Many years after their mid-1990s heyday, Oasis at this point still had to create decent tunes to get some attention. In particular, Noel Gallagher began to really emerge nicely as a singer/songwriter extraordinaire. Although Heathen Chemistry was, by all accounts, a very ordinary album, there were some interesting and magical moments now and again on it. The title song of this EP is one of them. Let’s take a listen to this EP and hear what all the fuss is about.

Little By Little begins with some acoustic guitars and some spacey electric guitars to match. This is a great opening scene to a legendary song about persisting through the toughest of times. It is such a simple and emotional tune that when the chorus enters, it is incredibly moving. A fantastic song this is, without a doubt or question. There are some awesome lyrics on it, such as: “True perfection has to be imperfect, I know that sounds foolish, but it’s true” as an example. This song is matched with some great spacey production values as well. This is one of the best and most underrated compositions that Noel Gallagher sang and wrote. The midsection of the song has a euphoric and crazy guitar solo, and it makes the listening experience even more emotional. There is nothing too much out of place in this imperfect composition, and it is a very emotional listen. The second half has some great vocals from Noel and some nimble bass guitar and loud guitar work. Sure, this is on the worst Oasis album of them all, Heathen Chemistry, but this is very decent to hear. The Champagne Supernova styled drums are in the outro, along with some different guitars and sonic sounds. Excellent song.

She Is Love is a song devoted to Noel’s second wife, Sara McDonald. It begins with some upbeat acoustic guitars and a cheezy organ. This song isn’t a great choice to put on this EP. It’s not outright bad, just very lazy and ordinary sounding for Oasis. It’s okay but lacks the magic of previous Oasis EPs and releases. Fortunately, it is only three minutes long and it is a very dated sounding love song. You have the option of skipping this rather poor effort, so do so if you can. The keyboard solos on this song are very bored sounding and lackluster. Good to hear how Noel feels love, he puts it into his music, which is a very good thing. Okay sounding, but could have had something better in its place instead of this throwaway tune.

My Generation is a cover of the infamous song by The Who. Liam Gallagher takes the lead vocal here, and the combined effort between Liam and Noel on this tune is really awesome in the vocals. Sure, Liam’s voice has seen better days at this point, but this is a good listen for his vocals regardless. Alan White’s drumming is really excellent to listen to, and the bass guitar solos present are really cool. The key changes show how well Liam could sing, even in 2002. Nonetheless, the combination of Liam’s nasal whine and Noel’s really cool harmonies make this work. Something that both younger fans and older fans of music can enjoy, this is an enjoyable and listenable musical experience. A great cover song and it deserves its place on this EP. The outro has a multitude of noises and sounds, followed by backward electric guitars. Quite psychedelic, but good to hear.

This is an EP that has been bookended with great songs, but the middle song is quite clearly rubbish. Still, if you are crazy about Oasis, you definitely should hear this EP and have it in your music collection. Should you listen to this EP otherwise? Yes, if you are looking for a bite-sized chunk of Heathen Chemistry. Otherwise, avoid it.

Decent but imperfect, just like true perfection.

7/10