Dotoar

Gotta tip in on this one.

I more or less worshipped Oasis during junior high and I hated them (at least I pretended to) during senior high and over the years ever since I've grown accustomed to the notion of valuing the music on its own terms and my current verdict on this band is: They're okay. (Although teen nostalgia obviously may cause a certain bias. Get me a moped!).

There are two main issues about Oasis that really grates me. First of all, Noel is indeed a competent songwriter but a very lousy arranger. Yep, at least half of their output is simply overlong, with a single hook repeated in absurdum. Not to mention that every next song is taken and played in the same mid-tempo manner and that his playing skills rarely let him stretch beyond the same old blues-pop-clichés in his guitar lines.

That in turn is emphasized in the general production approach which just plainly sucks, and it's especially evident on "Be here now" (well, both of these issues are). I've read somewhere that it was with Oasis (or rather, their producer Owen Morris) the whole 'loudness war' began, with that brick wall sound picture that leaves no room whatsoever for the music to breath. Beginning with their very first album, distorted guitars screams at you constantly over the booming drums and if some of the 90's most brilliant hooks and melodies hadn't been shining through it would truly be a painful chore sitting through an entire Oasis album.

Having said that, I still think they are a worthy listen, even disregarding their cultural importance as britpop exponents. My favourite albums are the first two, followed by the two last ones. Talk about bookmarking your career!

I mean, is it possible for any human being to have lived through the 90's and not like songs like these?

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