Customer Reviews

Don't Believe the Truth

5 star:		(87)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(33)

 

 

Don't Believe The Truth is the sixth Oasis studio album-and a very proud success for this group! You get the awesome hit single "Lyla" as well as "Let There Be Love." It appears they saved "Let There Be Love" as almost the best for last since this is one of the most beautiful songs I personally have ever heard! No longer is Oasis stumbling though setbacks and comebacks-I get the strong sense that they have permanently emerged strong and very memorable with this CD being the proof of it. You still get that classic British guitar pop rock flavor running distinctly throughout. Yet with this CD Oasis finally gives us the strong lyrics consistently throughout the album and the musical arrangements are both instantly and all at once both free and secure-a very tough feat to accomplish! Simply put: Oasis is back on top!

The CD starts off running strong and hard with the opening track "Turn Up The Sun." There is a beautiful and thoughtful musical intro to this track-love those lyrics! And how's about that guitar on "Mucky Fingers?" AWESOME! In "Love Like A Bomb" you hear of a man's love for his woman; it's very memorable. "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel" is practically instantly memorable; and "A Bell Will Ring" has great lyrics.

And that song, "Lyla." The guitar and the vocals blend flawlessly on "Lyla" and this is without doubt a great song. "Lyla," as some of you may already know, is destined to be a long lasting hit song. It is well crafted, well arranged, and very well performed here by Oasis. In fact, the total sum of every song on this CD proves Oasis is rejuvenated and very much a strong force on the music scene.

A special note once again on that last track, "Let There Be Love." This song is destined to have a strong impact on the majority of people listening to it and reading this review. I think in some ways the album is worth it just for this one song! The song is remarkably inspirational; it begins with the gripping and oh so sensitive words "Who kicked a whole in the sky so that heaven could cry over me?" As you listen to the song, especially more than once, don't be surprised if you find yourself reaching for the phone to make up with that old friend who stopped talking to long ago; to go back to school to get that degree; or to follow whatever your dreams may be.

All in all, Noel and Liam are producing and singing some awesome, very fine music on this CD of theirs. They are amply aided by their peers. Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr's son, and Terry Kirkbride play drums; Lenny Castro plays percussion. Also look for Gem Archer on guitar with Andy Bell on bass guitar. This CD is an absolute must for Oasis fans who want the joy of knowing the group is very far from any setbacks! British pop fans as well as fans in general of rock and pop will be awestruck by this album. Great job, guys!

As someone who thinks Heathen Chemistry is a great album, I find this less a return to form, as it's generally being hailed, but as a continuation of this return. Always embracing their influences, I can hear plenty of traces of (of course) The Beatles, but also the Stones and an outro reminiscent to Mrs. Robinson in the song Lyla.

This is strong, confident, BIG rock and roll, and the songs are fantastic.

The difference between 4 and 5 stars for me is this: The lyrics are uniformly strong, but don't really take it to the next level. The biggest example is the use of the phrase "Blowin' my mind." Three songs in a row use this phrase: Mucky Fingers ("All the phoneys blowin my mind"), Lyla "I waited for a thousand years for you to come and blow me out my mind"), and Love Like a Bomb ("Blown' my mind, Blowin' my mind, Blowin' my mind"). This isn't a bad lyric in any of the songs, but the non-thematic repetition of this same phrase lessens the scope, for me, of the album as a whole. Perhaps spacing the songs out, or defining the album in such a way as to indicate the link between this repetition would have helped.

Nevertheless, "The Importance of Being Idle" is an absolute stunner, immediately one of the great Oasis songs. In fact, all of Noel's songs shine the brightest. He's writing and especially singing as well as he ever has. Truly, truly, an excellent album, worthy of the high praise it's receiving in all circles.

With Oasis' new effort I was curious whether they would attempt to keep moving forward with their music, or simply reach back to their roots for prior success. Well, they did a little of both, and rather well too.

For example, this album, more then any since "What's The Story (Morning Glory)" seems to return to that love of the Beatles; this is a resounding feeling with Oasis. However, Oasis realized a little while ago with their decline in popularity (and common sense) that they'd never match the fab four, so they've also added their own to the mix, which is of course necessary, but also quite fine.

`Lyla', their first single, strikes the listener clearly with the hooks and overall melodic feel. This is a single, so one must not forget that it is meant to be catchy (and succeeds). However, for songs that might not get as much notice "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel" is probably the best. The song is the epitome of that Oasis-Beatle combination I mentioned, and really a great listen.

So with nice sounds, both instrumental and vocal, I believe that "Don't Believe The Truth" will be another steady and good album for Oasis. Unlike Heathen Chemistry this disc has a lot less just `rock'. However, it also has a lot more classic Oasis, although still not completely progressing (or regressing) to the times of "What's The Story (Morning Glory)" or "Definitely Maybe".

Don't Believe the Truth may be Oasis's best album since What's the Story (Morning Glory)? Following the trend of the last album, the sound is stripped down, more back-to-basics, unlike the bloated, noisy Be Here Now. This time Oasis relies less on production tricks and multi-tracking and more on musicianship. Noel Gallagher is right: the current band members are superior players to the original line-up ("Bonehead," "Guigsy," and McCarroll). Zak Starkey - yep, Ringo's first-born - fills in admirably for Alan White who left and/or was kicked out of the band last year.

It's almost impossible to talk about Oasis without talking about their stealing and borrowing from others, most notably the Beatles and the Stones. This album, unlike others past, does not stand on the "shoulders of giants". It is quite fresh. If it sounds like anybody it sounds like Oasis. That's not to say that Oasis did not dip from others' wells for inspiration. "Mucky Fingers" is almost certainly intentionally lifted from "Come Together's" "monkey finger" bit. "Let There Be Love" is actually a retooling of a great old Oasis song formerly known as "It's a Crime," one of my favorite b-sides. The similarities between "Let There Be Love" and Lennon's "Real Love" and "Love is Real" are undeniable. Whatever the song suffers for being unoriginal it gains for being a duet Liam/Noel duet, each taking turns with alternating verses and choruses. "Lyla," the first single, does sound like "Street Fighting Man," at least in the intro. Beyond the intro, it's its own tune, with its own feel and energy.

Reading the lyrics out of the liner notes they are iffy at best. Poetry they're not. But when sung they are adequate or better. There are some great lyrics in spots. Oasis has finally retreated a bit from their tendency to be lazy when rhyming ("liar/fire") and somewhat cliche (". . . stars . . . faded away. . ."). They did put some version of "blow my mind" in back-to-back-to-back songs on the album. Before their lyrical weaknesses could all be pinned on Noel but not anymore. Noel only wrote about half the songs. Liam and Gem Archer wrote one together and Liam wrote two on his own. Andy Bell wrote two songs. The increasing contributions from the other members of the band, good or bad, has helped, on this and the last several albums, Oasis to expand their sound. It probably accounts for less plagiarism.

Here's a song-by-song review:

"Turn Up the Sun" - Starts slow with a dark, sad feel. It cranks up a bit and then ends like it started. Instrumentally it's a solid song. But it's not a single. I would have opened the album with a better song.

"Mucky Fingers" - A three-chord song that has a glam rock vibe. Noel sings it/shouts it. The harmonica and vocal style, as a friend of mine pointed out, sound like early electric Dylan. "Mucky Fingers" may grow on you.

"Lyla" - A catchy song. It doesn't hurt that it sounds like "Street Fighting Man". It is almost impossible not to like this song. In my opinion, it's one of the best rock and roll songs of the last year, up there with "Vertigo" (U2) and "Holiday" (Green Day).

"Love Like a Bomb" - Liam's best song on the album. Maybe his best ever, though that's not saying a lot. Some credit goes to Gem Archer as co-writer. The opening strumming is not entirely unlike "Hide Your Love Away," though it doesn't sound like a blatant rip-off. It's updated psychedelia.

"The Importance of Being Idle" - The best song on the album, bar none. It's Noel at his best, lyrically and vocally. Nice falsetto in the verses. "Idle" is a stew of "Wouldn't it Be Nice," "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" and "Alabama Song". I would buy this disk for this song alone.

"The Meaning of Soul" - A Liam effort, this is a two-chord mix of 60's rock and 70's punk.

"Guess God Thinks I'm Abel" - Another Liam-penned number. It's a medium tempo, acoustic and stripped down. Like so many Oasis songs, it has a positive message: "No one can break us if they try." It ends with a crash of the symbols and electronic noise.

"Part of the Queue" - "Every beginning is breaking its promise," is its best line. Noel takes the lead vocal. It opens with heavy drums and heavy acoustic strumming and gets warbly and psychedelic in the middle eight.

"Keep the Dream Alive" - This is Andy Bell's second song on the album. Great chorus and good guitar work. It's not clear what dream they're keeping alive. A nice effort. Oasis penchant for anthemic songs (like "All Around the World") carries through to this song with its "na na na's" and proclamations.

"A Bell Will Ring" - "A bell will ring inside your head" is, apparently, a good thing. The guitar work is my kind of stuff, reminiscent of "Paperback Writer," "Rain" and "She Said, She Said."

"Let There Be Love" - Fantastic as ballads go. I like it's Lennon-esque feel. It's also the only Liam/Noel duet I can recall.

All in all, this is a very good album. I hesitate to call it great because it's a bit hard to tell whether it will stand up over a few years. Be Here Now sounded great in 1997 but is hard to listen to in spots these days - Noel actually says it's a horrible record. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants' weaknesses are now more apparent than in March 2000. This album is stripped down enough that it should not suffer for its excesses. Don't Believe the Truth has the potential to be the third best record Oasis has ever made and it is about as good as just about any other rock album to come out in the last two or three years.

Don't Believe The Truth is what Oasis has tried to get back to since Be Here Now. This is their best album since Morning Glory.

At only forty three minutes, you'd think you'd want more to hear however, satisfaction never came in such a small package. Song after song, you'll find yourself singing the lyrics after only hearing one verse.

There's not a weak song on this disc so, you won't be skipping tracks. I can't wait to see what the band will pick as their next single. It's that good.

Bottom line: 11 superb tracks and memorable lryics. This blows Heathen Chemistry out of the water.

Rather than tear apart the latest effort by Oasis, I'd like to begin by pointing out several strong points on this album.

1. Lyla, the first single from this album, is a well-written, catchy song with some great vocals.
2. Let There Be Love is a beautiful song, and quite possibly one of Oasis's strongest ballads. Multiple listens and it gets even better.
3. Importance of Being Idle is a great song, and Noel does a great job on vocals. This tongue-in-cheek song about laziness is quite entertaining and a lot of fun to listen to. This track harkens back to some older Oasis...

Now for the weak points.

1. The first thing that ran through my head after listening through the album once was, "Who the heck is playing drums?" One of the weakest points of the album is the repetative, often dull drum beats. Two songs in particular come to mind: Mucky Fingers and Meaning of Soul. I don't know if they were trying for a "heavier" sound, but it came across as rather... well... "garage" sounding. I had no idea that Ringo's son drummed on this album until I read some of these reviews, but I have to say, I'm not impressed so far.
2. Unfortunately, many of these songs lack good hooks/climaxes. They start, but never go anywhere. The best way I can describe it is thus: when you have this CD playing in the background, nothing is so good that it comes OUT of the background and grabs your attention. This album lacks some of the indescribable "magic" one comes to expect from Oasis.
3. Finally, I have to agree with what many reviewers have said: the mixing on this album was terrible. I have a great stereo system in my car which does a great job of playing well-balanced music... you can hear everything, even over the noise of the road. However, when playing this in my car, it lacked depth and clarity, and came across like a wash of noise.

IN CLOSING: Is this album good? YES. Is it great? NO. However, it's worth a listen for the devoted Oasis fan. There are several songs on this album that take some getting used to, and require several listens before they begin to grow on you. "Don't Believe the Truth" is definately an "acquired" taste, but give it a chance... there ARE shining moments on this record.

i read reviews from other Oasis fans, and i find it hard to believe what some say...i can honestly say that there's something i love about every one of their albums...yes, that includes 'Be Here Now' ("the girl in the dirty shirt", "stand by me", "magic pie", "don't go away"), 'Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants' ("roll it over", "sunday morning call", "go let it out!") and 'Heathen Chemistry' ("the hindu times", "stop crying your heart out", "(probably) all in the mind", "songbird"). Oasis are one of the most underrated bands here in america...it seems as though true rock 'n roll tends to be ignored by most here in the states. it's a shame, really. 'Don't Believe The Truth' is an excellent album. i'm not going to say that it's Oasis back in form...because to me, they're just as great as they've always been. it's obvious that this album was influenced by the '60s...but is that bad? i wouldn't say so. we've known from the beginning that they idolized The Beatles. i think that's why i love Oasis, though...The Beatles are my all-time favorite band, and Oasis are my favorite band from my generation...Oasis are the only band that even comes close to resembling The Beatles. for me, that's a great thing. with songs like "love like a bomb", "the importance of being idle" and "let there be love", you can't help but think it's great. liam & noel gallagher's voices are just as great as they've ever been, as well on this album...the duet "let there be love" is...it's hard to describe. for those who've heard "acquiesce", you'll know what i mean...whether you think "let there be love" is better, is entirely up to you. personally, i have my days when i think it is, then there are days when i don't...but, nonetheless, i love the song! liam's songs "love like a bomb" & "guess god thinks i'm abel" were favorites of mine right away...his songwriting has really become impressive over the years. if you have the opportunity, check out the song "pass me down the wine" which is a b-side on the "the importance of being idle" single. it's one of liam's best songs to date. if you're just starting to listen to Oasis, well, this is a great album to start with...i can't say anything bad about it. if you've been an Oasis fan from the start, you're bound to love it.

"always in it, always on it, always want it..." -liam gallagher

Some reasons
-the rediscovery of acoustic guitar over electric. Some of the best Oasis songs were their b-sides in the mid 90s which relied on this and this new album abounds with it, done well
-the album has an integrity, the songs belong to each other, ie it feels like an album, not a collection of a songs. Heathen Chemistry failed on this count, Don't Believe the Truth succeeds
-new things are tried, both new kinds of instrumentation, new ways of using Noel and Liam's voice, different ways of composing songs that don't easily fit into the formula that Oasis has been cast into. And yet the newness doesn't undercut the reasons so many have gotten into the band
-As others have noted, Oasis has a history of bad lyrics, even in some of there finest songs (supersonic makes me laugh, gag that way) but this album has some great lines, decent lyrics, even a few insights which is a shock to me.

For those who have been waiting for an Oasis album which would not disappoint, would captures something of what makes the group a solid band, this album is worth a buy.

Everyone always says "there's no Live Forever or Wonderwall" on this ablum when talking about any album that came after Definitely Maybe and What's the Story (Morning Glory)? The 'new-ness' of Oasis is gone. No matter how good of a song they cmoe out with, it will never be as big because they've been around for a decade, so just sit back and enjoy the music. Stop praying to god for that next Supersonic.

The album starts off with Turn Up the Sun. Turn Up the Sun starts off with a melancholy guitar melody which leads up to that Oasis swagger that we all know. Liam's delivery on this is as confident and in-your-face as Liam gets. The hook is very catchy as well. If you're not tapping your foot or bobbing your head to this song, check your pulse because you're dead.

The second song is Mucky Finger, which is sung by Noel. It has a driving drum beat, which you'll either love or hate. This little song is fun. Sounds influenced by Bob Dylan. The harmonica solo is smoking!

Lyla is the third track and the first single off of the album. Turn Up the Sun was supposed to be, but Sony wouldnt allow it because Noel didnt write it. Part of the Queue was thought of as a first single, but Noel sings that and Liam didn't want people to think he left the band. Anyways, the first listen to Lyla, you'll probably think to yourself "meh." But let me tell you, it grows on you. It grows A LOT and you'll find yourself repeating the track over and over. The verses are almost hypnotizing. If you're not singing along, check your pulse again. You just might be dead.

Love like a Bomb is the Songbird on this album. Its Liam singing with an acoustic and minimal percussion. Its catchy and sincere. There's a really cool breakdown in the middle of the song that leads back into the regular song again with a nice little piano solo(ish thing) and then back into the chorus. Its a pretty song.

The Importance of Being Idle starts off with some march-like drums. Noel sings and his voice all over the place. Its not exactly a happy song, but if you're feeling a little down, this thing is great to sing along with. It gives the message that even if everything seems to be going wrong, there's always something positive, even if its just the stars at night.

The Meaning of Soul is a fast-pace, two chord song. Its boisterous and full of confidence. The chorus is very catchy. The song is short and sweet. Its a great song for when you just get off of a long day's worth of work and you want to rock out in your car on the way home. The harmonica solo in here almost sounds like a guitar solo; Gem did a great job on that.

Guess God Thinks I'm Abel slowly builds from minimal and soft to very moving and loud (even if its only for a few seconds). Its a nice relaxing, sincere song.

Part of the Queue is another song sung by Noel. Everything about this song is great. His delivery is very very strong. The guitars are catchy and the bass moves around making the harmonies great. Zak's drumming is spot on, which is true for this whole album. This is definitely one of the best on the album.

Keep the Dream Alive a very optimistic song (as you can tell by the title). It builds slowly from beginning to end. The chorus is very anthemic. This is lovely song.

A Bell Will Ring is many people's (including Ringo Starr) favorite song on the CD. It starts of with Gem doing a nice guitar riff, then Liam comes in doing what he does best. It then starts that oh-so familiar Oasis swagger that we're so used and have only heard for the third time on the album (which isn't bad or good, i'm just stating). This song is a feel good rocker. gotta love it!

Let There Be Love is a song that most people love and not know why. It's Gem's favorite on the album, and he has no clue why. Noel didn't even want it on the album. I find it be somewhat a mixture of Idler's Dream and Stop Crying Your Heart Out. Its a lovely ballad (which is why Noel didn't want it on the CD). It starts off with just a piano and guitar, then Liam starts singing very sincerely. Its very pretty. Then it picks up a little bit with strings, drums, and bass and Noel takes over with the song changing a bit. It goes from a maudlin tone to more of a completely optimistic feel, then it breaks back down into what it was in the beginning: just a piano, acoustic guitar, and Liam singing the first verses again. This time the strings et al join in with Liam as he sings the chorus one last time, then breaks down at the end and has a little electric piano solo(ish) thing. I must admit that it may be my song on this album.

Final Thoughts: I love this album, and i'm not saying it because its still rather new. When I got Heathen Chemistry, I said to myself "wow, this has about 5 or 6 great tunes, 3 decent ones and the rest is crap." This album, on the other hand, is what i think to be Oasis' Rubber Soul Album. There aren't any huge songs on here, but thats not to say that there aren't great songs that just wont happen to become huge. I think this is Oasis' most solid album. I loved Definitely Maybe, but there were some songs that I just didn't listen to (although its still my favorite Oasis album). Opposed to what everyone else liked, I didn't care too much for Morning Glory. I thought half of it was good and the other half was okay. Be Here Now was solid. A couple great songs, a lot of okay songs, and a little bit of crap. Standing on the shoulder of Giants was very good, I thought. As I said before, HC was good, but had a lot of filler. Don't Believe the Truth honestly doesnt have a bad song. Just like all cds it does have songs that are better than others, but that's not to say any of them are bad. It may not have your beloved Live Forever, but I promise you that it doesn't have that All Around the World (Reprise).

This is the first Oasis album I have ever purchased. I know that sounds crazy, but during the peak of their U.S. popularity in the 90s, I was more into grunge and paid little attention to "BritPop." I can tell you that from the day I put this in my CD player, it did not come out for three weeks. I actually heard the song "Lyla" on my FIFA soccer game, and that's the reason I got the album. I can definitely hear the Beatles' influence on their sound, specifically the guitar on "Lyla" (reminds me of "Getting Better") and the drums on "A Bell Will Ring" (reminds of "Tomorrow Never Knows"). And since I am new to the Oasis thing, can somebody explain to me what "BritPop" is supposed to mean? This isn't what I would call pop -- this is guitar-driven rock. This is the best album I've bought since the "Garden State" soundtrack more than a year ago. If the Beatles were together today, they'd sound like Oasis. I can't give this album a higher compliment than that.