Throughout the 90s, Oasis' career rode on a dizzying wave that carried it to the greatest of heights and dropped it to the deepest of lows. It conquered the world with its second album, "What's the Story (Morning Glory)?." It slipped with the disappointing "Be Here Now." The brothers Unibrow's - I mean Gallagher's - high-profile marriages made them the toast of new Swinging London; meanwhile, their druggie antics made them the laughingstock of the British press. The band's new album, "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants," is intended to raise it back to its glory days as well as to prove that the Gallaghers are really serious about their craft rather than their chemical indulgences.
The turn of the millennium finds Oasis at a crossroads. The band's lineup has changed dramatically; leaving the Gallaghers as the only founding members left in the band. Oasis also finds itself in a difficult position as transatlantic musical ambassadors; it must satisfy America's hunger for rootsy guitar rock while satiating Britain's mania for fusion and electronic experimentation. "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants," which adapts its title from a Newtonian phrase found on Britain's new two-pound coin, attempts to fuse the traditional and the new with grace. It largely succeeds, especially in the first half of the album.
"Standing" begins laddishly with a tune entitled "F-kin' in the Bushes." It's a fierce, rhythmically-tight instrumental laced with samples from a documentary film about a 70s rock festival. Next up is the first single, "Go Let it Out," which includes a sample from a Jonny Jenkins tune; its crunchy, loping feel is enhanced by acoustic guitars and Liam's scratchy singing.
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After "Gas Panic!," unfortunately, the album degenerates into typical Oasis mid-tempo balladry, hardly comparable to the first half of the album. Still, the lyrics to "Sunday Morning Call" are an affecting evocation of drug-induced excess and the regret it causes. The British press noted that it is one of Noel Gallagher's most personal songs. It derives much of its power from its emotional pull.
Sonically, the bass is much more present and sinuous on Standing than it has been on any previous Oasis album and the guitars are fuzzier and more in your face as well. It all adds up to an expanded sonic palette for Oasis - not a great departure from the form, but exciting for the longtime listener nonetheless.
"Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" is no "What's the Story." But it represents a new direction for Oasis, one that suggests it can adapt to the times. If Oasis isn't already your bag, "Standing" won't make you jump on the bandwagon. But if the brothers Gallagher make you want to forgo tweezing your eyebrows, this record proves that when they are on top of their game, they rock like nobody else in the business.
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