolutely phenomenal nonetheless. It's not only my favorite track on this cd, but it's also one of my favorite Oasis songs ever. Absolutely brilliant.
Where Did It All Go Wrong? is the first of two SOTSOG tracks sung by Noel. Recent rumors suggest that it might be the second U.S. radio single. I've been trying to think of the right words to describe this song, and the word that keeps popping into my head is "good." That's right, it's a good song, with good vocals, good lyrics, and good music. It's not brilliant, but it's damn good!
Sunday Morning Call is already a fan favorite and one of the songs I was most looking forward to hearing. I must admit that it's not as catchy as I expected it to be. It is, perhaps, Noel's best vocal display since Don't Look Back In Anger, but the you won't find the chorus of this track sticking in your head the way DLBIA did.
I Can See A Liar should've been a b-side. The lyrics, vocals, and music are only average and it doesn't fit in with the rest of this stellar album.
Roll It Over displays some of Liam's finest vocals. The song, itself, is a bit too long, but we'll let that slide since it's still a brilliant piece of music. One of the album's best.
This album contains some of the best songs Oasis has ever released. If you haven't bought it already, you better hurry up and get to a record store! What are you waiting for?!
If you have a review of SOTSOG and would like me to post it or link to it, e-mail me at sister_psychosis@hotmail.com