Be Here Now [album]

BE HERE NOW (Epic)
Sometimes it's hard to remember that the Gallagher brothers are actually in a band, as opposed to media fodder. Equally difficult is separating Oasis from its obvious influences, its oft-insufferable cockiness and its thinly-veiled relishing of its fame/infamy. Witness the cover of 'Be Here Now', and its myriad of brazen references to British rock royalty: the sinking Rolls Royce in the swimming pool (Keith Moon very famously drove one into a pool one particularly vivacious evening), the Quadrophenia-style scooter, the victrola à la the Sgt. Pepper artwork and more, not to mention the snotty, pop star irreverence of the photo in general.
But Be Here Now, the third gauntlet from this band proves that after all the celebrity, Oasis records will, like it or not, endure both 20/20 hindsight and repeated listens. Noel Gallagher writes timeless, sonically decadent, and often anthemic pop songs as easily as your average American flips TV channels, and his acuity for writing melodies custom-built for his brother Liam's raspy, nasal voice only sharpens with time. Take the band in stride, and all the audio references (trust us, 'Be Here Now' has plenty) will not only endear you to the songs instantly, but they'll demonstrate the finer points of the band's cultural coup: They're Britain's premier musical post-modernists, playing both arrogant celebrity and gushing fan, and the pop music world is delightedly playing along with them.

c 2000 Andrew Turner

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