STANDING ON THE SHOULDER

Great album!

Released in February of 2000 after a bit of a hiatus and with Paul Arthurs and Paul McGuigan both gone, "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants" finds Noel Gallagher determined to re-invent Oasis. Quite frankly, he didn't really succeed (as Noel would be the first to admit), but that doesn't mean this album is a failure. There are some mild techno/ electronica flavorings to be found, plus some gospel-like backing vocals on a few tracks, but realistically, for the most part "...Giants" wholeheartedly embraces the trademark Oasis sound. Furthermore, you can hear a lot of traces of previous Oasis songs on here--notice the choruses on "Who Feels Love?", the chord progression is a carbon copy of the chorus from "Hey Now!"; "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" is strikingly similar to "(I Got) The Fever"; and the riff-rocker "I Can See A Liar" seems to incorporate snippets/ pieces from at least a handful of previous Oasis songs. All that said, this is still a great album. Liam Gallagher gets his first songwriting credit on an Oasis release with the amusing yet heart-tuggingly earnest and charming 3-chord power ballad "Little James". Apart from that, Noel's once again running the show, often filling in on bass as well, and he's got lots to offer. "Go Let It Out" is a great rousing anthem. The haunting and explosive "Gas Panic!" is intense and cathartic. The album-closer "Roll It Over" has arrestingly dreamy verses, forceful Liam vocals, & a flawlessly-executed "Come Together"-ish guitar solo. The moody "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" sounds a tad forced with Noel's cameo vocal appearance toward the end, but otherwise it's a great surging rocker, as is the raging "I Can See A Liar". Noel sings lead on two songs--"Where Did It All Go Wrong?" isn't a bad song, although it does sound startlingly generic for Oasis; "Sunday Morning Call" is a little rote and melodramatic, but it's still strong, and again, has an arresting dream-like atmosphere. The Eastern-flavored "Who Feels Love?" is marred by an annoying loop, but overall it's pretty great and has excellent vocal harmonies. I think some listeners were expecting this album to sound more different and uncharacteristic of Oasis than it does. It's worth mentioning that 2 of the b-sides from the "...Giants" era--"Let's All Make Believe" and "One Way Road"--sound more like an extention into exciting new territory for Oasis than most of the tracks on the actual album; perhaps Noel simply felt these two tracks didn't fit in on here, hence their b-side status. One wonders this even more since "Let's All Make Believe" was on a bonus disc that was included in supposedly "limited edition" pressings of the album. I do feel that "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants" is weaker than each of Oasis' preceeding albums, but like I said, this is still a great album, and it certainly doesn't deserve the mind-boggling negativity that it has received by many fans. (P.S. Don't let the fact that "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants" was released in this "clean version" give you the wrong idea--the only swearing on the album is provided by samples from the movie "Message To Love--The Isle Of Wight Festival" on the otherwise instrumental opening track "F***in' In The Bushes".)

I'm posting my review on the "clean version" section since there doesn't seem to be enough here.. (click on the explicit one for loads of reviews) This album is incredible; I loved it right away. Go outside and get yourself a copy, IMMEDIATELY. If Be Here Now rubbed you the wrong way (I disagree with the critics, Be Here Now was rockin) SOTSOG won't. Its got the rocking pit stuff (I Can See a Liar, Pur Yer Money Where Your Mouth Is) the anthemic sing-alongs (Go Let it Out, Roll it Over) and the heartfelt Noelesque songs, which are the true jewels of the album (Who feels love?, Gas Panic!, WDIAGW?, and Sunday Morning Call). Noel's lyrics on this album also surpass any of the ones before- listen carefully to the Gas Panic lyrics; they're pure genius. The songs will take you on an incredible journey through Noel's mind- it seems as if he's exploring many personal issues he's had to deal with after becoming so huge- (an increasing paranoia along with an anxiety of growing older) that is obvious in his songs. It makes the album that much more appealing and endearing to any listener who has any knowledge of what Oasis is all about. However, I do miss the long intros/musical interludes and some of the `earthiness' that was present in WTS(MG)? and Be Here Now. An incredible song like Gas Panic deserves more `air time' to set its mood. I wonder if it's because the pop-inclined Mark Stent polished up and chopped off too much of the ruggedness of the album. Nonetheless, this album is enormously addictive and absolutely fantastic! (And, if you can see them, Oasis are even better live. They play a super tight set and Liam's voice is flawless!)

In all seriousness, with few exceptions, bands who’ve managed to put out a string of four or more albums without collapsing under the sheer weight of stardom, internal rivalries, and touring pressures are few and far between. Of course there are those who want us to remember that their previous release Be Here Now was bloated and almost filled an entire CD, clocking in at 71 minutes. Yet these same people forget the magic of many of those tracks, seeming to waste a band who rose too quickly in the midst of the fledgling internet, and lack of any privacy. So yes, perhaps the band, the fans, and the record industry should have let things fall apart with Be Here Now, … though the truth was, too many people were making too much money, and they all wanted one more bite from the magic apple, before they let things pass away. And that leaves us with Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants. With all of that being said and done, the album, even with a half finished feel is layered with raw emotion and pinpoint observations. Even if one concedes that most of these songs are merely fleshed out riffs, the songs are sung and presented far beyond their modest station, and filled with enchanting considered lyrics, worth contemplation and consideration. So take “Go Let It Out,” “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” or “Little James,” all tracks that return the band to a space of sure footedness, and are marvelously done. Which means that right there, that’s half of an album that can not be trifled with or easily dismissed. The album is truly a post modern psychedelic outing, one filled with heavy psychedelic rock influence [Hendrix style riffs] both musically and lyrically, experimental electronica, backwards guitars, synthesizers, a mellotron, electric sitar, and Indian influences … so I assure you, this is not an album that was created as a downward spiral swan song, Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants was a major undertaking for a group on the edge of the abyss. In reality, perhaps Standing On The Shoulders Of Giants wasn’t the masterpiece that the band needed to put them on par with other bands who were now passing them by, but in the same light it was not the failure that so many would have you believe. The outing was a sincere effort to take the next step, filled with confidence and pop smarts. Yet even if Oasis had created the best and finest album of their career, it would not have been enough to hold a band together with a center [or centers] that would not support them. At the time, it seemed that their fate was sealed, it was either close down shop or implode like a super nova, leaving Oasis to walk deeper into the shadows with their final three albums. *** The fun facts: The album's artwork features the photo of the Manhattan skyline taken from the rooftop of 500 5th Avenue (5th Ave/W 42nd St). Some famous buildings can be seen here, for example the Empire State Building is seen in front and the former World Trade Center is seen in the back. To create the cover photo, the photographer captured the same frame every half an hour in 18 hours during the whole day's course; the photos were digitally composited into the final picture. All of the singles released from this album contained artwork that was based on the album artwork; the shot used for "Go Let It Out" can be seen above one of the buildings at the front, which depicts five men playing football. This shot was taken from the roof of a football stadium, and the footballers from the car park were edited onto the rooftop on the final cover. The album’s title was a quote from the famous Sir Issac Newton, “I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” Review by Jenell Kesler

Buon Prodotto! Perfettamente in linea con le aspettative.

Better than the critics may have rated it at the time of its release. All the earmarks hit - providing that Britpop sound that defined the band.

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Excelente el disco sin daños. La caja en perfecto estado. Y la música sigue siendo oro. Oasis no es un gusto musical, es un estilo de vida