Simone Appolloni's Album Reviews
Heathen Chemistry is, undoubtedly, Oasis' worst album, but mostly for reasons that go beyond its music (and just imagine how much a stellar band they are, if the most problematic feature here is the production). After the extremely cold reception of Standing in the Shoulder of Giants, Oasis were forced to shed away most of their Electronica/Big Beat fixations by most of their fanbase. Noel Gallagher wrote a series of songs more familiar with Oasis' typical style, and everyone was starting to scream "masterpiece" all over. Things could never go more wrong than that: just after its release, the album's initial impact was tentatively sabotaged by outrageous reviews (did someone mention Pitchfork Media?) which, at the time, bashed Oasis as an Oasis cover band. For this reason, Heathen Chemistry will never regain the honor that desperately deserves.
Oasis were always a stellar band, and the excellent "Force of Nature", "Hung in a Bad Place", the nearly depressing "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" and the stone-inducing "(Probably) All in the Mind" prove that, like The Rolling Stones for their hardcore fans, Oasis are incapable of losing focus. Liam and Noel's voices may have lowered and become nearly adult, but the songs they write are still prime material and first-class, at least compared to their bunch of occasional imitators (Coldplay, anyone?). Their Heavy Metal spirit never gets battered.
The main problem with Heathen Chemistry is not the material, but the production. Despite the circumstances, the album never feels like the Rock'n Roll return the media stated it was intended to be for Oasis. No, the band was completely unaware of the fact that, by maintaining Shoegaze feedback, using balladic rhythms and tearing their hearts out trying to make the music as more tridimensional and expansive as possible, they were terribly sounding like a The Verve cover band. The pastoral ballad "Little by Little" is ruined by a completely out of place chorus Richard Ashcroft would have been never proud to sing on it; lead single "The Hindu Times" is a "Be Here Now" rewrite marred by a bad guitar hook taken from a Stereophonics song, while only "She Is Love" is a throwaway Folk number that should have been released as a B-Side. Another problem is this is just a 42 minutes album, and a good portion of its time is spent for a great ghost track still not worth the 29 minutes wait to be heard. Better to buy the Japanese edition, which includes the ghost track after oly 20 seconds after the end of "You've Got the Heart of a Star".
With all its defects, like nearly all of Oasis' music Heathen Chemistry is impossible to throw away. One can criticize the album the way he wants and say the highlights seem miniatures of previous hits, but can't deny Oasis' professional approach.
Highlights:"Force of Nature", Hung in a Bad Place", "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", "(Probably) All in the Mind", "Better Man".
Oasis were always a stellar band, and the excellent "Force of Nature", "Hung in a Bad Place", the nearly depressing "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" and the stone-inducing "(Probably) All in the Mind" prove that, like The Rolling Stones for their hardcore fans, Oasis are incapable of losing focus. Liam and Noel's voices may have lowered and become nearly adult, but the songs they write are still prime material and first-class, at least compared to their bunch of occasional imitators (Coldplay, anyone?). Their Heavy Metal spirit never gets battered.
The main problem with Heathen Chemistry is not the material, but the production. Despite the circumstances, the album never feels like the Rock'n Roll return the media stated it was intended to be for Oasis. No, the band was completely unaware of the fact that, by maintaining Shoegaze feedback, using balladic rhythms and tearing their hearts out trying to make the music as more tridimensional and expansive as possible, they were terribly sounding like a The Verve cover band. The pastoral ballad "Little by Little" is ruined by a completely out of place chorus Richard Ashcroft would have been never proud to sing on it; lead single "The Hindu Times" is a "Be Here Now" rewrite marred by a bad guitar hook taken from a Stereophonics song, while only "She Is Love" is a throwaway Folk number that should have been released as a B-Side. Another problem is this is just a 42 minutes album, and a good portion of its time is spent for a great ghost track still not worth the 29 minutes wait to be heard. Better to buy the Japanese edition, which includes the ghost track after oly 20 seconds after the end of "You've Got the Heart of a Star".
With all its defects, like nearly all of Oasis' music Heathen Chemistry is impossible to throw away. One can criticize the album the way he wants and say the highlights seem miniatures of previous hits, but can't deny Oasis' professional approach.
Highlights:"Force of Nature", Hung in a Bad Place", "Stop Crying Your Heart Out", "(Probably) All in the Mind", "Better Man".
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