STANDING ON THE SHOULDER OF GIANTS (Big Brother)

Let's cut to the chase. Oasis's fourth album is not the disaster advance publicity has led us to believe. Indeed, given that it was recorded amid band and record company disarray it should have been a dud. On the contrary, it's a fine record, one that takes the band's occasionally constrictive formula and stretches it this way and that. Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is the sound of a band growing up and uncertain of which direction to take but determined to have a go anyway.

The motives behind the sniffy press response to '...Giants' do not reflect well on the critical fraternity. Just as John Lydon's PiL met press resistance after the Sex Pistols imploded, much of the opprobrium heaped on this record is driven by simple snobbery; how dare these noble savages add to their musical palette? Why don't they just stick to primary colours with a splash of angry black?

Also pertinent are the critics' misreadings of '(What's the Story) Morning Glory?' and 'Be Here Now'. When Oasis released their second album it was written off as a pale shadow of 'Definitely Maybe'. Its world-beating sales caused a swift re-evaluation of the band and when the dreadful 'Be Here Now' emerged, it was slavered over by repentant hacks. So now it's payback time for those embarrassed by their wrong judgments and, boy, have they let fly.

That said, 'Standing on the Shoulder of Giants' is not a great record; but it is a very good one. It starts blisteringly with the instrumental "F*****' in the Bushes", followed by "Go Let it Out", a huge slab of a song and one of the band's finest singles, helped by a slow-burning chorus and a surprisingly dextrous arrangement. And it's the production (courtesy of Mark Stent of Massive Attack repute and Noel Gallagher) which marks the record as a massive step on from previous Oasis output. "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is", for instance, kicks off like Add N To (X) jamming with the Pistols before exploding into one of the most exhilarating vocal performances Liam Gallagher has produced. It is simply fantastic and worth the entrance fee alone. It's also ample evidence that not only is Liam in finer voice than ever but that Noel can still write thrilling rock songs.

He also still has his anthemic touch, as demonstrated by "Sunday Morning Call", a distant cousin of R.E.M.'s 'Everybody Hurts' ("And I'm not sure if it'll ever end up right, but it's OK"). Lyrically, Noel's no match for Michael Stipe, but the song will be an airwaves-hogging monster.

Downsides? Well, as alluded to, Noel's lyrics are often trite and the Beatles' lifts can still be painfully obvious ('Dear Prudence' - very briefly - on "Sunday Morning Call" and 'Strawberry Fields' - a lot less briefly - on "Roll it Over") and both "I Can See a Liar" and "Roll it Over" are awful.

However, Liam's first-ever Oasis contribution, "Little James" (a paean to a child not his own, lest we forget), is lovely and a thwack around the chops to the cynics among us. So what if Oasis are growing up? They've made a better album than anyone could have expected. Humble pie all round then.

7 out of 10

• The Times & Sunday Times Album & Single Reviews - index

c 2000 Andrew Turner

aturner@interalpha.co.uk

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page