The Album Review Club - Week #145 - (page 1923) - Tellin' Stories - The Charlatans

The Masterplan – Oasis - 1998

The is an impressive set of songs, considering that it’s a collection of B-sides. In 2000, Crowded House put out Afterglow, a collection of stunning songs that didn’t make their first four albums and whilst the styles are very different, the two albums have one thing in common: the songs are so good that they could – and in some cases should – have replaced the weaker tracks on the albums they were made for.

The first three tracks on The Masterplan are superb; “Acquiesce” is a great rocker, "Underneath The Sky" a good mid-tempo toe-tapper and “Talk Tonight” sounds suitably melancholy with Noel on form on the acoustic. I also like the delicate keyboard backing rounding out the sound on this song. “Rockin' Chair”, “Half The World Away” and “The Masterplan” are all impressive and there’s no doubt that when Oasis play the more thoughtful material, they sound at their best, these songs showcasing Noel Gallagher’s songwriting.

There’s not one song that I didn’t enjoy on this album although some of the louder songs did seem a bit samey towards the end of the album. Their rendition of “I Am The Walrus” went on a bit longer than it should have and Oasis didn’t do their reputation of producing material that sounds the same any favours by ripping off their own “Supersonic” at the start of “Listen Up”.

But these are minor quibbles on what was an enjoyable listen. 8/10.
 
RobMCFC said:
The Masterplan – Oasis - 1998

The is an impressive set of songs, considering that it’s a collection of B-sides. In 2000, Crowded House put out Afterglow, a collection of stunning songs that didn’t make their first four albums and whilst the styles are very different, the two albums have one thing in common: the songs are so good that they could – and in some cases should – have replaced the weaker tracks on the albums they were made for.

The first three tracks on The Masterplan are superb; “Acquiesce” is a great rocker, "Underneath The Sky" a good mid-tempo toe-tapper and “Talk Tonight” sounds suitably melancholy with Noel on form on the acoustic. I also like the delicate keyboard backing rounding out the sound on this song. “Rockin' Chair”, “Half The World Away” and “The Masterplan” are all impressive and there’s no doubt that when Oasis play the more thoughtful material, they sound at their best, these songs showcasing Noel Gallagher’s songwriting.

There’s not one song that I didn’t enjoy on this album although some of the louder songs did seem a bit samey towards the end of the album. Their rendition of “I Am The Walrus” went on a bit longer than it should have and Oasis didn’t do their reputation of producing material that sounds the same any favours by ripping off their own “Supersonic” at the start of “Listen Up”.

But these are minor quibbles on what was an enjoyable listen. 8/10.
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Nice review bud

I think 'Going Nowhere' is a great track aswell

'I am the walrus' cover is good but it seems a bit disjointed to bung it in the middle of this album - i normally skip it.
 
BlueHammer85 said:
Nice review bud

I think 'Going Nowhere' is a great track aswell

'I am the walrus' cover is good but it seems a bit disjointed to bung it in the middle of this album - i normally skip it.
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Yes I agree. If anything, it should have been at the end of the album.

"Running order" and "oddball tracks that maybe shouldn't be there" are two funny things with albums. I mean, if an album has 9 great tracks and 3 poor tracks, for example, you should be able to claim that the album is superb and just ignore those you don't like. But somehow, the more filler or bad tracks, it seems to drag the mood down mentally when you think of an album.

Not saying that applies here because I did enjoy The Masterplan immensely. Just making a general point.

I nearly gave it a 9 on the strength of its best songs, but comparing to albums I own that I've give an 8 or a 9, 8 felt about right. I reckon song-for-song, this is the best album we've had in either thread (my own selection apart of course) and I'm still waiting to award anything higher than 8.
 
RobMCFC said:
Yes I agree. If anything, it should have been at the end of the album.

"Running order" and "oddball tracks that maybe shouldn't be there" are two funny things with albums. I mean, if an album has 9 great tracks and 3 poor tracks, for example, you should be able to claim that the album is superb and just ignore those you don't like. But somehow, the more filler or bad tracks, it seems to drag the mood down mentally when you think of an album.

Not saying that applies here because I did enjoy The Masterplan immensely. Just making a general point.

I nearly gave it a 9 on the strength of its best songs, but comparing to albums I own that I've give an 8 or a 9, 8 felt about right. I reckon song-for-song, this is the best album we've had in either thread (my own selection apart of course) and I'm still waiting to award anything higher than 8.
Click to expand...
Completely agree - albums need to end on a high.

Try and disguise the filler in the middle bit.......... ;-)
 
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