Way back in the dark days of 1995, dark only because they’re long ago, my sister introduced me to a band that she and her friends were listening to — Oasis. I think their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory, had just come out, as I seem to recall a couple of songs — “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova” — getting radio play at the time.
I particularly liked “Don’t Look Back in Anger.”
The whole Britpop thing, which is what Phonogram, the best comic you’re not reading, is built upon (at least, in the first series, Rue Britannia), sort of passed me by, so I barely got some of the musical references in the series.
I loved Morning Glory. At the time, I didn’t really like the first album, Definitely Maybe, a whole lot. (It’s grown on me, though. It really has.) And I’ve loved each subsequent album.
Be Here Now? Yes, it’s long and it’s loud and it’s bloated, and I think Noel Gallagher is off his rocker for hating the album.
Standing on the Shoulder of Giants? It’s quieter. It’s somewhat darker. It’s not as raw. And the bonus CD that came with it has one of Oasis’ greatest songs of all time — “Let’s All Make Believe.”
Heathen Chemisty? This is Oasis in full-on Beatles mode. Specifically, Revolver-era Beatles.
Don’t Believe The Truth? Okay, this is probably my least-played Oasis album, and it’s a little more mellow, but it has some fantastic songs — “Love Like a Bomb” and especially “Let There Be Love.”
The latest album, Dig Out Your Soul, was, I admit, the first Oasis album since Be Here Now that I didn’t buy on the day of release. That I know this is, I think, a little worrisome. I just didn’t make it out to buy it, that’s all. But I had it within a week, and I’ve absolutely loved the album.
It’s a return to the Revolver-style Beatlesque music that typified Be Here Now and Heathen Chemistry. I love this album all the way through, with “I’m Outta Time,” “Waiting for the Rapture,” “The Shock of the Lightning,” “The Nature of Reality,” and “Soldier On” being particular favorites. Okay, yes, that’s fully half of the album. But it’s really that good.
Recently, I learned that there was 22-minute long psychedelic remix of “Falling Down.” It took some time and effort to track it down, and track it down I did.
It’s called “Falling Down (A Monstrous Psychedelic Bubble Mix).”
And it’s massive.
Not just in its length, which is twenty-two minutes twenty-seven seconds. But in its overwhelming weight. There are flutes. There are harps. There’s a harmonica. There’s a lead sitar. There’s a little girl reciting the lyrics like poetry. There’s echo on Noel’s voice, making him sound like he’s come from an entirely different plane of existence. There’s a sonic texture to this song that sounds like it came from a different time entirely, as though it’s an artifact from the Summer of Love. You expect this song to come with raspberry-tinted sunglasses, a tie-dyed shirt, and a peace sign. I could imagine hippies in the Haight-Ashbury tripping and stoned, blissed out to this remix. “Falling Down,” already a very good song, turns into something that would have fit alongside the Beatles’ “Rain” or “Tomorrow Never Knows.” And yet, it’s completely Oasis.
It’s absosmurfly amazing. I’m glad I found it. 😎
And in case you celebrate the holidays of the Shire, I wish you all a happy and prosperous Midyear’s Day. :party:
I might have to “obtain” that 22-minute track from you. 😉
Oasis is an interesting band; I can’t say I’ve been a huge fan or anything; (What’s the Story) Morning Glory was one of *the* albums of the 90’s for me. “Champagne Supernova” is one of those seminal mid-90’s songs for me, that takes me back whenever I listen to it to some of the drama of those teen years.
I’ll have to use my Zune Pass to grab the rest. Thanks for the tip.