Heathen Chemistry

Well well well. It's now been 10 years into the fray for Oasis, or 7 if you count the time since their emergence on the scene. In that time, drugs have been taken, given up, crowds have been wowed consistantly and fans have both loved and hated them in equal measure for very different reasons.

But how BORING would the nineties (and, yes, the noughties) have been without this fantastic band? From the opening bars of 'The Hindu Times', through the sing-a-longs of 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' and 'Little By Little', to the spine-tingling final chords of 'Better Man', this album reminds us all of how precious Oasis have become.

A 'return to form', people said. Well, in my opinion they only really lost it with 'Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants', a scratch and sniff album which, quite frankly, smelled as bad as Liam's mac after Knebworth (I'll bet). And yes, I do include 'Be Here Now' as a bona fide classic - just listen to it again, skipping 'The Girl In The Dirty Shirt' and tell me you don't like it. Thought as much.

After the rock n roll excess of the nineties then, Oasis' fourth album proper DOES give us a cause to be jubilant in the jubilee year (there's no other reason, after all). Filled to the brim with classic Oasis tunes, it's the sign of a great album that when me and my mates had a conversation about it after seeing them at Finsbury Park twice last week, we couldn't agree on the best track. In fact, the four of us nominated FOUR different songs. And, a week later, mine's changed already from 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' to 'Better Man'. Argh...decisions, eh?

So, from the slamming of the door at the end of 'Be Here Now' which ironically marked the end of Oasis Mark I, we have finally got off the ground with Oasis Mark II after the arrival of this album. I'll lay my money on the next Oasis album being their best - all these great rock groups like The Beatles, The Stones etc have at least two golden periods and it looks like Oasis are hitting their second one now. I for one can't wait.

Bring it on!

I have listened to many artists. I usually criticise them. But Heathen Chemistry I thought was an excellent album. Oasis have created a superb album that is one of my favourites. With songs like " The Hindu Times", "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" and "Little by Little" this album is truly excellent and I would recommend it to any music fan. Even if your not a fan of Oasis I'd still recommend it. It's that good.

The heathen Gallagher brothers with their amazing love-hate chemistry (hence the title) have made another superb album. This is probably their best since Definitely Maybe, but really is the combination of all their albums. The rawness of Definitely Maybe is captured in the rockers like "The Hindu Times", "Hung In A Bad Place", "(Probably) All in the Mind" and "Better Man". Then there is the great craftmanship and flow to all of the songs like What's the Story Morning Glory, with notable standouts like "Stop Cryin' Your Heart Out", the "Champagne Supernova" of nowadays and the love song to Noel's new flame with "She is Love". The hard knocking and fun, but lyrically slight ineptitude with the catchy "Force of Nature". Finally, there is the sense of maturity started with "Standing On the Shoulder of Giants" with "Little by Little", and "Born on a Different Cloud". It's all there, and all Oasis. I wouldn't say it's a comeback, because they never really left. But, this album really should blow the other summer releases pending out of the water. Noel is at his finest, the new members Gem Archer and Andy Bell contribute to better music parts and good songs, and Liam is proving he will be a songwriting force to be reckoned with. Not a bad song on it, even the instrumental is fair. The album endures repeated listens and even improves with each listen rather than burning out. The only disappointment will be the wait for the next album!