Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul

 10/05/2008 14:19:02  ♥ written by vu ()

The truth is, I am (or was) a huge Oasis fan. Back in the day when the single Supersonic hit our college radio station, KFSR 90.7 FM, I knew this band was special. Of course, all the press (NME, Melody Maker, etc) was already "mad for it" as they say.

They were perhaps the biggest hyped band, next to Suede, at the time.

I had requested to interview and see Oasis in Sacramento, and at the time no one knew who they were (at least in the US). Of course, I couldn't understand a word that came out of Liam's mouth. I think he said something like "becos I'm the fookin' singer, yea?"

(note: the cover artwork for "Slide Away", one of my favorite Oasis song, has all the band member's autographs - including the rare Noel Gallagher who refused to sign my copy at first.)

By the way, no one recognized Liam, sitting outside the venue (I forget what venue it was), and he and Bonehead was outside smoking and talking to random audiences that came to see the band. Such a different picture now, isn't it? Now you can't even go near them with a ten-foot pole.

Oh and it was such an exciting time, remember the beef between Oasis and Blur? Oasis was "working class" from the north, representing the everyman... and that one time they both release their single at the same time. Oasis and Blur fans were both divided in the middle, you either love Oasis or Blur.

I will confess, I was a bit of a rocker back then, so it was Oasis for me. As it turned out, Blur did end up winning over Oasis with 274,000 copies of "Country House", just about 50k over Oasis' "Roll with It".

Say what you will, it was good publicity, I don't know if an average album even move that many units these days, let alone a single.

By the time Oasis came back for (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, they were selling out near-Stadium shows. I did went to see them in San Francisco and I remember having to borrow someone's bionocular to see Liam on stage. Oh man, when they broke out their "I Am the Walrus" cover, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, was belting out their best Beatles "cuckoocachoo!".

I won't go into more details about my relationship with Oasis, but I wasn't so impress with Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, Heathen Chemistry, Don't Believe the Truth. There are some outstanding songs on each of the albums, but let's just say I wasn't really into it as I should.

So what do we have here, Oasis is releasing Dig Out Your Soul this coming Tuesday (Monday for UK, October 6^th).

I see that Noel Gallagher have soften his grip on Oasis and have let his brother Liam and others write and contribute songs to the new album. I know he slowly started letting the other band members contribute songs, if you recall Liam's "Little James" on the Standing record (which I actually will admit to not liking that song).

On this record, I see that Gem and Andy contributed some songs (they've been doing it since Heathen).

I thought the relationship of the two Gallagher (one writes, the other sings) worked best. I don't normally like Noel doing the singing (he sounds like he tries too hard), but I really love "Falling Down" on the new record. I think Noel is one of the best song writer, even his lyrics on this one have improved from his early days.

If you like Oasis, it doesn't really matter, you'll probably buy the CD anyway. They are offering a very expensive package Super Deluxe Boxset for $99 that comes with 2 CD, 1 DVD, 4 Vinyls, a hardback book in a box, and digital downloads. As much as I love Oasis, that price is too ridiculous for me right now - but if this was available in 1994, I would've slap down my Benjamin for this.

Oasis is about to set out on tour, go a head and see them. Bring binoculars.