Let me present to you the last album by Oasis that made sense.
With Definitely Maybe, they have become the fastest selling debut band, and with What’s The Story Morning Glory, they have cemented their status as the biggest UK band of the 90s. Now comes the story about the third remastered album.
Over the past few years, we had a chance to witness first two albums being remastered with a bunch of additional material. Everything started with the 20 year anniversary of Definitely Maybe.
Let’s take a little walk down the memory lane. The band had the whole world on their feet. They have won the war with Blur, British media was eating from their hands, and they had enormous gigs that many bands could only dream about. Still, not everything was perfect. In the era of their biggest glory, many drugs have did that part and manic brothers have made a lot of stupid shit that tabloids appreciated. The buffoonery only spiced their fame, making them the baddest boys on the music scene. All of this was happening in the anticipation of their third album – Be Here Now. The album was promoted with the single D’You Know What I Mean in the summer of 97. It was clear that Oasis wanted to become more mature and to offer the complexity they did not pull off on their first two efforts. The complicated form of the seven minute long single made everyone wonder what is going to appear on the record.
British fans didn’t mind the change of direction, so they helped the band reach No 1 spot on the charts, making it instant summer anthem. It was definitely a more obscure version of Oasis. With Be Here Now, the band entered a phase of not being able to create a substantial full album, rather solid singles only. Be Here Now was probably their last album that functioned as a whole.
My Big Mouth and Magic Pie followed the first single, ending up being less successful than most of their songs. Luckily, Stand By Me reached No 2 on the charts, and it became the band’s recognizable tune. The track connected The Beatles with the modern Britpop; no wonder it was a huge hi.
I always wondered why I Hope, I Think, I Know was never released as a single as it is a rock powerhouse. Instead, Be Here Now spawned only three singles. The album had many fillers, such as The Girl in the Dirty Shirt and Fade In-Out, both resembling their previous works. My favorite is Don’t Go Away, a stellar melancholic ballade with extremely catchy chorus. I think it’s shame that it’s kind of hidden within the fillers of the album.
Overall, this was probably the last album by Oasis that truly made sense. Every full length album they have released after it was hoi polloi. Cheers to the legends of the 90s!
