Definitely not Oasis' best

Gallagher brothers and new crew's latest album doesn't stack up to old

By MIKE DUTRA
Music Editor

The more things change, the more things stay the same for Oasis. Despite the departure of all of the group's founding members save the Gallagher brothers, Oasis still sounds the same as it did in 1995. Standing On the Shoulder of Giants, the Brit pop band's fourth studio album, is semi-decent, but the formula of ripping off the Beatles has finally gotten old. Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the group's first two albums, were inspired slices of pop nostalgia, but Oasis finally scrapes the bottom of the barrel this time around.

Much has been made of the Gallagher brothers' tumultuous relationship with each other and the press, as well as their hard-living lifestyle that has supposedly mellowed since the pair married and had children. But somewhere along the line the Gallaghers lost their creativity since Standing On the Shoulder of Giants doesn't compare with their earlier recordings. Perhaps they should go back to their old rabble-rousing, hard-drinking ways.

Oasis does change things up a little bit, but it doesn't do much to alter the group' sound. Songwriter Noel Gallagher takes another stab at singing with "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" but his voice is as flat as his brother's is whiny. On the flipside, Liam Gallagher makes his songwriting debut with the gentle rocker "Little James," an inoffensive, mediocre track that doesn't really go anywhere. Oasis also tries out noise rock with the opening track "Fuckin' in the Bushes," but it sounds more like a sonic collage of recycled drum loops and muttering voices than an actual song.

Oasis does show a little bit more diversity in the groups it chooses to ape. Rather than borrowing solely from the Beatles, Oasis steals an old AC/DC riff for "I Can See a Liar." That's pretty much the only shred of originality on the record.

The album isn't all bad as the lead single "Go Let It Out" is reminiscent of "Wonderwall" with its catchy melody and backing mellotron, but it's still a rip-off of "Hey Jude." Lyrically, Standing On doesn't break much new ground since Oasis never had great lyrics, but at least they're passable, if not somewhat nonsensical. One has to wonder if the Gallagher brothers aren't feeling a little bit self-conscious with lyrics like In me he starts to confide / That my family don't seem so familiar / And my enemies all know my name from "Gas Panic!"

Oasis has reached a point where it has become derivative to the point of irrelevance. Standing On the Shoulder of Giants sounds exactly like any other of the group's previous records and is essential only for hardcore fans. Even for them it's hard to justify dropping 15 dollars for this album. Go find the single for "Go Let It Out" instead and buy a secondhand copy of Definitely Maybe with the money you save.

One would think that at this point in their careers, the Gallagher brothers would exhibit some more musical maturation and experimentation. Maybe Oasis would be better off as a straight-up Beatles cover band. At least there would be a steady stream of gigs in the future.

The Reverend Horton Heat has always been a little bit of a throwback to simpler times which is why the rockabilly icon's last studio album, 1998's Space Heater, was so odd as it sounded like the Rev had moved to Seattle and had started wearing flannel. With Spend a Night in the Box, the Rev (born Jim Heath) returns to the no frills fusion of rockabilly and surf guitar that made him famous. The only problem is that it's all been done before, but that doesn't make it any less fun.

Butthole Surfers guitarist Paul Leary produced Spend a Night in the Box, and did a fine job paring down the extraneous guitar noodling that bogged some of the Rev's previous releases. But none of the songs sound new, or for that matter, much different from the material on the Rev's four albums prior to Space Heater. The only exception is the amusingly countrified "The Bedroom Again" in which a man ask his ex-wife what's so wrong with a roll in the hay since they're already divorced. Spend a Night in the Box is a fun album and should be a hit with longtime fans of the Reverend Horton Heat. Just don't expect too much from it.

- Mike Dutra | Music Editor

When listening to Josh Rouse's second album, Home, images of some cheesy Party of Five-esque scene involving two teens just about to kiss for the first time on a starlit beach instantly emerge. At this point, no one is really paying attention to the music, but its presence adds a certain environment that is needed in the scene.

The songs follow the similar verse-chorus-verse structure and Rouse's soothing, yet emotionless voice adds nothing to the album's cuts. The lyrics are prime examples of simplicity, and, while that isn't necessarily a bad thing if used in the right way, it is on Home.

As background music, Josh Rouse succeeds. Home is the perfect album to put on when you want to have some other background noise to distract you other than refrigerator hum. On its own, however, Rouse's Home doesn't have what it takes to keep anyone's attention for more than the length of a kissing scene on Party of Five.

- Ian Young | Diversions Editor

Dutch post-modern duo Gerry Arling and Richard Cameron, better known as Arling and Cameron, have managed to put together a collection of 15 tracks that could be used for almost any film that has been or will be made. Aptly titled Music for Imaginary Films, Arling and Cameron successfully mix campy Ś70s futurist disco, jubilant Ś60s bubble-gum pop and James Bond-esque spy jazz in an effort to create a collection of songs that just might be featured in upcoming films.

While Arling and Cameron's dance-floor beats are nothing new, the duo's sense of humor makes Music for Imaginary Films a pleasure to listen to. As cuts such as "1999 Spaceclub" or "Hashi the drug-sniffing canine"- unfold in all their cinematic glory, images of opening credits and actors dancing around are very vivid.

"Let's Get Together" uses some of the cheesiest effects in techno, but as long as the listener understands that it is all in good fun, it is hard not to bob along to the simple, yet catchy beat. Another example of simplicity at its best is "Zony Sul," a sultry, horn-laden piece that features sweet female humming that accents the jazzy undertones. Arling and Cameron's Music for Imaginary Films is nothing groundbreaking or original, but it serves its purpose as entertaining dance-floor grooves.

- Ian Young | Diversions Editor

Copyright 2000 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 139, No. 40 (Tuesday, March 21, 2000), beginning on page 9 and ending on page 12.