Well, well. Exactly five years since the first real entry, I’m back where it all began – reviewing Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. The black sheep of Oasis albums, the one that is as marmite as they come, and the one that I actually have tried to re-review twice since the initial entry.
I actually wanted to put something like this out last year but I never really bothered to finish it. Before that, I wanted to try and look at the b-sides but didn’t get very far with that either. I am nothing if not a stop-starter. So why am I bothering to do it again? Well, you see, in the intervening years I did some soul searching and came to the conclusion that SOTSOG is my favourite Oasis album. I want to see if that is still the case, as lately Dig Out Your Soul has been calling my name aswell, what with it presenting a more refined and mature look at the psychedelic approach that Oasis initially pursued in the year 2000. Plus, now seems like the most appropriate time, what with it being 25 years since the album was released. How did the band celebrate the occasion? By putting it out note for note the same on a tacky silver vinyl, and sprucing up the music vids with AI. Whoop-de-doo. Oh well, at least the tour seems to be going mostly well, ticket pricing and deaths of fans not withstanding.
So here’s how this one is going to work: We’re going to go track by track again, looking through all ten songs that appear on the final album, because my opinions have certainly changed on some of them since lockdown. Once we’ve done that, we’re going to change it up, make the 2025 release that should have been by taking a swatch at the b-sides, and weighing in on which tracks, if any, should have been replaced.
So with this obligatory Doctor Who meme…
…let’s do this.
Track #1 – F*ckin’ in the Bushes
There’s a wrestler called Nigel McGuinness. Last year, he made a surprise appearance at a packed Wembley stadium. He came out to this. The roof came unglued. Oasis songs will do that to ya.
There’s no better song for a walk on, ergo there is no better way to kick off this album (Although I do think the voice samples are overused a tad, but let’s not be pedantic, this is supposed to be my favourite Oasis album for crying out loud).
Track #2 – Go Let It Out
Favourite Oasis song. No debate needed, no arguments necessary.
Everything about this scratches any itch on the brain – Lyrics, Strawberry Fields mellotron, Liam’s vocals, the damned whistle before the final chorus kicks in. I love it. Always have, always will.
Track #3 – Who Feels Love?
I still maintain that overall that this is the weakest single out of the bunch for SOTSOG, it’s just a little too plodding and sleepy for the radio. On its own though? I’ve come around to it a fair bit since last time. Yeah, it’s for all intents and purposes a George Harrison pastiche, and it is the first dose of fuel for the common criticism that this album’s lyrics are less than stellar compared to what came before. But at the same time, it’s the first true indicator that you are listening to a different Oasis, a band who are honest to God trying something new after nearly a decade. And if you wade your way through Definitely Maybe, Morning Glory, Be Here Now, The Masterplan, then end up here? It is such a breath of fresh air, and that is exactly what this song is meant to be. Fresh. Leave your woes behind you.
That being said, while Who Feels Love? is fine in the studio, it truly comes to life when played live. Case in point: Yokohama 2000, and Maida Vale.
Track #4 – Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is
Part of the reason why Standing on the Shoulder of Giants wasn’t going to please everyone was the fact that it was being made for Oasis fans by an Oasis who had just woken up with a stonking headache. They (read: Noel) weren’t necessarily in the mood for making the uptempo rockers they had built their reputation on, which is why a lot of the songs from these sessions are slower and more contemplative. But they knew they had to give out something to please those expecting from of the usual bite and swagger, so something had to be churned out. Hence, Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is.
Ironically though, its repetitive lyrics and stumbly musicianship work in its favour – This is the comedown album, the hangover, so it’s fitting that one of the rare times Oasis try to put up a tough front sounds unconvincing and almost laughable. I know that probably sounds like I’m trying to paint SOTSOG as a concept album when it absolutely isn’t, but it does make me wonder if it might just be worth keeping on a revised tracklist…
I’ll make my mind up by the end.
Track #5 – Little James
I remember a couple of years ago, my best mate came up from Sheffield, we met up in the pub for drinks and after a while we found ourselves talking about Oasis. And I don’t know if it was the influence of the alcohol or what, but I found myself defending Little James.
I made the bold claim that it was in the same vein as Ringo’s childish Beatles songs like Yellow Submarine – While they may seem almost offensively simple when compared to their peers on their albums, they are still just a little bit of fun. Am I saying that Little James is as good as Yellow Submarine? Christ, no. Am I saying it’s a good song for a band who claims to bleed rock and roll to put out? Probably not. But I am saying that it is a necessary and welcome song to include on a more emotionally open album like SOTSOG. And that’s why (spoiler alert for later) I think it should be on the final tracklist.
So yeah. God bless it but I have come around to Little James. It still gets a C grade when compared to Liam’s future output, and is not one for repeat listening on Spotify, but I do think it gets unfairly dunked on. Give that melody a try at the very least.
Track #6 – Gas Panic!
Still a stone cold classic, still a phenomenal six minutes of morosity and malaise. No notes, it’s perfect, move on.
Track #7 – Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Noel’s lyrics in this one get slept on – “Do you keep the receipts/for the friends that you buy?” is a blinder. While this is a brilliant track and one that should have been a proper, commercially-released single, there is perhaps a little too much going on. The guitars still sound as sorrowful and moody as they should, but the shrill keyboard notes at the beginning are a bit OTT. And this isn’t the only song where I’ve got that problem…
Track #8 – Sunday Morning Call
Ok, so you know how I said that people had criticised this song for sounding overproduced but I didn’t see the issue? Disregard. I now fully understand where they were coming from. Listen to an acoustic version of this (e.g: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf9KFUysLFw) and you will see just how badly this song has been let down by Noel’s and Spike Stent’s obsession with using new instruments, pedals and knobs. For a man who was now sober, Noel clearly still had a habit to kick when it came to layers, only this time in the form of keyboards and mellotron instead of guitars.
Despite suffocating under all that though, there is a good song to be found underneath. In the lyrics lie a hard truth that unintentionally sums up the song quite nicely – You need more time, it may not work out right, but even if it doesn’t? It’s OK. And that’s what I think of Sunday Morning Call today. It’s alright.
Track #9 – I Can See A Liar
Transplant my thoughts on Put Yer Money…into here.
Also, you just know that somewhere in the forgotten corners of a cupboard in a recording studio somewhere, there’s a tape of Liam Gallagher singing “I can see a liar, and his pants are on fire”. God, can you imagine if they’d played this when Liam was off his face at Wembley? Oasis would have died there and then live on Sky.
Track #10 – Roll It Over
It’s been wonderful seeing this song finally get its flowers after so many years thanks to Liam including it in his live setlists, particularly at Knebworth 2022 which even led to it being released as a single. Deservedly so. It’s the best finale to an Oasis album. I feel there’s more to appreciate here than in Champagne Supernova. Forgive me for going for the low hanging fruit, but the lyrics are more airtight for a start. But it caps off the antisocial malaise that runs through the album quite nicely, while also showing a glimpse of the Oasis of old as they reassume their place atop the food chain with the plastic people no longer surrounding them, but looking up at them. The rock gods will be back soon.
End of Part One
Intermission:
I’ve been a touch more critical of SOTSOG this time around. Does that mean that my opinion has changed and it is no longer my favourite Oasis album?
No. I don’t think so.
Your favourite album by a band or artist doesn’t have to be a perfect one. In fact, it shouldn’t, to sound so squeaky clean would spoil the fun. Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is far from a perfect album. The Gallaghers are clearly buckling under their own weight after so many years of excess but Goddammit, they’re still churning out some quality music that stood head and shoulders above a good chunk of what you heard in the charts in 2000.
I alluded to Dig Out Your Soul coming for SOTSOG’s crown at the start of this entry but here’s the difference between them – This album, despite the shaky quality of some songs and the overproduction in others, is a no-skip album. I would happily sit down and listen to all ten of them. Even Little James. Dig Out Your Soul on the other hand may have one of, if not the best first halves of an album that Oasis ever did, but everything after Falling Down is barely worth your attention. It spends its last fifteen or so minutes petering out. While it perfected the Oasis sound at long last, it didn’t have enough tunes to prove that.
And that’s why I prefer SOTSOG. It may be rough, but it’s still a much more fulfilling ride. Still could be a smidge better though…
Which brings us neatly onto part two. Let’s look at the b-sides. Quick rule I have going into this is that, while I weigh up which ones should be on the album, I must stick to the ten-track limit that SOTSOG has. No more, no less. Let’s go.
End of Intermission
Part Two:
#1 – Let’s All Make Believe
Look, let’s not beat around the bush here, Let’s All Make Believe is one of the best Oasis b-sides, period. It is absolutely worthy of a place on SOTSOG and indeed there’s probably some fans out there who wouldn’t have minded if the album was just this song on an hour long loop.
But here’s the issue: Where does it go?
In the place of Put Yer Money… or I Can See A Liar? Can’t really follow up a slow tempo song with another one. After Roll It Over, a la the Japanese release? No, you can’t follow up a grand finale with another grand finale. Too many cooks spoil the broth. In Sunday Morning Call’s place?
…Maybe.
Let’s All Make Believe needs to be in there. But putting it in is a pain in the arse without upsetting the pace of the album. Maybe this is the reason why the band never put it on the final tracklist in the first place.
TWO SOUL-CLEAVING HOURS LATER
Right I’ve made up my mind, it’s going after Roll It Over. The latter does neatly transition into the former, and the opening stompy notes are a good way to reintroduce Liam after a double dose of Noel. I’m keeping it that way before I change my mind.
#2 – (As Long as They’ve Got) Cigarettes In Hell
See, this is the problem, Oasis did make some brilliant songs as the 90s wound down, they were just too damned slow for a rock and roll band to fill an album with. The Strawberry Fields mellotron returns for this track, one which I believe Liam could’ve done the vocals for, but there’s not enough to make it truly stand out. The chorus is defiant but just a bit too downbeat, I reckon.
#3 – Where Did It All Go Wrong? (Semi-acoustic version)
Had to do some real mulling over this one. On first listen, the lack of the keyboards and the electric guitar caught me off guard and made me think the song was naked and lacking identity. Then, Noel started singing and that’s when I realised this was better – His vocals really get a chance to breathe and pack more of an emotional punch as a result.
Part of me wonders if it would have been better still to go for a full acoustic version like the performance on Jools Holland, but maybe that would have been too much of a course correction. My head says that it still lacks identity without the psychedelic flourishes, but my heart says this is better.
#4 – One Way Road
I actually really like this song, but I think it is best left as a b-side. If Noel hadn’t repeated the first verse in the place of the second then that would have elevated things massively but alas, not to be.
Love the birdsong though.
#5 – Helter Skelter
The only album this will ever end up on is if Oasis do a Masterplan II, and put this in the place of I Am the Walrus. No covers.
#6 – Carry Us All
Noel believes he was suffering creative burnout around this time, but he does try pretty damn hard with this song which is loaded with cynicism aimed at religion. Makes sense that he’d try something like that; coming off the drugs and facing divorce, the more spiritually cleansed might expect him to turn to the Lord. Then he turns round and says that “faith in any God is gonna bury us all”. Oof.
It’d be good for SOTSOG to have a statement, but I highly doubt Noel could have been arsed with dealing with the faithful after they pored through his words and kicked up a fuss. Then again, it’s got less dismal vibes than Sunday Morning Call and has a similar sound too. I think this one’s in.
#7 – Full On
SOTSOG is a predominantly slow album, so to have a track like Full On would be a welcome addition. Like the track I want it to replace, it could be argued as a throwaway, only this one is deeper and catchier. A proper rocker whilst still maintaining the psychedelic sound of the album. And simply because I can’t fully envisage Liam getting to grips with this one (Stick your AI Remixes up your arse), let Noel take the reins.
So with all that in mind, here’s how I would have released Standing on the Shoulder of Giants in the year 2000:
(Note that Where Did It All Go Wrong? is still the original because the bastards took the semi-acoustic version of Spotify.)
(Also, f*ck me, getting an album’s pacing right with these songs is a right arseache.)
A-Side Glance 