Oasis - Be Here Now.... 13 years on

dembaba

I just stuck Dyou Know What I mean on my ipod there a few minutes ago and then I happen to come upon this thread ha. I think its a good album. 4/5 for me, just a pity its too long. I don't think I ever managed to listen to "Stand By Me" and "All Around The World" from beginning to end

Hannibal

dembaba wrote: »

I just stuck Dyou Know What I mean on my ipod there a few minutes ago and then I happen to come upon this thread ha. I think its a good album. 4/5 for me, just a pity its too long. I don't think I ever managed to listen to "Stand By Me" and "All Around The World" from beginning to end

both DYou Know What I Mean and All Around The World have a great tune in there behind all the overdubs, AATW in particular has three keys changes which is a bit much

eviltimeban

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but the remastered version of Be Here Now is out today, along with a second disc of demos and b-sides. Any fans planning to get it?

I'd heard about the "Mustique demos" for a while but always figured they were acoustic / vocals only. Not so. The songs were pretty much fully formed as arrangements, with guitars / bass / drums / vocals all in place (all done by Noel). They naturally sound a bit more timid than the finished work. I've always loved Be Here Now for it's sheer volume and confidence, so I didn't think much of the remix of "D'you Know What I Mean?", I felt it was missing something.

If, and it's a big if, that album were to have lessened down the volume and perhaps altered a few tracks, it would've had a better reputation. Let's just imagine this...

1. D'you Know What I Mean?
2. My Big Mouth
3. Stand By Me
4. Be Here Now
5. Don't Go Away
6. Fade In/Out
7. Going Nowhere
8. Stay Young
9. It's Getting Better Man
10. All Around The World

That's a pretty tight album. Leaving Girl In The Dirty Shirt, Magic Pie, and I Hope I Think I Know as decent b-sides. The addition of Going Nowhere would've evened out the cocaine / triumphalism / over-indulgence, and Stay Young would've made it more poppy. Personally I like the production but maybe a reduction of guitars overall and a bit more clarity on the drums would've made it an easier listen.

Still. The original sold 8 million copies which isn't half bad. It was never going to "do" the numbers Morning Glory did, and it set them up for a few more years. It's certainly got better songs than the next couple of Oasis albums.

thesultan

Its getting better man weakish. I thought and still think its a fine album, some songs a bit long. Fade in/out what a vocal.

AnneFrank

i think Liam was at his best vocally on this album, the girl in the dirty shirt is a great song,

blastman

Replacing some of the tracks with songs that ended up as single b-sides would have made a much better album, as would using far less cocaine in the recording process! Still, it was a good year, and a brash, loud, unashamedly rock album like this was a pretty decent soundtrack to it. I've bought the two previous box sets, so I'll probably get this one too, although I might not buy it today or tomorrow.

eviltimeban

blastman wrote: »

Replacing some of the tracks with songs that ended up as single b-sides would have made a much better album, as would using far less cocaine in the recording process! Still, it was a good year, and a brash, loud, unashamedly rock album like this was a pretty decent soundtrack to it. I've bought the two previous box sets, so I'll probably get this one too, although I might not buy it today or tomorrow.

It WAS a good year. It was a good time to be into British rock, but it did reach it's apex in 1997. Good albums from the Charlatans, the Verve, Prodigy, Radiohead (though personally not a fan of OK Computer - it'd take Kid A to convert me), Chemical Brothers, Spiritualized, Blur, Teenage Fanclub, and other stuff like U2's Pop, Daft Punk's debut, and I was a fan of some of the hip hop stuff like Notorious BIG, Mase, and also Erykah Badu and Bjork.

In that landscape Be Here Now were never going to dominate, the same way that Definitely Maybe had. Everyone had caught up with Oasis at that point, and even bands like Mansun and the Bluetones were having number one albums.

Plus it didn't help that Princess Di was killed a week after Be Here Now came out, making the knees up party of Britpop seem a little insensitive. Still, I'd take that any time over what came next (Travis, Coldplay, Embrace etc).

mzungu

eviltimeban wrote: »

I have been on a nostalgia buzz of late, so when I read that BHN was being re-released, I checked some of it out on YouTube.
I'd heard about the "Mustique demos" for a while but always figured they were acoustic / vocals only. Not so. The songs were pretty much fully formed as arrangements, with guitars / bass / drums / vocals all in place (all done by Noel). They naturally sound a bit more timid than the finished work.

I have been listening to a few tracks on YouTube. One that stands out is 'Don't go Away", it sounds far better than the version that made the album. In fact, the versions of "D'you Know What I Mean" and "My Big Mouth" are not too shabby either. I would go as far as to say, it is a lot better than the original, in that you can hear the different instruments.

I've always loved Be Here Now for it's sheer volume and confidence, so I didn't think much of the remix of "D'you Know What I Mean?", I felt it was missing something.

I found it an interesting listen. Being so used to the BHN version (and the wall of noise) it does feel a bit weird the first few times. It certainly sounds a lot better (from a musical perspective) than the original. Then again, the original was all about the bombast. It may very well be the last time a number 1 song in the charts has an intro of helicopters, planes and morse code!

If, and it's a big if, that album were to have lessened down the volume and perhaps altered a few tracks, it would've had a better reputation. Let's just imagine this...

1. D'you Know What I Mean?
2. My Big Mouth
3. Stand By Me
4. Be Here Now
5. Don't Go Away
6. Fade In/Out
7. Going Nowhere
8. Stay Young
9. It's Getting Better Man
10. All Around The World

That's a pretty tight album. Leaving Girl In The Dirty Shirt, Magic Pie, and I Hope I Think I Know as decent b-sides. The addition of Going Nowhere would've evened out the cocaine / triumphalism / over-indulgence, and Stay Young would've made it more poppy. Personally I like the production but maybe a reduction of guitars overall and a bit more clarity on the drums would've made it an easier listen.

I agree with the choices above, except "Stand By Me". Never liked it.

I think given the state of the band at the time, the album was always going to be a bit of a mess. The songs were there, but a clear head and a functioning pair of ear drums in the recording studio were not! In spite of this, it was not a bad album at all. Always worth throwing on the odd time for nostalgia.

mzungu

A recent interview with Noel about Be Here Now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jp3ITb8uIfc

eviltimeban

All the demos here in one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg2O3V1IzMI

Some of these are great. I wonder how the album would be viewed now if it had sounded more like these?

mzungu

eviltimeban wrote: »

All the demos here in one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg2O3V1IzMI

Some of these are great. I wonder how the album would be viewed now if it had sounded more like these?

I think it proves beyond a doubt, that overproduction killed it. The extra time spent in the studio amounted to diminished returns in the end. If they had released those demos as the album, it would have been an improvement. The most striking thing is that most of the instruments are audible on a lot of the tracks. The big idea of throwing endless overdubs onto the original tracks was insane.

eviltimeban

Vinyl just went to number 1 in the UK, with the CD at number 4. Not bad!