Friday, October 10, 2008

Album Review: Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul

I admit it. I am bias. Ever since Oasis' drunken antics and egotistical interviews in the 1990s I have distanced myself from their music. Remember this -

"We're not arrogant, we just believe we're the best band in the world." -Noel Gallagher

Or this beauty -

"With every song that I write, I compare it to the Beatles. The thing is, they only got there before me. If I'd been born at the same time as John Lennon, I'd have been up there." -Noel Gallagher

Personality conflicts have reared their ugly heads oft in Oasis' career. Experiencing multiple line-up changes over the years one has to ask if Oasis would still be together if the Gallaghers weren't brothers. Probably not.

That all said, Oasis has put out some pretty good music over the years. Definitely Maybe and Morning Glory will always be seen as masterpieces. There are also a few gems in the rest of their catalog including "All Around The World" and "Go Let It Out."

How does Dig Out Your Soul compare? A balanced "good" in my opinion.

Oasis has beefed up their sound and the new edge is refreshing. The album begins with a catchy number "Bag It Up." It's heavy on guitar and tips the listener off to this being a rougher ride. On this song, and others Oasis does a nice job of balancing the guitars with strong choruses and good harmonies. Absent from this album is the over production so common in rock records today, and in some of Oasis' albums in the past. It is a very raw glimpse of the band.

Tracks such as "To Be Where There's Life" and "The Shock Of The Lightning" sound almost Foo Fighter and STP-esque.

As expected, the lyrics stretch for the creativity of The Beatles. Phrases such as "Gonna take a walk with a Monkey Man" and "She put an apple in my eye" call upon the ghosts of John Lennon but aren't enough to wake him.

Even with my bias, I still think this album is good. Not great. Not one of the best Oasis' albums ever. Not one of the best of the year. But good.

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4 comments:

Colin Kelly said...

Captain!

Just found your site and put a link up from mine.

Some great reviews here.

All the best.

Colin

JL Pagano said...

Nice review; I like the Lennon's ghost remark and I agree completely.

Consider yourself linked and thanks for your comment over at my blog.

Ronan said...

Nice review. Thanks for the comment. I added you to my blogroll.

Sean Reid said...

Good review. I was wondering if you could Alter The Press on your blogroll and put a link to our Oasis album review?

cheers.

Sean