Be Here Now

Performer: Oasis
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Oasis: Liam Gallagher (vocals); Noel Gallagher (guitar, background vocals); Bonehead (guitar); Guigsy (bass); Whitey (drums, percussion). Additional personnel: Johnny Depp (slide guitar); Mark Feltham (harmonica); Mike Rowe (keyboards); Mark Coyle (programming). Recorded between November 1996 and April 1997. "All Around The World" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video. Shamelessly enamored of The Beatles, Oasis uses BE HERE NOW to serve up another heaping platter of larger-than-life rock and roll garnished with Fab Fourisms. Noel Gallagher's ambitious songwriting and production (which, not coincidentally, was done at Abbey Road) result in an average song length of almost six minutes and the full, gnarly guitar sound that's become Oasis' trademark. "Magic Pie" and "All Around The World" incorporate brassy orchestration reminiscent of "Let It Be," while the former's name seems a less-than-subtle nod to Macca's FLAMING PIE album released a few months prior. Aside from the band's constant worship at the Beatles shrine, Gallagher occasionally draws from other sources, sharply addressing the uncertainty of fame with the slam-bang rock and roll of "I Hope, I Think, I Know" and the latter-day Stone Roses sound of "Fade In-Out" which prominently features guest Johnny Depp's slide guitar. With their nemesis Blur busy trolling the noisy depths of lo-fi, American indie rock, BE HERE NOW proves to be another jewel in the crown of Brit-pop, which is now perched more firmly than ever on the collective, if occasionally swollen, head of Oasis.

Rolling Stone (9/4/97, pp.65-66) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...'60s and '70s rock classicism writ large and loud, all broad strokes and bullish enthusiasm....[Noel Gallagher] fires up sing-along hooks with industrial-strength glam-rock licks..." Entertainment Weekly (9/5/97, pp.72-73) - "...They're still angling for the set-in-Stones title of the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band....a truly massive attack, a thick-as-Guinness crunch of guitars and drums all cranked to 11....each track [is crammed] with keyboards...sound effects, and layer upon layer of Noel's twisting, shimmering guitar overdubs..." - Rating: B Q (1/98, p.114) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997." Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #8 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year." Melody Maker (8/16/97, p.49) - "...At their best Oasis is untouchable. Here they occasionally reach a best which is better than any best you might have previously imagined possible." NME (Magazine) (12/20-27/97, pp.78-79) - Ranked #25 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll. NME (Magazine) (8/16/97, pp.50-51) - "...Mammoth. Probably. But without the large hairy bollocks....each song already resonates with the vast, communal spirit that has propelled them thus far....here are yet another 11 songs the slightly sozzled world will be bursting to sing..."

Following in the footsteps their idols The Beatles, Oasis became a phenomenon in their home country in the 1990s. Taking the Fabs' template as a model, they added a thick wall of Pete Townshend-influenced guitars and stood at the vanguard of the mid-'90s Britpop movement, inspiring scores of imitators. While guitarist/songwriter/leader Noel Gallagher is responsible for penning several instant-classic pop songs, the press often focuses on the extra-musical hijinks and squabbles of he and his younger brother and Oasis lead singer, Liam. The constantly feuding brothers have threatened to split countless times (usually after one of Liam's public outbursts), but somehow they've hung together and kept things going against all odds.

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