Customer Reviews

Heathen Chemistry

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a great album. Let's not make this out for more than what it is. From beginning to end, with the exception of maybe track.... none! Listen and live it cause it's probably all in my mind.

The late 1990's-2000's were not a kind period for Oasis. After the bloated, if critically underrated, BE HERE NOW derailed their careers in the US, Oasis went on a hiatus to prepare a new record for the millennium. But during the production of the record, not only did the band lose two of their key founding members (Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan) but the remaining members had to re-record the parts Arthurs and McGuigan recorded to avoid legal problems. STANDING ON THE SHOULDER OF THE GIANTS, which was the album, was a murky and tedious modern psychedelic record that lacked the optimism and sense of the fun of Oasis' first two brilliant albums. The mellotrons, drum loops, keyboards, electronic devices and sitars, all these unique experiments, could not disguise the fact that the band was going through the motions. Eventually, they would find new members in Gem Archer and Andy Bell but at this time, it felt Oasis had lost their sense of direction.

HEATHEN CHEMISTRY, the album after SHOULDER, was a tighter, more consistent and less cluttering record. But tightness does not make it better and CHEMISTRY is no more enjoyable and inspired than SHOULDER. Hyped as a return to the basics, CHEMISTRY still lacked the sense of fun of before and the album comes across being as a rehash of their previous albums. In other words, Oasis doing a pale imitation of Oasis. It's not a bad album; it's just tiring and uninspired. You get the idea that Oasis were running out of ideas or ideas on who to rip off from.

For many years, Oasis have shamelessly (and delightfully) borrowed from other rock bands' music. Here, they seem to be borrowing their own to mixed results. "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" is a soggy sequel to "Don't Look Back at Anger"; "Force of Nature" is "Flashbax" without any ounce of energy left; "She is Love" and "Songbird" are pleasant but inconsequential retreads of "Half the World Away" and "Wonderwall"; and "Better Man", the album's closer, feels like a processed "Rock N Roll Star". Only "The Hindu Times", with its sweet, psychedelic haze and the U2-like "(Probably) All in My Mind" are redeeming values in an otherwise dull, pedestrian package.

Although the album was a huge hit in the UK and spawned four Top ten singles there, HEATHEN CHEMISTRY was merely a transitional record and the group has since rightfully buried the album (although "Songbird" and "Little by Little" still remain concert staples and four of the songs have appeared on TIME FLIES). It was not until DON'T BELIEVE THE TRUTH that they and their music seemed rejuvenated. If you want a better example of the late renaissance of Oasis, pick that album up instead. In fact, listen to that CD and HEATHEN CHEMISTRY and it will be like listening to two different bands: one that seems to not know what to do next and the other being focused, energized and determined to play rock n' roll because they love to.

See you next time for my next review.