Be Here Now

Be Here Now (CD Album) by Oasis - 12 Tracks: 1. D'you Know What I Mean? 7:42, 2. My Big Mouth 5:02, 3. Magic Pie 7:19, 4. Stand By Me 5:56, 5. I Hope, I Think, I Know 4:23, 6. The Girl In The Dirty Shirt 5:49, 7. Fade In-Out 6:52, 8. Don't Go Away 4:48, 9. Be Here Now 5:13, 10. All Around The World 9:20, 11. It's Gettin' Better (Man!!) 7:00, 12. All Around The World (Reprise) 2:08

In retrospect, it's hard to see how Oasis could have possibly equalled the hype surrounding the release of this, their third album. Arriving as their popularity was at its peak, it's a confusing, faintly self-indulgent collection. The first single, the wryly-titled "D'You Know What I Mean?", had a monolithic sort of grandeur, taking Noel Gallagher's fondness for overdubbed, wall-of-sound guitars to some new peak, but also seemed a little over-extended--as did its follow-up, "All Around The World", a slab of Beatles-esque, sing-along pop that seemed to last longer than the entire White Album. Then again, it made a kind of sense: nothing if not mindful of rock tradition, Oasis's quest to be the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band meant that they were obliged--like the Stones before them--to make their own mid-1970s album (albeit, two decades too late). And from its Caribbean origins, to its raucous, bloated, "cocained-out" sound, this is it: a triumph of arrogance over ambition. Maybe next time they'll go punk. --Andrew McGuire