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Who Digs Oasis?

Posted Mon 6 Oct 2008 10:57AM BST by Johnny Famethrowa in Touching The Void
It's been nearly 15 years since Oasis emerged with the still towering debut single "Supersonic" and today sees the release of their new album, "Dig Out Your Soul". The composition of the band may now be very different, but very little has changed with their sound. Does it matter? The fans keep biting, even if the critics remain forever cynical. Well, we'd like to think what you make of the record, so have a read of Yahoo! Music's album review, penned by Alex Denney, who scores it a 6/10, and post your comments on the latest creation from the Gallagher brothers.

Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul


If there was a moment in Oasis' history when the clocks all stopped and their churning morass of conservative influences finally fossilised into an antiquated relic, it was in February, 2000, when new recruit Gem Archer's redesign of the band logo was revealed to resemble a moon-sized pair of aviator shades. Trivial? Yeah, but then again no: tragically out-of-date from its unveiling on the band's ill-received fourth LP "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants", this lumbering font from the abyss signalled the end of Oasis as an ongoing concern and ushered in the notion of Oasis as a 12-year-old's idea of a rock band, all monobrowed bluster and no content.

Since then it's all been so much railing against the coffin lid for the Mancunian tough nuts, but while rumours of Oasis' resurrection have no doubt been exaggerated, "Dig Out Your Soul" is likely the record critics had in mind when lavishing praise on its iffy 2005 predecessor, "Don't Believe The Truth". That's not merely wishful thinking: there's no ‘going back' for a band so firmly entrenched in their ways - and given their legacy of conservatism theirs is a second coming not everyone would relish - but "Dig Out Your Soul" manages the nifty trick of playing to its performers' strengths whilst gently nudging at an envelope whose edges have rarely been troubled.

Much of this excitement is traceable to a noisy front-end with more firepower than "Saving Private Ryan"'s opening sequence, from "The Turning"'s tumultuous chorus that's like being bitch-slapped by a brontosaurus to seismic first single "The Shock Of The Lightning", which while not exactly blessed with the most memorable of melodies in the Oasis songbook, at least rocks with a scorched-earth conviction that's not been seen around these parts in years.

If there are moments when the feted snap and snarl of yore amounts to little more than ramming generic blues licks down the audience's throat, they're tempered with moments of discovery like the lysergic "To Be Where There's Life" and "Falling Down" which displays an uncharacteristic lightness of touch.

Inevitably, there are howlers, too: Liam Gallagher's "I'm Outta Time" is the kind of drizzling MOR tripe Richard Ashcroft's been turning up his overcoat collar to for years, while "High Horse Lady"'s stilted blues is plainly awful. Ultimately though, "Dig Out Your Soul" is a record worth shaking hands with, and coming off the back of a decade of auto-piloted drudgery, that's got to count for something.
12 Comments

1. Yahoo! Music User -
i think 'dig your own hole' would have been a more appropriate title

2. Nigel -
Thought they'd turned the corner with "Don't Believe The Truth"...a fine album. Frankly, despite several listens, this disappoints, somewhat predictable,formulaic & stale. The Beatles homages are well past their sell-by dates.

3. Joe -
This review is awful it doesnt analyse ther record just talks about the past for a Change!!!!, why not review an album on merit, and if you did that it is quite easy to see that oasis are still more relevant than any other band in britain that is why dbtt sold 6 million and the tour sold out within an hour, people dont keep buying records unless there good, as any other band from teh brit pop years will tell you, also when compared to "saviours of british music" bloc partys new album this walks all over it.

4. Yahoo! Music User -
Dear joecoop4, please learn to spell before you unleash your opinions on us.

5. grover -
joecoop4, big macs are popular. By your logic this also means they are gourmet food....loser.

6. muteen h -
It took me a while to like dont beleive the truth, i think this abum will be the same but longer. there isnt a that stands out as the best. they arent great songs. they should have done abit more experiment with there music, to move forward a bigger stepp and say thats what they are doing. thy want be as good as their 1st 2 albums but sure they can come up with some more catcher tunes.

if the fans want the old style oasis they should get a younbg 18-25yr on a high writing lyrics and letting liam sing them. then u can get the old oasis back ohter than that they should try n change more.

geocities.com/muteenh

7. KIEREN -
Cant wait to listen to it ....

8. IAN -
its a brilliant album.its simple if you dont fancy it dont buy it,its that simple.an album doesnt sell 90,000 in 1 day for nothing.

9. Joe -
Whoever has the time to check for spelling errors on a blog has not got a life, i have a rope if u want to borrow it. Also whilst we are on the subject the fact that Ben compared food to music shows how in depth his knowledge actually is!, i can cut the rope in half if you like so you can share.

The new oasis album is excellent

10. Yahoo! Music User -
could not wait to get it(the album that is)and wasnt disappointed although a bit beetlish you cant take it away from the brothers .still the best band in britain

11. Chris -
steven well siad mate! its not definitely maybe, but its still a [profane]ing great record! the album reveiw on here ere woz done by a [profane]ing chimp, who aint gota clue! 2 all the people that are slaggin it off, dont [profane]in listin 2 it, un keep your [profane] opinions 2 yourselfs!

12. Yahoo! Music User -
Go see the gig, hear them sing it live, if u can get a ticket!! I did. All albums have their lesser songs, but overall this is great. No. 1 in UK charts and are in USAcharts too, not that many brit bands make it to charts in USA, so u listen and learn, Oasis are brilliant. You dont have to listen, just switch it off, like u can switch yr t.v. off.....
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