Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

by

Oasis

Edit

Here's a perfect example of how attitude changes an entire listening experience. Easily the most bashed work in the Manchester great's back catalogue, called worst album of 2000 on several occasions, slated as a worthless Pink Floyd rip-off with no standout tracks, Standing on the Shoulder represents a career low point for Oasis--this was the first true testament that the band was not immortal, not the Beatles of the new age, but in fact slipping from the title of Brit-Rockers-in-chief. Sigh. It's the album that die-hard Radiohead and Coldplay fans always refer to when discussing Oasis' inferiority, blasting Noel Gallagher for "never progressing as a song writer." Sigh again. I've never really figured out the thunderous disapproval of the album, and I ultimately enjoyed most of the songs. Does SOTSOG contain some garbage? Without a doubt, but not nearly enough to ruin the entire experience, or throw Oasis off their high horse as most critics claim. Here're some facts all listeners need to be aware of: 1) `F****n' in the Bushes,' `Go Let It Out,' and Gas Panic!' are three of the best songs of Oasis' career. Wasn't `Go Let It Out' #1 hit in the UK, going right alongside `Yellow' and even surpassing `Optimistic'? 2) The biggest problem with SOTSOG occurs in the format, unusual for a psychedelic album such as this. If there's any real unending quandary here, it's that the worst two songs on the album, `Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is' and `Little James' fall in at numbers 4 and 5 respectively. These should have been either left out or positioned differently, perhaps further down in the line up while moving high qualities, perhaps `Roll It Over,' up in the track listing. 3) The album is without a doubt a step up from Be Here Now, which contains about five fillers/B-sides whereas SOTSOG has no more than two. 4) Giants is Easy Listening. Oasis flirts with the Easy Listening genre on several junctures, most notably with `Wonderwall' and `Cast No Shadow', but usually sticks to anthemic Indie and at sometimes Hard Rock. I believe that this album has been rejected as quality Oasis by many fans due to the lack of guitars and the overwhelming presence of synthesizers. It doesn't always work--` Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is' for example--but it's definitely different. Not only should it be respected and appreciated by fans, but it should be praised for its boldness. 5) Although inaccessible at times, SOTSOG flows unlike any other Oasis album. In this way, it tops both Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory?--a daring yet factual assessment.

If nothing else, the album's worth it for `F****n' in the Bushes,' `Go Let It Out,' and Gas Panic!'. But underneath the surface, it's much more than just a singles album like the predecessor Be Here Now; it's a flowing, intelligent collection of songs that have been tarnished by the attitude of dismissive fans.

First of all, I own every other Oasis recording, know every note of every song ever committed to disc by them, and as such am obviously in agreement with the obvious: Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory ARE CLASSICS of 5-Star quality. Be Here Now is unnapreciated for sounding cliche-ridden and sounding like the other two, but it is UNDERRATED, seeing that it contains some classic Oasis songs... Standing on the Shoulder is the work of a more mature Noel Gallagher, who no longer seems to swagger a la "Rock and Roll Star", ditto for Liam, who should stick to singing and banging the tambourine... "Little James" is only redeemed by Noel's melody. Do they sound like the Beatles? Yeah... And like Big Star, T-Rex, Slade, The Stones, The Stone Roses, and The Jam, too. SO WHAT? WHO CARES? Did the Beatles invent tape-looping, overdubbing, tablas, and sitars? Did they rip off Brian Wilson, Phil Spector and Ravi Shankar? This is much mellower than "Definitely Maybe" and "Be Here Now", more like "Morning Glory", though Noel seems to be seeing Cornershop as his main artistic rivals now, now that Blur and The Verve are no longer challenges. Thus, the "Tomorrow Never Knows" feel to Liam's voice and the studio trickery. There are only two singles here: "Go Let It Out" and "Where Did It All Go Wrong", but "Roll It Over" is haunting and challenging. This is NOT tired and mediocre, merely more challenging and textured: the work of a more subdued band. The loss of Guigsy and Bonehead SHOULD be felt, however... That's the main challenge for this band, not the general MTV-based public's opinion. Who cares about fair-weathered John and Jane Q.Publics who now own Ricky Martin and Backstreet Boys records and who once owned Morning Glory? Real fans' opinions count only. And being real fans give us the right and obligation to TRY to be objective. Which is why I give it 3-Stars.