Be Here Now – Ten Years On

21Aug07

Almost unbelievably ‘Be Here Now’, the ultimately ill-fated third Oasis album is ten years old today. Thursday August 21st 1997, the date is impossible to forget for many fans – not least because it is printed in huge letters on the album sleeve.

I was twelve at the time and bought my copy on cassette from the newly opened Virgin Megastore in the Cambridge Grafton Centre. Virtually every shelf was covered with dozens and dozens of copies of the album and it was all that anyone seemed to be buying. For a day at least, Oasis were almost as big as the music industry itself.

Despite initial favourable reviews, ‘Be Here Now’ suffered a critical backlash within weeks of its release. Ignore the hype (or anti-hype) however and underneath lurks a truly brilliant record.

Any Oasis fan who does not rate ‘Be Here Now’ needs their head checking – and that includes you Noel Gallagher. Just take a listen to any of the three albums that followed to realise the genius of it all.
Undoubtedly the production is over the top and a little variation in terms of arrangements would have been nice, but the quality of song-writing is consistently brilliant.

‘D’You Know What I Mean?’, ‘Stand By Me’ and ‘Don’t Go Away’ have to rate as three of the greatest songs Noel will ever write and virtually every track with the exception of ‘It’s Getting Better (Man!!)’ has something interesting to offer.

Much has been made of the boorish simplicity of most of the songs, but watch any of the live performances from around this time and you’ll see a band working out of their comfort zone.

In many ways ‘Be Here Now’ is a grander reworking of ‘Definitely Maybe’. Tracks like ‘Columbia’ and ‘Slide Away’ – both five minutes plus and heavy on guitar solos – share a close affinity with the likes of ‘Fade In-Out’.

It’s difficult to say why ‘Be Here Now’ became such a derided album. Perhaps it was the Gallagher’s ability to rub media folk the wrong way (Chris Evans) or perhaps people were simply tired of the Oasis sound.

What is clear, however, is that ‘Be Here Now’ marks the end of the era of Oasis as a genuinely inventive and relevant band. Oasis lost something the day Noel woke up and decided that ‘Be Here Now’ wasn’t quite the album he once thought it was.

‘Be Here Now’ was an act of inspiration, not an act of folly and the sooner Noel realises this the better – you never know, we might finally get another great album.

‘Fade In-Out’ or ‘Meaning of Soul’, ‘Magic Pie’ or ‘I Can See a Liar’, ‘All Around the World’ or ‘Force of Nature’ – speaks for itself really.

A bluffers guide to ‘Be Here Now’:

1) ‘D’You Know What I Mean?’ (07.42)

First single, and epic opening track. One of my absolute favourite songs of all time. Noel was clearly trying to rip off the Stone Roses ‘Breaking Into Heaven’, but the chord sequence is actually nicked off ‘Wonderwall’. Liam’s snarl is perfect and Noel’s wah-wah drenched soloing still sounds awesome.

2) ‘My Big Mouth’ (05.02)

One of the album’s weaker moments – harmless enough, but ultimately a little unfulfilling. Interestingly this track was regularly hyped by Noel prior to the release of ‘Be Here Now’, and was one of two songs (the other being ‘It’s Getting Better (Man!!)’ to be played at Knebworth in 1996.

3) ‘Magic Pie’ (07.19)

The only Noel vocal on the album. Top song. Given its length and relative complexity I would guess you’re less likely to hear this track played live at a future Oasis gig than virtually any other in their whole back catalogue.

4) ‘Stand By Me’ (05.56)

I could listen to this song until my ears fall off. This track was the second single and was kept off the number one spot by ‘Candle In The Wind’. Never really received the recognition it deserved. Noel’s guitar work is outstanding.

5) ‘I Hope, I Think I Know’ (04.22)

‘Stay Young’ was the song originally pencilled in as track five, but it was the similar sounding ‘I Hope, I Think I Know’ which eventually got the nod. A proper little sing-along.

6) ‘The Girl In The Dirty Shirt’ (05.49)

Not the greatest song title ever, but a fine ending to side one. I remember listening to this song loads back in 1997. Oddly whimsical for a track with full wall-of-sound arrangement.

7) ‘Fade In-Out’ (06.52)

The most experimental song on the album in terms of melody and structure. Liam puts in a tremendous vocal and Johnny Depp really does play slide guitar. Allegedly Noel was too inebriated to do it himself or something.

8 ) ‘Don’t Go Away’ (04.48)

Should have been made the third single and released at Christmas with a snow filled video. An absolute tour-de-force in ballad writing, the melody line is perfect and the strings are arranged beautifully. It is also the one track on which Noel and Owen Morris show any kind of restraint in terms of the production.

9) ‘Be Here Now’ (05.13)

The title track is to date the only Oasis song to take its name directly from an album. Built around a barnstorming riff, it picks the pace back up after a couple of slower numbers. Liam’s line ‘kickin’ up a storm, since the day that I was born’ says all you need to know about ‘Be Here Now’ era Oasis.

10) ‘All Around The World’ (09.20)

As egotistical as Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions’, as anthemic as ‘Hey Jude’ (from which it nicks the idea of a nah nah refrain), ‘All Around The World’ is realistically three minutes too long, but who really cares. Interestingly Noel had written the track pre-‘Definitely Maybe’, but chose to hold it back until the band had the resources to do it justice.

11) ‘It’s Getting Better (Man!!)’ (07.00)

The one track on the album that bores me just a little. Surprisingly it’s a song that is often held up as the best the album has to offer when in reality it’s just a rather straight forward rocker. Nothing offensive, but nothing special.

12) ‘All Around The World (Reprise)’ (02.08)

As if we hadn’t heard enough in the previous nine and a bit minutes, the album closes with just a little bit more from ‘All Around The World’.

Three Be Here Now Youtube classics:

Stand By Me (Acoustic) – Originally broadcast as part of a BBC documentary to celebrate the release of ‘Be Here Now’. Noel has recently become addicted to these kind of performances.

D’You Know What I Mean? (Video) – All videos should be like this; dark filters, Gibson Flying V’s, sunglasses and helicopters.

Don’t Go Away (Live) – An absolutely astonishing live performance for American television

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Tags: 1997, alan white, album, august, bonehead, chris evans, guigsy, indie, liam gallagher, noel gallagher, oasis, owen morris, virgin megastore