The aftermath of the release of Oasis’s third album, Be Here Now released back in 1997, was chaotic. There was such a pre-hype mode to that album that when the time came that the album was released, it was eventually considered a disappointment musically. To be fair, this isn’t the case, the album itself was almost as good as the first two Oasis albums: Definitely Mayne; and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? There was a lot of tension within the band after the Be Here Now world tour and as a result, Bonehead and Guigsy left the band. Noel Gallagher quit cocaine use and began to enforce a set of rules regarding drug and alcohol use in the band, which likely explained the personnel shuffles. After recording this album in 1999 and releasing it in early 2000, this was even less praised than Be Here Now ever was. That in itself was a bad thing about this album and killed it overnight commercially. It was produced by Noel Gallagher and Mark “Spike” Stent and is largely Psychedelic and experimental sounding as an album. Let’s take a listen to this album and hear what it sounds like.

Fuckin’ In The Bushes begins with a drumbeat adapted from Jimi Hendrix’s Little Miss Lover, albeit distorted, and some sampled speech from a movie Noel Gallagher dug at the time. Soon enough, a great Fender Telecaster riff enters and we are underway. A great instrumental nonetheless, this sounds incredibly danceable and quite good. Some musical overdubbed sections here, however, are quite awful. Despite that, this song was extensively featured in the UK cult film Snatch, released shortly after this album was. Nonetheless, this is the most experimental Oasis listen so far. There are female gospel vocals, electronics galore and a big wall of sound throughout. Nonetheless, this works quite well. Worth to listen to. The tune ends with some more sampled film speech, before concluding. It’s okay.

Go Let It Out begins with some sampled drum beats, Noel counting in and Liam Gallagher singing in a very raspy way. Still, his voice is not completely dead by this point. Acoustic guitars are here, too. The bass guitar leads into the main section of the song, and the chorus eventually hits you afterwards. Nonetheless, this is a really awesome tune, one of Oasis’s best in their career. The climax in this song is really fantastic, and this whole thing has a very Psychedelic edge to it musically. Liam sounds very raspy here, but his voice still has some power, range and tonality to it. Nonetheless, this is a great, upbeat song and one of the better tunes that Noel Gallagher has ever written. In the second half are swirling Mellotrons, arpeggio based guitar parts and some punchy drum beats, before this returns to the chorus in a majestic and magnificent conclusion. A truly great listen from Oasis, the guitar soloing at the end is pretty and unique. A joyous tune to listen to.

Who Feels Love? is an interesting song. Beginning with reversed electronic sounds, it quickly launches into a heavily Indian inspired sounding song. Very unusual for Oasis. Liam Gallagher sings in a wonderful way here, and he sounds very whimsical and yearning for something more out of life. The chorus is fantastic though: “Thank you for the sun, the one that shines on everyone, who feels love? Now there’s a million years between my fantasies and fears, I feel love” is a fantastic set of lyrics by Noel Gallagher, sung by Liam. This is a really fantastic listening experience and is never boring or dull, not for a moment here. A very laidback, Psychedelic and adventurous song, Oasis has made quite a classic and underrated song on this album. In the middle of the song begins an extended solo section that sounds really fine, fantastic and amazing. No doubt that The Chemical Brothers would have loved this sort of music, and it is fantastic. A catchy and reversed guitar solo is present here, and this song gradually begins to reach its logical conclusion with the repeated chorus towards the end. A great listen from start to finish, this does sound really fantastic. Awesome song. It ends with some interesting instrumentation and sound to conclude. Absolutely amazing music.

Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is is not good. Even from the start, one can hear this with its awful intro, leading into a groove that, although somewhat catchy, is a blatant rip-off of The Doors. Still, this tune does sound interesting regardless, and Liam Gallagher sings very well here. This song is another sonic experiment about nothing too much in particular. The lyrics here obviously aren’t a big deal, which is a bit of a letdown. But that’s okay here. A great post-chorus breakdown is here, with gospel vocals, fuzz guitar and down tuned guitar riffs. All the same, this is a cool listening experience, despite the fact that the music is quite terrible and throwaway. It certainly is, in many ways, worse than Be Here Now ever was. Towards the end, Noel Gallagher takes the microphone lead and sings an odd section very well. The sounds and gospel vocals continue, until this all comes down to a crashing conclusion. The outro is long and weird. Not the greatest song ever.

Little James begins with some reversed piano sounds, regular piano chugging away and Liam Gallagher singing one of the worst Oasis songs ever made. That’s right, you read correctly. He sings from a place of desperation and the need for love from his son, but still, this is appalling especially lyrically. There is multitracked 12-string guitar here, and other production touches to make this tune a little more interesting than mediocre. It still is an appalling listen, all the same. Some of the lyrics present are the most embarrassing and lame that you will ever hear. Still, this is better than what other bands have done in the history of music. It’s fairly awful, to be honest. You can skip ahead if you wish, but real Oasis fans will be able to sit through this four plus minute torture session. It’s okay at best, horrible at worst. Some na-na-na’s are here at the end, as this piece fades out.

Gas Panic! is the most paranoid song ever put onto an album. It begins with electronic sounds, strummed acoustic guitars and some gnarly singing from Liam Gallagher. This is a great song from the start and is one of the most underrated Oasis songs ever made. “You’d better get on your knees and pray, panic is on the way” is a reminder that, in this life, we are indeed alone. The sounds present here are very trippy, Psychedelic and soulful. This is a legendary tune that deserves to be heard more often by others. It is a real gem by Oasis. There is a great guitar solo section that is mashed in with the wall-of-sound present, and this is a great song if you have some mental health issues ongoing in your life. The harmonica present is also wonderful, too. A great, great song, and totally worth your time. This is a real standout from the Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants era. A great, swirling and epic listen that sounds delicious, something that is very much worth your ears. The outro continues the paranoia in an elongated solo section that has a flute played, amongst other interesting and tripped out sounds. A great tune nonetheless, it wraps up with electronics and string sections that sound totally paranoid. Excellent tune.

Where Did It All Go Wrong? continues the bad vibe of this album, just in a somewhat different way. It has organ, crisp electric guitars and acoustic guitars strummed away, as Noel Gallagher gets singing here. Obviously, this guy was having a very difficult time with things, especially after giving up hard drugs and losing a lot of his fame. He sings a song about someone who has to live with regret for the rest of their lives. A great tune in some ways, but the overproduction here kills it somewhat. The acoustic version of this song on Jools Holland in the same year of release was a lot better than this. Regardless, this does sound like it is worth your time. A great song to listen to regardless, the guitar sounds throughout are really excellent. A fine listen for what this is, this is another low-down and somewhat depressing song, built for those days that you need to vent. A great listen regardless of this album. The outro is very much like The Chemical Brothers but in a major depressing way.

Sunday Morning Call begins with some acoustic guitar strumming, and quickly Noel Gallagher begins singing in a pleasant and almost effortless way, along with some electronics in the background. This is an Oasis single that really doesn’t sound that much like a single to remember. Still, this is a good song that takes some effort to appreciate. Noel reassures that “It’s okay, it’s alright” to the listener. This is a good song to listen to if you feel torn up by things or just don’t feel mentally okay. After all, it’s okay not to be okay. A very good song nonetheless, this is an album by Oasis born out of the understanding that not everything is perfect in life, and sometimes we have to struggle to survive. The guitar solo present is really good in the second half, breathing some life into this song. All the same, this is a great piece of music with a gigantic wall of sound to suit it. Sure, this song is a bit of a drag at times, but it still works extremely well for what it is. The outro is very good, with drummer Alan White doing some massive drum fills, in amongst a swirling set of overdubs. A really good listen.

I Can See A Liar is a short and unnecessary song on this album. It sounds a bit like The Sex Pistols, although Oasis claim that it was inspired by AC/DC. Regardless, having a song such as this on this album is rather odd, given the rest of the album. Still, Liam Gallagher puts in a great vocal performance here, and he sounds really awesome. Breathing life into these sub-par songs, Liam does some great singing, greater than you’d expect. A weird addition to this album, but nonetheless, short and awesome. The guitar solos are fairly dramatic, leading back into the main song at hand. A good tune, but definitely not a great tune. It ends with some interesting tape trickery on the main guitar riff.

Roll It Over is an interesting conclusion to this album, and is a song with a lot of hidden meaning in it. It begins with distorted drums, followed quickly by lush guitar chords and launches into a gorgeous tune about feeling uncomfortable about a bad situation. “Does it make it alright? It doesn’t make it alright, to roll it over my soul…leave me here” is a great and dramatic chorus. Interestingly, many years after Oasis split up, Liam Gallagher added this song to his setlist in live shows, which is unusual. Still, this is a very underrated and personal song written by Noel Gallagher that sounds really quite awesome, to this very day. There is an extended solo section in the middle of this song, which is different. This has some Fender style guitar parts, female Gospel harmonies and some great and interesting drum fills from Alan White. Eventually, this reaches a majestic climax that sounds really awesome and cool. A fine and fantastic listening experience, this album, although considered a big letdown at the time, certainly has its moments, this song being one of them. A great and reflective listen, this song eventually winds up with sustained female Gospel vocals, followed by some great guitar playing and drumming. An excellent tune. Worth your ears.

This is a very good album that is totally worth your time. Outside fans may not understand nor appreciate this album much. Still, this is a wonderful journey through sound that, although has its weak spots, is the perfect listen for those bad days in your life when you need some music to hear. Should you listen to this album? Sure, give it a spin, although this is one of the weakest Oasis albums made and released.

A good album that is a great anti-depressant.

10/10