I haven’t liked anything Oasis has done since Be Here Now; the album most trashed by both the band and its critics. I suppose it’s Oasis’ Pinkerton: The great album everyone hates, after which everything sucked.
Every once in awhile, I check back in with Oasis, just to see if I’m missing anything. And that’s why I picked up Dig Out Your Soul. Before hearing a note of any single, I had been made aware of its grade by one of my favorite assholes, Noel Gallagher, who stuck a dirty middle finger up at the Radiohead / Trent Reznor game: “That’s not our bag,” He told BBC 6 Music. “I didn’t spend a year in the most expensive studio in England, with the most expensive producer in America, and the most expensive graphic designer in London to then give it away. Fuck that.”
In hindsight, I should have taken more notice in the fact that he said anything other than the music is worth paying for. But I didn’t, and I can’t fault him now for not lying.
I think that statement sums up the position Oasis has failed to dig itself out of since their 90s glory days: Flippant, spoiled, and British. The first five songs on the disc all sound the same; They follow the same formula, with a big, stupid drumbeat in back, and worn out Brit-Pop vocal melodies lifted by every rock band to come from that side of the ocean since the Beatles, who lifted them from Beach Boys wannabes long forgotten.
The highlight of the disc is tracks six and seven: (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady and Falling Down both follow that tired Oasis formula, maybe even more obviously than any other track on the disc, but it holds together for a catchy eight minutes.
Unfortunately, it’s around track eight that any reasonable human being with a functioning auditory system grows weary of constant sameness. The Nature Of Reality, the second to last track, flashes in the pan for a second, with the biggest and most stupidest of all the booming beats, but the vocals are even more standard and whiny, which leaves the song a bit of a wash.
Maybe I wouldn’t be so hard on this album if their old stuff wasn’t so great. I threw on Be Here Now for some perspective, and the the first three tracks alone have got an energy not even approached by anything on Dig Out Your Soul. I find the album title an ironic suggestion, as I wonder how much digging it would take Oasis to get back to 1997, where they seem to have left theirs.
- 01. Bag It Up
- 02. The Turning
- 03. Waiting For The Rapture
- 04. The Shock Of The Lightning
- 05. I'm Outta Time
- 06. (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady
- 07. Falling Down
- 08. To Be Where There S Life
- 09. Ain't Got Nothin
- 10. The Nature Of Reality
- 11. Soldier On
This gentleman does not understand the whole concept of Oasis moving on. BHN has often been pointed out as one of the biggest mistakes Oasis has ever made and to compare anything the band has done in the past 7 years to this album is a grave injustice to their most recent work.
Skwerl must have given this album a quick listen to while drying his hair. Point being it’s not rocket science people. You turn up the knobs on the amps,
push as much sound as is humanly possible through the mixer board and find some balance for the vocals. This gives you something called Rock music which Oasis have captured in its full glory!
The opening song Bag It Up hits the nail square on the head with a grimmy bass riff followed up with a classic Oasis style vocal that leads into a Helter Skelter run off.
In all honesty the simplicity of Waiting For The Rapture begs it to be played over and over in the style of numerous songs from the 60s!
To Be Where There Is Life is an epic Oasis song who’s music just rolls over you in waves of sound that is a perfect backdrop to Liam’s soaring vocals!
The Nature Of Reality is a swirling concocksion of sound similar to a funeral derge on acid which is totally once again pulled off by Liam’s vocals and just numbs your senses.
In closing it has often been said if one does not understand something they should never attempt to explain it which may have occured here with Skwerl’s review of Dig Out Your Soul.
wow, what a fucking piece of shit review, you either have no good taste in music or you’re just a moron, one of the two…
seriously, are you getting paid for this awful work you’re doing? hope not because, really you’re awful at what you do, whatever it is that you’re actually”trying” to do. lol
go listen to the “ting tings” or miley cyrus, Pink, slipknot(lmfao) or whatever crap you think is “good”
oh, and end yourself please!
since when does L.G. stand for Joe Rose?
hey, i’m not a gentleman.
Sadly, I agree.
“Standing…” and “Heathen Chemistry” weren’t mind-blowing, but each still had a few tracks that showed just how great Noel’s pop songwriting was: “Go Let It Out,” “Roll It Over,” and “Stop Crying You Heart Out” could’ve stood up next to most of their work from the early days. But “Don’t Believe The Truth” just lost me. It wasn’t awful, but there wasn’t any standout track that reminded you of how great Oasis could be.
The new album is even worse…i’ve listened to it 4 times and other than the decent single (“Shock Of The Lightning”) I couldn’t tell you how any of the other songs go. Oasis isn’t a band that writers “growers.” They write songs designed to hit you over the head with sheer sonic force and undeniable hooks, and unfortunatley Dig Out Your Soul provides neither.
It hurts saying this about one of my favorite bands, but I can’t sugar-coat things.
And FTR, “Be Here Now” is my favorite album.
wow… didn’t know value village has album reviews.
well,it’s about time you find yourself a girlfriend…..FU.CK YOU!!!
“Kevin “Skwerl” Cogill was taught his first computer programming language by his Mother’s marijuana dealer at age ten.”
ha says it all doesnt it. get some musical taste dude. ur one of the worst reviewers ever.
This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He slags Oasis off for sounding the ’same’ and then slags them off for not sounding like they did in the 90s so he’s just contradicting himself. Also, he says that Get Off Your High Horse Lady is a highlight – it’s the worst song on the album! If you don’t like I’m Outta Time there’s gotta be something wrong with your ears! If Radiohead or Coldplay had written that song I bet you would be giving it a 10/10 but because it’s Oasis you jump on the ‘Oasis are sh*t’ bandwagon like all critics. If they’re so sh*t, why are they still here after 14 years, selling out stadiums in minutes, selling millions of albums and having millions of adoring fans all over the world?
Totally agree with derfi tbh he completely contradicts himself and his other points are good too, bias review complete imbecile.
it is indeed a terrible album. their worst album to date. to be honest, i wasn’t expecting much from a band who should’ve broke up 10 years ago.
fucking SHITE album.
LOL hahaha funny how this guy wrote this review… I mean I had read about 10 reviews of this album and in more than 7 I read the word “MASTERPIECE” … I hate how the press just hate one band and just negate to give an objetive review…
Skwerl is a dick, plain and simple. How’s that for a review.
How are you meant to review an Oasis album?
Surely it’s pointless to compare their 00s albums with the first two because they will never attain those heights again.
The sad thing is Oasis are still churning out the same sound but with inferior songs and a vocalist whose style has worn out its welcome.
Perhaps they should try the approach of their heroes and try to come up with their Sgt Pepper.Surely spending a year in “the most expensive studio in England” warrants something better than a rehash of the same tired old formula?
Oasis have simply become a tribute act to themselves.
I was trawling through this phenomenon the world wide web to see what other people thought of the new oasis album compared to my own. I don’t know why i did in honesty because when you come across such a blinkered, narrow minded fu*kwit like this ‘Skwerl’ chump, you have to hope and pray in the reality of natural selection.
This guy needs to get laid, and in a rough manner, by some fantasticly looking chick to realise life isn’t that bad and being that miserably dour is a waste of your time. The fact you have such little intelligence and concept of the thing you’re writing about is tragically funny.
Looking at your thumbnail picture it seems you are, without a doubt, a chump of the highest calibre. Get a bottle of fizzy alco-pop and watch the sunset go down whilst crying into the arms of the dopiest woman you can only get to analyse every lyric to your favourite Maroon 5 song.
What a d1ck. I’m even more annoyed your fu*kstick self has made me post something on the internet. Something I vowed never to do.
luckily for you, you can never make me write ‘lol’ – that would be your first and last mistake, for which there would be blood on the dancefloor of your african-art inspired studio apartment. Which you probably owe rent on.
you hobo.
Hi, I’m the stupid reviewer of the week. Everyone thinks BHN sucks so I will say it sucks. I liked Oasis when everyone liked them, but I’m too stupid to stand on my ground and say I like their music now, by fear of being laughed at by the stupids people who are my friends. Hell, I know that “My Big Mouth” is as good as “Rock’n'roll Star” but I won’t say it because all that matters is what the collective think. I’m so moronic, I mistake punk rock with britpop. More like shitpop coming out of my typewriter. I’m off to the disco to dance to the latest fad, who gives a toss about rock anyway ?
Forget giving ‘a toss’ about rock – who the fuck uses typewriters anymore?
It seems the reviewer has sacrificed his musical taste in a vain search for ‘pretty wording’ – They should ‘keep digging’, great work. Sigh.
Too easy. Great album. Best since Def Maybe
Seems the BHN lovers all despise DOYS, but I’m not surprised because the two albums appear to be opposites. Whereas BHN is unrestrained, full-throttle rock ‘n’ roll, with loud guitars, layers of hooks, and huge melodies, DOYS is scaled back, with moderate tempos, layers of ambiance, and subtle melodies (some of them are deadly!). One’s production is excessive, the other’s is meticulous. One is instant and catchy, the other grows on you.
You either like DOYS or you don’t, everyone’s entitled to an opinion, but I’ve grown unbelievably tired of the endless comparisons to the past with EVERY album. F*ck! Move on. And, if you have moved on, and you’re content with BHN and nothing since, then skip the opportunity to review DOYS instead of using it to trash the band for something you don’t like. I f*cking hate mustard, but I wouldn’t say it’s shit because I don’t like it, I just choose not to eat it.
The first five songs all sound the same to you because you’re not listening to them, you’re just waiting (and wanting) to hear something Noel wrote 12 years ago.
Well Said my Friend , WELL SAID
to be honest….
this album sounds more diverse or dynamic than any previous oasis album.
the three opening tracks on be here now arent quite as energetic (more bombastic) as this record. common, magic pie, energetic???????
you’d probably slag off oasis anyway…….even if they would recreate the old days…(like they did on Heathen Chemistry). This is the new oasis, and its great.
dbtt was a great record, and so is doys…both better than standing and HC.
and what some of you say: oasis is about big hooks etc………since when do you decide what oasis is about?
I agree that oasis are known for their instant sound….but this album is more about the growers…..FINALLY, there’s an album that you have to listen several times before you get ‘hooked’ by it.
listen to soldier on a couple times on different occassions and you will know what i mean.
Im Outta Time
The Turning
Falling Down
are already claasics in my book.
Shyt review son
Horrible review. Don’t quit your day job, son.
This guy seriously has not got a clue.
Also why is it every time a Oasis album out comes out, nob head critics start waffleing on about is it going to be as good as definitely maybe or morning glory. I am sure that some people just want to hear the same albums over and over again… This album sounds fuk all like Definitely May be or Morning glory, so I don’t quite understand where this guy is coming from saying they sound the same.. THEY DON’T.
The only critical thing I can say about the album is, as a rock N roll fan I think they need to drop the Lennon tribute songs, I am a big Lennon fan and was happy that they did Born on A different Cloud, which was a great song… But it should of stopped there and then in my opinion. I’m outta of time is a nice song, well written and all that but personally I just think they should drop that whole Lennon thing.
So the album is great, I wouldn’t take to much into what this nob head is saying cos he contradicts himself about 12 times to make his opinion sound stronger, but he doesn’t realize he sounds like a nob. LOL
WANK REVIEW.
Complete and utter shit for a review. I’m not an Oasis fan but my roomate has been playing the album non-stop for hours and I think it’s superb.
I’ll be buying the album just the sheer genius of it , it will go down in history.
great review m8 :)
I can’t believe you really listened to the album.
I’m outta time is surely one of the greatest song oasis ever made!
Mr. Kevin “Skwerl” Cogill, you and your review can be summed up simply as
RUUUUBBBISSSHH !!
Hmm. This review sounds like a case of the fashionable ‘Oasis are crap’ bandwagon…
Probably part of the ’suck up to Radiohead’ gang, cos ‘they’re intelligent’.
You know what son, I can’t help it if Oasis are bigger than Radiohead, but maybe it’s because everyone thinks they’re better and Radiohead are suicidal whiny morons.
“[...]with the biggest and most stupidest of all the booming beats[...]”
I like the way you write. I read the Phil Anselmo Regiment article yesterday and had to blog about it. Getting back on topic, I’m not an Oasis expert, nor do I even really like them or notice them, although myspace seems to think their new album is worthy of a completely obtrusive ‘update’ box today (which really is aimed at getting people to check out their new music “service”), so I can’t really agree or disagree with what you’re saying, like so many others want to do.
Still, I find it depressing when a great band has to resort to churning out entire albums of what I call “filler music,” and can’t seem to keep their creative momentum going, barely scraping out a hit or two at a time and not really giving much to the fans who truly enjoyed their music so many years before.
Agree with the reviewer to be honest. Listened to it today and it’s the worst album by oasis I’ve heard – even worse than Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.
Don’t get me wrong, Oasis were my favourite band for many years and I thought they’d pulled it back a bit with Don’t Believe the Truth but all that work has gone tits up with this wanky effort.
After hearing a horrendous review off my mate, I took a listen and the 1st track made me think, no way this album is class, but then track 2 kicked in and track 3 and the rest, bland, Stone Roses wannabe shit that all sounds the same.
You gimps would stick up for Oasis if they’d released the Birdie Song on this album. Time to look objectively. track 1 and the single are the best songs on the album and the rest is all filler.
Shut your Vagina Hole, OASIS Rulz
Either u like the album or u dont , no need to bash on it
“the rest is all filler,” huh?
I see my new term is catching on.
I’ll be working for a magazine in no time.
Skwerls breath smells of wee boys wullies……………..
it takes class, taste, intelligence and maturity to fathom oasis, all of which you obviously dont have.
go back listening to them rubbish “artists” like greenday or jay z (whose songs are absolutely appalling and senseless).
move on man..this isn’t for you. they’re classic, something which you’ll NEVER understand.
hey hey how can u Compare the GREAT Green Day with a stupid raper like Jay Z
I LOVE Both Bands Green Day and Oasis LIVE FOREVER
wat a shit review did u actually listen to it. how the hell is this album the same as everything else they’ve done. it sounds great and ive listened to it about 50 times in the past week and is fast becoming my favourite album of all time. and i do have a wide variety of tastes when it comes to rock music so dont just think im just a baised oasis fan. trust an american to slag them off. go listen to fucking pearl jam or some red hot shitey peppers. the only decent band to come out of america in recent times is the kings of leon and youse clueless cunts dont even like them! maybe im being a bit harsh im sure some of youse have some good musical taste. but this guy obviously doesnt. name a more important band than oasis from the past twenty years! name a better front man than liam ever! dont think you’ll find anyone.
Pearl Jam , RHCP , Oasis THey ALL Rock
Got the album and its just superb-relentless heavy pounding!
All killer-no filler and just gets better with every listen.Im sure this album will win a good few awards.
Possibly the best rock album in years and as good as any Oasis have done
Be Here Now was great…
everything since a couple tracks on What’s The Story? sucked balls.
What is not to love about OASIS, I DONT GET T
i think this is my favorite comments section ever.
only decent songs are shock of the lightning and falling down, rest are bullshit
So I’ve just come across this article, all five years or whatever after the album’s actually been released, and wanted to say how much I loved this review. Brilliant and true and ouch, all in one.
Hmmm…I hope I never become someone’s “favourite asshole”…
Ur my Favourite already
[...] most recent stage-crash, yet exponentially more entertaining, and basically badass. Oasis hasn’t released a good album since 1997, but since their implosion, we have been mourning the diminished [...]
‘it takes class, taste, intelligence and maturity to fathom oasis’.
It’s a comment like this that will make me post on a 2 year old article about a band I don’t even like. What a load of shit. To ‘fathom’ Oasis? What the hell does that even mean? Maybe if you were talking about Tool, or SOAD, or even old Genesis or something…but Oasis?
Oasis are classless, tasteless, unintelligent, and immature. They are stupid up-their-own-ass yobbo cock-rock that is as obnoxious as it is unsubtle. It’s music for non-thinkers. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing in itself – that description could just as easily apply to ACDC – but to call Oasis things like ‘classy’ or ‘mature’ is just insane.
As for this album, I wouldn’t know, but considering as I only ever liked one Oasis song (Columbia – which still sounded like My Bloody Valentine trying to ‘rock’), I think I’ll give it a miss.
[...] years ago, we found ourselves pretty disappointed in Dig Out Your Soul, the most recent Oasis studio album, and one that the fans by and large seem [...]