The Album Review Club - Week #191 (page 1286) - Harlequin Dream - Boy & Bear

I’m not an Oasis fan and I would tend to echo @coatigans comments, but as I’m one of the few that have never heard this album in full I’ll give it the requisite numbers of listens.

It does however bring back memories of when my brother and I owned a business and we used to use the annual Christmas party to subject our staff of about sixty to to listen to our wannabe rock star voices, either through karaoke or on one occasion fronting a live band we’d hired.
Anways on this occasion in the late 90s after I’d just taken up guitar playing, we decided to ‘perform’ as the Gallagher brothers.Now at this stage in our lives we’d both become follically challenged so we both doned Oasis wigs and set about playing ‘Wonderwall’ to our poor captive audience.My sister-in-law who was also in attendance with my wife was convinced we hired a rather poor Oasis tribute band!
 
Coatigan said:
My relationship with Oasis fans and fanbase, has been even worse. Irreparable perhaps. To the point, that it has taken significant effort, and being on here exposed to some level headed fans I respect, just to soften enough be able to swallow an immediate sense of disappointment in someone that says they are an Oasis fan. That is one broad brush do wave, I get that. But that has been my experience, and in the same way that people who have found something in them to resonate with, think I can't understand what it means to them, I think it is hard for others to understand what that means to me. If we accept for example footballing tribalism, and I happen to have the same innate prejudice that takes time and alternative exposure to erode at.
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What an interesting admission.
Why, when you feel pretty ambivalent towards the band do you have this adverse reaction to those that like the band?
 
I think that Oasis's original fan base shifted to a more laddish element as they got bigger. The relationship with City and appearing on something like Soccer AM helped that. The band that filled the void when Oasis split was Kasabian. A debut I enjoyed but they started looking for anthems for the stadiums. They picked up a lot of stray Oasis fans
 
Saddleworth2 said:
What an interesting admission.
Why, when you feel pretty ambivalent towards the band do you have this adverse reaction to those that like the band?
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You are maybe coming at this as my passing judgement on their music taste. It is not that, it is broader behaviours and personalities, under the identity of Oasis fans, that I have not had the best experience of. The music in that context was a distant overlap, but one where the association has stuck.
 
mrbelfry said:
Definitely Maybe came out in 1994 which was probably the perfect time for to fall in love hard. Growing up in a house that played Dylan, Cohen, Dire Straits & Lennon I naturally gravitated to 2 Unlimited and Technotronic until a friend at school gave me a tape with some Nirvana songs and my sisters boyfriends brother told me about Cypress Hill. These were fine and as my music taste enlarged I felt like this was music I could admire from a distance. Then Oasis came out of nowhere and I fell hard as this was music that spoke to me directly. Until I saw them live.

What should have been a euphoric moment - my favourite band at my favourite place (Maine Road) instead sparked a slide into disinterest and disdain.

the problem wasn’t the music it was the mythology. It’s like I’d gone from playing GTA to suddenly being a part of the Crips. Not wanting to join a cult I distanced myself from Oasis. I just have no swagger. I owned Morning Glory but quickly stopped listening to either album. My only exposure to Oasis songs then came on match days at the Etihad. Despite myself best effort I’d nod my head whilst telling myself I hated Oasis.

But this is a review not a biography. Rock & Roll Star is the perfect opener to the debut Oasis record. It’s a statement of intent and they have delivered regardless of my opinion. Liam has made the most of a limited voice. What surprised me is how soft and thin he sounds on this album - not the sneering bonobo I’d remembered. I know they were young when this came out but I thought it was at least post puberty. I listened to the remastered version in case it was just a bad mix but it sounded the same there.

Shakermaker was the first Oasis track I’d heard. Listening to the radio with my bedroom light off it was noisy, dense and loud but not in the American style. It was British sounding but without the acoustic guitar prattling away in the background like the Smiths or the Cure. Its loud, chaotic and polite. The rest of the album sounds just as loud and dense but almost homemade and authentic. DM is the album your mates made.

I’ve already written a lot so won’t go into a song by song breakdown but honestly there wasn’t a song I didn’t love and wish had been recorded by someone not Oasis. It’s disappointing - like marrying Heidi Klum only to realise she’d harvested Seal’s organs and kept fingers in the fridge. Digsy’s Diner sounds like a band in-joke and the album should end with Slide Away - I can’t remember if Married With Children was an unlisted bonus track that you often got at the end of albums in those days. It’s fine and caustic and is a palette cleanser to the dense production of the rest of the album.

Much has been written about how simplistic and derivative the album is which I think is actually why it is so good. Oasis don’t excel at anything but they are a great covers band. This is like a greatest hits record of several other bands you probably like if you like Oasis.

To see how well this had aged I checked out another album I loved that came out the same year - Parklife by Blur. If I could have been in any band at that time I’d have picked Blur - they were quirky in all the ways I liked. The wrote about London like the Jam did so it’ll never feel local in the way Oasis does despite not have any overt references to Manchester. The difference between those albums demonstrates why DM is the vastly superior album in retrospect. Oasis would never write a song like Lot 105 but on the plus side Lot 105 would never appear on an Oasis album. DM is not interested in demonstrating how smart Oasis are. It's interested in sharing some great tunes with you.

There is a video of Thom Yorke DJing at Boiler Room in London whilst a group of disinterested people stand around watching him be smart and ironic and clever. Oasis would only play the bangers people danced to. No artifice. No irony. Nothing smart. Your mates playing you songs that they love.

Despite everything in me reminding me I hate Oasis this is an 8.5. it feels good like a cheese and onion crisp and beef paste butty. My mates shared their mix tapes with me with music they were passionate about - Oasis do the same
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Brilliant write up mate.

"But this is a review not a biography."

The biographical revelations we're getting from this pick are the best part! I've now got a fairly bizarre image of @Mancitydoogle in my head (and it also sounds like the union should have got involved to to protect his workforce from cruel and unusual punishments ;-) .
 
threespires said:
Brilliant write up mate.

"But this is a review not a biography."

The biographical revelations we're getting from this pick are the best part! I've now got a fairly bizarre image of @Mancitydoogle in my head (and it also sounds like the union should have got involved to to protect his workforce from cruel and unusual punishments ;-) .
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Ha yeah it's easy to imagine his poor workforce being polite for fear of losing their jobs. I went to a birthday party once that had a live karaoke band. I feel like everyone should experience a dwarf singing Killing In The Name Of at least once in their life
 
mrbelfry said:
Ha yeah it's easy to imagine his poor workforce being polite for fear of losing their jobs. I went to a birthday party once that had a live karaoke band. I feel like everyone should experience a dwarf singing Killing In The Name Of at least once in their life
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Ha I can assure my workforce were far from polite!
Dwarfs now we’re talking, but that’s a whole different story!
 
I’m on my second listen now and tbf, I haven’t had the instant revulsion I had yesterday by the second song.
I do still have much of the same observations particularly regarding Liam’s irritating off key drone and pronunciation and general delivery…….
But……. be positive Eamo.
I will try to be totally objective and will add reaction as I go.

Positive: Noel can write a decent tune and although I wouldn’t regard him as anything exceptional as a guitarist, he’s accomplished enough to deliver decent breaks and intros and outros. Prime example being Live Forever.
 
Maybe it’s over familiarity but similar to yesterday, the most enjoyable song so far has been Up In The Sky.
Noel has a very catchy riff going.
One we’re not over saturated with.
Similarly Columbia isn’t bad.
The two voices make a difference.
 
mancity2012_eamo said:
I’m on my second listen now and tbf, I haven’t had the instant revulsion I had yesterday by the second song.
I do still have much of the same observations particularly regarding Liam’s irritating off key drone and pronunciation and general delivery…….
But……. be positive Eamo.
I will try to be totally objective and will add reaction as I go.

Positive: Noel can write a decent tune and although I wouldn’t regard him as anything exceptional as a guitarist, he’s accomplished enough to deliver decent breaks and intros and outros. Prime example being Live Forever.
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I think that Shakermaker is an objectively bad song. I also think Supersonic is an objectively great song. And so it goes.
 
mancity2012_eamo said:
The Hedge? A guitarist?
I agree about Larry.
Learned how to play the drums properly in The Artane Boys Band.

Seriously though. That R/S list is ridiculous for these very reasons.
I could name half a dozen better Irish guitarists alone, than The Hedge.
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Rory Gallagher for a start.
 
Coatigan said:
My relationship with Oasis' music, has been, at best, apathetic. Mild dislike perhaps with some of it, but generally not that bothered by it. I get what is catchy about it, I get what people can see in it to relate to, and I get why it is popular. I even get what some might have considered 'fresh' (eventhough in itself there is nothing original there) about it. Eventhough, most of the time, that is down to their own lack of breadth and depth. Like anyone that says they were a breath of fresh air in a dire decade, clearly isn't someone that spent any real time listening to music in that time period, but got hooked on an easy hook. But as music, it doesn't move me in any way. It also, as music, in no way annoys me.

My relationship with Oasis - the culture, has been, not good. I have no time for it and find the hype and overrating irritating. As I do the dogmatic need to convert everyone.

My relationship with Oasis fans and fanbase, has been even worse. Irreparable perhaps. To the point, that it has taken significant effort, and being on here exposed to some level headed fans I respect, just to soften enough be able to swallow an immediate sense of disappointment in someone that says they are an Oasis fan. That is one broad brush do wave, I get that. But that has been my experience, and in the same way that people who have found something in them to resonate with, think I can't understand what it means to them, I think it is hard for others to understand what that means to me. If we accept for example footballing tribalism, and I happen to have the same innate prejudice that takes time and alternative exposure to erode at.

It is then impossible for me, to separate those two things from the experience of listening to their music or to attempt to take it at face value. Hence this was always going to be a struggle. Noel's album I could just about convince myself there was Some difference, but with this, it is impossible. I gave it a good shot, managed two whole listens. Won't be doing a third. Don't feel I need to either, it is simplistic enough to get everything out of it, and it is well known anyway, not like it is my first time hearing it.

The music itself is what I thought and expected. Fine. What it has made me appreciate, is that as their debut, their intentions would have been good. Honest guys trying something they felt like. It is not their fault, the phenomenon they would become, and the fanbase they would attract. And they do know how to write a pop song. And pass it off well as rock and roll. Just like the Beatles, which is why the comparisons are there. It has aged well. Partly, because it was always basic enough, and partly because there aren't that many gimmicks in it.
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Blimey a lot to unpack there, if you could just lie on the couch for me and I'll be with you in a minute ;-)

"Like anyone that says they were a breath of fresh air in a dire decade, clearly isn't someone that spent any real time listening to music in that time period"

I think it's reasonable to say that at a commercial radio play level, they helped usher in a bit of a renaissance in British guitar bands. Was it a breath of fresh air musically?, not really in and of itself, but in terms of what was in the average radio listeners consciousness at the time it was different I think. Obviously that spiralled into the media idiocy of Britpop but you can't blame that (entirely) on them.

"My relationship with Oasis fans and fanbase, has been even worse. Irreparable perhaps."

I have occasionally bumped into the odd 50 year old who is bizarrely still treating Liam as some form of role model but by and large I don't think I've had the same experience as you. You mentioned the Radiohead comparison and I've probably had more arguments with RH fans than I ever have with Oasis fans despite considering both of them to be overrated. What I would say is that the limited number of run ins I've had with Oasis fans have been less cerebral affairs but that's ok. I have been accused on more than one occasion of not being a proper manc because of both my very generic somewhat northern accent and my lack of love for Oasis; but at some point along the line I just stopped caring about my identity in that sense.

"It is then impossible for me, to separate those two things from the experience of listening to their music or to attempt to take it at face value."

I'd normally be inclined to say well try a bit harder then, but I do think Oasis are one of those bands for whom where the music ends and all the other stuff starts is that much harder to discern and compartmentalise. In many ways this is to their credit as it does mark them out as cultural phenomenon as much or more so than musicians,

I've had three listens to try and focus solely on the music and it's kind of confirmed where I was all along. If you listen solely to the music as it is committed to tape they are one thing. If you look more broadly then it and they take on another dimension. I think this is to do with how they tap into certain aspects of communality in music, where less is often more.

"What it has made me appreciate, is that as their debut, their intentions would have been good. Honest guys trying something they felt like."

I think the timing of this album straight after The Jam is good fun. I waxed lyrical about the youthful nature of All Mod Cons, well you can't get a much more youthful outlook than DM so how come I feel quite different about the two albums. I think it's in their vision of what it means to be young and their respective intent, I can get why people love Oasis's take on it but that's just not me as a person. I think there's an irony in that Oasis are in theory the antidote to the musical nihilism of the 90's but in many ways they simply replace it with a swaggering vacuity that is adjacent to that nihilism.
 
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Coatigan said:
You are maybe coming at this as my passing judgement on their music taste. It is not that, it is broader behaviours and personalities, under the identity of Oasis fans, that I have not had the best experience of. The music in that context was a distant overlap, but one where the association has stuck.
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No not really. I’m guessing you are talking about the equivalent of Oasis ‘Swifties’ rather than those that like the band as part of their list of go to bands. I was at a HFB concert that was full of Liam clones all trying to outdo bad behaviour. Is that the type who you are referring to?
 
mancity2012_eamo said:
Amen.
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Just had a look at the BM Jan 2023 Top 100 Poll. RG came 16th so clearly BM has more of a clue than Rolling Stone.

It's quite a fun couple of threads, @OB1 explaining that his 'short' list was at 100 and growing! For comparison, the collective BM wisdom was...

1. Page
2. Hendrix
3. Gilmour
4. EVH
5. Marr
6. Clapton
7. Blackmore
8. Moore
9. Richards
10. Hackett
 
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