lambchops's Full Review: Heathen Chemistry by Oasis (Brit Pop)
Things have gotten bad for Oasis in the last couple years. The band peaked some time in the mid 1990’s and since then I’ve watched them implode under their obscene pressure of their own enormous egotism. Two brothers, each believing they are the single best thing since the invention of fire do not a band make. A pompous solo artist? Maybe—if as an individual a person had enough talent to hack it.
Oasis first became irrelevant some time around 1997. Following the release of two stellar albums (1994’s Definitely Maybe and 1995’s What’s The Story Morning Glory), they were poised to do one of two things. Either they would become one of the most wonderful bands ever or they would become a critical joke. For the volatile Gallagher brothers there’s nothing such as middling. In 1997, the five-man band misfired for the first time with Be Here Now. There were certainly some good songs, but the album was largely forgettable. Bassist Paul McGuigan, drummer Alan White, and rhythm guitarist Paul Arthurs joined Liam and Noel Gallagher during both the good and bad times.
Boy have the late 1990’s through today been unkind to Oasis (not that the unkindness was at all unwarranted). First was the mediocre Be Here Now. Then came the awful and uncreative Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (2000). However, it was with the 2002 release of Heathen Chemistry that I officially gave up on the band. Already in shambles following the 2000 departure of two founding members and numerous uneven singles, EPs, and albums this was in so many ways a last chance.
Heathen Chemistry is a terrible album—the worst, in fact, from Oasis to date. There were some mildly entertaining moments on the previous releases but this is a travesty of epic proportions. Before I get ahead of myself, let me first admit something. There are exactly two decent songs. Actually, I have to qualify that statement. There is one song that doesn’t irritate me and one that is actually good. Hindu Times, positioned in the first slot, may be a bit whiny but in the overall scheme of things it is the most creative and interesting of the eleven songs. It’s not even vaguely perfect, but it also doesn’t make me retch. Second song Force of Nature is the only really good song here. I think it is in part because it sounds very much unlike the rest of the album and most of the rest of the band’s other songs. There is a good reason for this. It is actually a solo song from Noel recorded for the 2000 Jude Law film Love, Honour and Obey. It’s grittier and more organic than the rest of the fuzzy, washed-out psychedelic fare on Heathen Chemistry. Unfortunately, when a song from two years earlier is collected on an album it doesn’t bode well for the rest of the material.
The nine songs rounding off the album are not just unremarkable but unpalatable. A cross between psychedelic pop and generic dentist-office schlock I can’t help but think that the band knew what they were creating was crap. Songs Little By Little, Songbird, (Probably) All in the Mind, and She Is Love are the worst of the lot. Whereas on most of the earlier releases, Oasis managed to create a kind of music unique to themselves (and, uh, The Beatles) these songs could have been performed as well or better by any number of artists. They are boring and bland and outstandingly unoriginal.
Stop Crying Your Heart Out however is the absolute worst of the lot. Not only did Oasis rip somebody off, they actually ripped themselves off. I guess they were trying for another hit, but that is no excuse for using almost exactly the same melody as Don’t Go Away (which in turn sounds suspiciously like Don’t Look Back in Anger).
So between the bad songs, the boring songs, the old songs, and the ripped off songs Heathen Chemistry is an all-around awful affair. I didn’t go into the album with high hopes, so I wasn’t exactly disappointed but still…it’s hard not to feel a slight pang of loss when thinking about what could have been had things worked out better for Oasis. As it stands, they are a band with two fantastic albums, two forgettable ones, and a truly awful disc.
My advice? Pretend Heathen Chemistry never happened.
Rating: 1.5/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. Hindu Times, The
02. Force Of Nature
03. Hung In A Bad Place
04. Stop Crying Your Heart Out
05. Songbird
06. Little By Little
07. Quick Peep, A
08. All In The Mind, (Probably)
09. She Is Love
10. Born On A Different Cloud
11. Better Man
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