After the terrible Heathen Chemistry, which was basically polished rubbish, Oasis needed to release good music once again. The once glorious and powerful drummer Alan White left, with Ringo Starr’s son Zak Starkey filling in the role for the time being. At first, things did not go well recording this album. The group seemed to revisit the experimental nature of the Be Here Now and Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants albums by enlisting the EDM Death In Vegas producer duo to begin the album. It did not work out well, Noel Gallagher knew that the effort could have been better. Instead, he requested a new producer, Dave Sardy to do the job for the group and began reworking the songs on this album entirely. The result here is better than anything the group recorded post (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? in terms of the overall quality of the songs. It has a concise, punchy sound and the group sounds far ahead of their contemporaries for the first time in years. It’s not perfect, sure. But it is good music by Oasis once again. Let’s hear it.

Turn Up The Sun begins with a counted intro section before some chiming and good guitar parts and sleigh bells enter. This is a fantastic and suspenseful tune, to say the least. Soon enough, the song kicks in with the rhythm section and we are underway. Liam Gallagher’s singing, to be frank, isn’t the best. It’s not a big deal here though, as the music and song are both very good. “C’mon, turn up the sun, turn it up for everyone” is repeated in the chorus. Oasis was back, baby. A really decent, thrilling and adventurous tune with some great and interesting sounds, this is a very legendary song. Lively, life-affirming and loud, this is a really excellent listen from a band who had been written off as a bunch of 1990s Britpop musicians by this point past their heyday. The super long outro has some pleasant and very enjoyable guitar parts and progressions that are amazing sounding. Needless to say, this sounds really concise and brilliant. Great job Oasis, you deserve credit here musically. The delayed guitars at the end are awesome.

Mucky Fingers is a reference to The Rolling Stones album Sticky Fingers in the song title but is actually a take-off of The Velvet Underground’s I’m Waiting For The Man musically, and obviously so. Noel Gallagher sings nicely here and perhaps proves to the world that he didn’t need brother Liam Gallagher by this point, which he really didn’t. Still, this is an amazing tune that sounds really great, unique and catchy. Some very literate lyrics are present, and overall, this is a very, very good listen. There is some harmonica throughout which sounds quite sweet as well. A very good song. In the second half, the harmonica has a solo section that sounds very animated. All in all, this is a superb listening experience that sounds really strong musically. A great tune from start to finish. The outro is really cool, with some nimble bass guitar work, keyboard and thunderous drums by Zak Starkey. Excellent work boys. Fantastic.

Lyla launches right into it with some great multitracked guitar strumming and sounds, with Liam Gallagher singing about said Lyla, who allegedly is a metaphorical character. The tune itself is really great, with layers of sound, production and a great chorus that is quite singalong, even though Liam’s singing sounds very poor. Despite that, this is an outstanding tune to hear. After the first chorus, this song begins to build up really well and sounds interstellar. All in all, this is a really majestic listen and just sounds great. Despite the fact that Liam Gallagher has a ton of autotune on his singing on this album, this is a really great listen. The guitar solo is loud, brief and frenetic. A great listening experience, Oasis cemented their comeback with this song. The chorus has an extended and repeated section here, which sounds really cool, before dissolving into a neat outro with handclaps, thunderous drums and Psychedelic guitars, with a touch of keyboard. Brilliant tune from start to finish, worth your ears. The feedback at the end is sweet.

Love Like A Bomb launches into it with Psychedelic sounds and guitars, entering into a truly joyous listening experience here. It sounds very decent and amazing for a song of its sort, and the acoustic guitars and drumming lift this to a higher level. Liam Gallagher’s singing isn’t that great here, but the tune is so good that is largely forgivable. The midsection is really glorious and wonderful, and the whole tune sounds really excellent and on point. Some gorgeous electric piano is in the second half here, and this whole tune comes alive very well here. A fantastic song, allegedly not written by Noel Gallagher. Still, this works extremely well. Great to hear.

The Importance Of Being Idle begins as a joyous romp and stomp traditional tune. It launches into an amazing song sung by Noel Gallagher that sounds really excellent. It’s a postmodern acoustic driven Neo-Psychedelic ballad with some really great singing by Noel, especially in the chorus and is about being lazy in life. This isn’t exactly a song based sentiment to be taken seriously, however. There is a sweet guitar solo near the middle, which sounds lively and electric. Some great sounds are present throughout this song, such as great guitars, thunderous drumming and Casio styled keyboard here. A brilliant and wonderful ballad to listen to and enjoy, Noel Gallagher and Oasis make this tune come alive very nicely. Fine, pretty and fantastic music, Noel sings in the climax, “I guess I’m just lazy…” Indeed, not to be taken too seriously here. A great song informed by traditional music for the 21st century.

The Meaning Of Soul launches straight into a ridiculously good drum led tune with acoustic guitars and Liam Gallagher singing quite nicely here. This is a very short tune by Oasis, being under two minutes in length. It has some interesting and subtle acoustic slide guitar leads in the chorus. A great pseudo-intermission number, this is extremely fun and catchy listening. Harmonica is here as well. Great to listen to for a short song.

Guess God Thinks I’m Abel is an interesting song. It begins with some sad sounding guitar chords via capo use and sounds really good from the outset. Liam Gallagher sings emotionally and from a vulnerable place. This is a love song, keeping with the theme of the album. The chorus is very pretty, beautiful and lovely to hear, as is the rest of the song. Some neat guitar work is present on this tune, and this simple and enjoyable piece of music sounds like a real classic tune to hear. The second half is an interesting section with harmonies and Liam Gallagher singing, “No one can break us, no one could take us, if we try…” as a desperate plea to a lover in mind. Another excellent song at hand. The climax occurs soon afterwards, and there is a good and different Psychedelic outro to conclude. Neat.

Part Of The Queue is another postmodern ballad by Noel Gallagher. He makes a good song about the inadequacies of postmodern life. Even so, this is not the strongest song on this album, but it does sound really brilliant and excellent musically, all the same. An adventurous listen with acoustic guitars, interesting drums and drum sounds and a manic pace to grab your attention. This is a great listen from a great album. There is also a great breakdown in the middle of the song, followed by an awesome guitar solo. This music is really fantastic. A nice keyboard solo is present here as well. “Stand tall, stand proud! Every beginning has broken its promise, I’m having trouble just finding some soul in this town…” moans Noel Gallagher in the chorus. Not the best Oasis song, but certainly not the worst, either. Good enough for what it is, however. The outro has a ton of delay here, and sounds really cool.

Keep The Dream Alive is next and begins with some pretty dual tracked electric and acoustically strummed guitars. Liam Gallagher begins singing, and he sounds quite horrible on this song, to be frank. Still, this song sounds like a very decent and enjoyable listening experience from the start. Thunderous and precise drumming enters by Zak Starkey, and this tune gets going. All the same, this is a mega ballad that sounds really great. Liam Gallagher’s singing isn’t the best here at all. Sure, he sings with emotion here, but his best days as a singer are well and truly behind him. The rest of the song is quite good though, with chiming guitars and enough Psychedelic textures for one to sink their teeth into. Nonetheless, this works incredibly well as a piece of music. The chorus is strangely uplifting as well. To be fair, this is the best album Oasis did in the 2000s, which says a lot but is a necessary listen if you are a fan of the group. Some na-na-na’s are present here, which is actually very nice to hear. An awesome listen, if you can look past Liam Gallagher’s singing. The outro has some incredible guitar riffs that are multitracked. An excellent listen, it fades out gently.

A Bell Will Ring is a Gem Archer tune, who was the second rhythm guitarist in Oasis. It begins with some good electric guitar riffs and maracas, and sounds really interesting from the start. The lyrics are super profound, and Liam’s raspy singing here is really quite good for what it is on this song. This quickly launches into a thunderous and powerful listening experience with some pounding drums by Zak Starkey and many, many different Psychedelic guitar overdubs, sounds and textures throughout. This is a very good listening experience regardless of the poor singing, still sounding dramatic and awesome. A very fluid, interesting and literate sounding tune, Oasis takes things up a notch here. A very good listening experience throughout. It ends after three minutes in length.

Let There Be Love is the final tune on this album, and begins with a counted intro. It launches into an excellent song with good singing, strummed acoustic guitar and piano throughout. Liam Gallagher articulates the necessary emotion required in this song, despite his vocal quality, and he does this song some necessary justice. All in all, this is an amazing and genuinely good listen that tugs at heartstrings. This is a really sweet listening experience. Noel Gallagher then sings his section after the chorus, making this a very rare Oasis song where both the Gallagher brothers sing on the song at hand. The mellotrons and other Psychedelic textures are very much welcome here, and this is a gorgeous tune. It has a false ending with a sustained keyboard sound, before launching back into the pre-chorus again. Again, this is absolutely fantastic music and worth your ears. The chorus resumes nicely here, and the whole thing sounds really great musically. The song then reaches an extended outro section with bells, crunchy guitars, keyboards galore and unusual sounds. An excellent finish to a great and underrated album.

This is an underrated album, to say the least. It has a great combination of sounds, songwriting and music that will make your mouth water. This is the best album that Oasis released after Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants. It also was the last album that brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher really worked together on in unison, before things began to fall apart for them. Should you listen to this album? Give it a spin, this is most definitely a great musical listening experience.

Criminally underrated.

9/10