THE MASTERPLAN (Creation)

The last thing you'd expect from Oasis would be irony, but here it is in the title of this album. As a collection of B-sides, "The Masterplan" actually collects together those few moments when the band have dviated from their masterplan. Just occasionally, on the B-sides, Noel Gallagher allows his band to wander away from their limited hit-making formula and roam into areas such as "Going Nowhere", a genuinely affecting ballad. As such, "The Masterplan" is probably best considered as the Oasis album for those who are determined never to buy an Oasis album. Confirmed fans, meanwhile, will be happier with the likes of "Stay Young" - which a less prolifically successful songwriter would have held back for an A-side - and bursts of overdriven energy such as "Acquiesce". It's hard to believe, however, that anybody needs the live but lumpen version of "I Am The Walrus", which serves merely to expose the lack of subtlety in the band's playing and in the lyrics elsewhere on the album.

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c 1998 Andrew Turner

aturner@interalpha.co.uk

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