After listening to Beady Eye’s second album BE for a week, we can conclude that the guys have done a really good job this time. BE is a solid record with very few weak tracks. New producer Dave Sitek has done a great job and it sounds much better than Different Gear, Still Speeding. A real 10/10 track is lacking, though – but there are lots of 8s and 9s on this album. Also among the bonus tracks, released on the “Deluxe Edition”:

BEADY EYE – BE
1. Flick Of The Finger
Written by Liam, Gem and Andy
Typical Oasis opening number – but this one comes without a chorus. That’s not a problem. Brass arrangements dominate the scene. It’s very good, but the choice to include a spoken Jean-Paul Marat quote in the end is bizarre. It’s cringeworthy, but that’s the only flaw of this slap-in-the-face track.
9/10

2. Soul Love
Written by Liam
It’s not an instant Sitek works this ballad to heights it would not have reached otherwise. The long psychedelic outro is really cool.
8/10

3. Face The Crowd
Written by Andy
The big brother of Beatles & Stones from the last album. A typical The Who-inspired Liam rocker – but this one’s actually (unexpectedly) written by Andy. And perhaps that is why it works a lot better than Standing On The Edge Of The Noise and Ain’t Got Nothin’. Chris Sharrock does a good job here. And so does Sitek.
7/10

4. Second Bite Of The Apple
Written by Gem
The single is one of the weaker tracks on the album, but I think that it’s been criticised too harshly. Sure, the lyrics are a bit childish. But there’s lots of attitude from Liam and, once again, the brass section does it very well – just as Sharrock.
7/10

5. Soon Come Tomorrow
Written by Andy
Could’ve been a track from Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants. A moody Gas Panic-like ballad. Very clean sound. And a very good song.
8/10

6. Iz Rite
Written by Gem
Beady Eye goes ABBA. Pop tune that works really well. More retro sound than any other song outside of the bonus tracks. The chorus is ringing around your brain.
9/10

7. I’m Just Saying
Written by Andy
This rocker is the biggest surprise of the album. It has a pure vintage Oasis sound and could have been a Be Here Now b-side. One of the best lyrics on BE. Nice guitar solo towards the end.
9/10

8. Don’t Brother Me
Written by Liam
Liam’s How Do You Sleep (Lennon’s attack on McCartney). As the title suggests, this ballad is about Noel, but it’s not as vicious as How Do You Sleep (or Ian Brown’s post-Stone Roses attacks on John Squire). After all, Liam and Noel are brothers. Liam is even asking Noel to “give peace a chance”. The lyrics have been criticized but I think they are alright. Unfortunately, it is a quite boring song and the psychedelic sitar outro is cool but too long (four minutes).
6/10

9. Shine A Light
Written by Liam
There are lots of things going on on this one. A gangster film piano intro, ethnic drums, electronics from Sitek and really bad rhymes. Could’ve been a Kasabian song. One of the more outlandish tracks on the album, and it’s probably not a very good song in itself but with Sharrock’s drumming and Sitek’s production it works fine.
8/10

10. Ballroom Figured
Written by Gem
Pure acoustic number. Sounds like a ballad off Heavy Stereo’s album. It’s nice. Not the best lyrics though (some people change, move out of range).
7/10

11. Start Anew
Written by Liam
Let There Be Love version 2. Nice-guy-Liam using his soft “home voice” in a McCartney-style ballad that is a really good album closer. It feels like it’s a bit too short, though.
8/10

DELUXE EDITION BONUS TRACKS
12. Dreaming Of Some Space
Written by Liam
Two minutes of Liam repeating a few lines over a backwards version of Start Anew. Psychedelic. Nothing special.
5/10

13. The World’s Not Set In Stone
Written by Liam
This one was played live towards the end of the Different Gear, Still Speeding tour and the sound is very remniscent of that album. Retro. George Harrison sound. Quite nice.
7/10

14. Back After The Break
Written by Gem
The two last tracks are two brilliant rainy-day Gem ballads. Why weren’t they included on the album? Very Lennon-like.
8/10

15. Off At The Next Exit
Written by Gem
Another 70s Lennon ballad. Gem’s songwriting is perhaps the most positive surprise on BE. This might be the best track of the whole album. Its got the best melody and probably the best lyrics of the album as well. The stick is wonderful.
9/10

JAPAN EDITION BONUS TRACKS
16. Girls In Uniform
Written by Andy
Understandably this one didn’t make the album. Liam’s voice is all too nasal. Too long and forgettable.
4/10

17. Evil Eye
Written by Liam
Vintage Beady Eye, if there is such a thing. Remniscent of The Beat Goes On. Nice one.
7/10

VERDICT: 8/10

About a year has passed since Oxford boys Supergrass released their sixth studio album Diamond Hoo Ha. Providing a rougher and less sophisticated sound than its predecessor (2005′s Road To Rouen), Diamond Hoo Ha felt as a sign of Supergrass returning to the fantastic form of 2002′s Life On Other Planets.

The britpop veterans (Note: singer Gaz Coombes was born as late as 1976) delivered an album that started out as a big sucker punch in the face, continued to provide top class 2000s britpop – but the high class faded a bit towards the end.

Opening track and lead single Diamond Hoo Ha Man featured one of the most exciting bass lines I’ve ever heard, and it was followed by the rough Bad Blood (about a late night out in Reykjavik). Supergrass sounded dirtier than ever before. Tracks #3 and #4, the stomping glam rocking Rebel In You and the exciting and endangering When I Needed You (featuring a rememberable guitar solo), were among the band’s top 10 songs ever. The first six songs on the record (tracks #5 and #6 being 345 and The Return Of Inspiration) were… inspiring and together they constituted a block of songs that can’t be matched by many rock n roll albums in world history.

I wouldn’t like to say that the second half of the album is weak in any way, but certainly they didn’t reach the same astronomous levels as the opening numbers. Some of them (such as Ghost Of A Friend and Rough Knuckles) were, while being decent songs, sounding more Road To Rouen than Life On Other Planets. And that was not positive in my book.

Still, the final parts didn’t make Diamond Hoo Ha a poor record. It was LOUD, glammy and stirring – a great rock n roll album that could have been a classic if it had ended in the same manner as it began.

VERDICT: 8/10

Best tracks: Rebel In You, When I Needed You, Diamond Hoo Ha Man, Return Of Inspiration
Spotify Link

After living with Oasis‘ new album Dig Out Your Soul for seven days, the time has come for my review. It is positive, because this is Definitely the band’s best album since 1997′s Be Here Now, and Maybe the best since 1995′s (What’s The Story?) Morning Glory. I would actually stretch myself as far as to say that the five opening songs of the record are almost good enough to appear on any Oasis album.

However, the quality of the album is decreasing towards the end, and this fact prevents it from becoming an definitive classic. Questionmarks must be raised for Noel’s judgement when putting Andy Bell’s quite mediocre The Nature of Reality on the record, as well as when placing Soldier On as the final track, leaving out the nice tune Boy With The Blues. That said, both of those songs fit in well with the general vibe of the album.

The sound is groovier than before, and this proves to be a success for Oasis, being more experimental than they ever been; On To Be Where There’s Life, there are no guitars to be heard. With Waiting For The Rapture, (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady and Falling Down, all sung by Noel, the Chief breaks new territory. For the most part, the result is positive.

Overall, the album is full of surprises. Not only does the band sound better than I ever thought they would do again, but this is also the record where Liam Gallagher’s tunes for the first time can compete with his big brother’s efforts; I’m Outta Time is perhaps one of Oasis’ best songs ever, and the rough Ain’t Got Nothin’ is packed above limits with attitude.

Verdict: 9/10

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Track by track review:

Bag It Up 10/10
written by Noel, sung by Liam
An AWESOME opener, perhaps Oasis best song in eleven years. I would actually say that it is one of the band’s top efforts ever. It’s a groovy piece, including the characteristic Oasis guitar grinding that we haven’t heard since Be Here Now. Like several other songs on this album, it is not cooked from the usual verse-chorus-verse-chorus recipe. Oh, and Liam’s new, more mature, voice is absolutely ace!

The Turning 9/10
written by Noel, sung by Liam
The album continues in the same high class manner as it began. The Turning is a more mellow version of the classic Oasis hit mixture, with the album’s strongest chorus and a great guitar solo from Noel. Fabulous bullshit lyrics in the verse as well.

Waiting For The Rapture 10/10
written and sung by Noel
Bag It Up’s Noel-sung cousin is the major surprise of Dig Out Your Soul. An inspired Noel sings in falsetto on this groovy song, and the result is his best vocal effort since Don’t Look Back In Anger.

The Shock of The Lightning 10/10
written by Noel, sung by Liam
The party continues. It’s Definitely Maybe all over again. The first single of the album is Lyla’s less considerate sister song. When Zak Starkey’s drum solo leaves place for exploding guitars, it is one of Oasis’ greatest moments in what feels like millenia. A top tune!

I’m Outta Time 10/10
written and sung by Liam
Wow! Oasis’ most touching moment since 1997′s Don’t Go Away. And by a landslide the top Liam-penned tune ever. It is a tribute to John Lennon. “I’d like to sing with him, but he’s busy doing something else now”, Liam said in MTV2 last week. Mr Lennon would be very proud of this one. But Liam should have written a second verse, and he should have left out the “lalala”s in the beginning. If he had, this would have been a timeless classic.

(Get Off Your) High Horse Lady 6/10
written and sung by Noel
To be honest, I don’t really get the greatness of this one. Noel sounds quite tired, and it pales in comparison with Waiting For The Rapture. It is a good song for being Oasis in the 2000s, but it’s not up there with the prime tunes of the band, and not the prime tunes of this album either.

Falling Down 8/10
written and sung by Noel
Like many other tracks on this album, it doesn’t really sound like anything Oasis’ did before. It’s a beautiful song, and Noel’s voice suits it perfectly. The “catch the wheel that breaks the butterfly” part is terrific!

To Be Where There’s Life 8/10
written by Gem, sung by Liam
Not really Oasis by numbers… This tune lacks guitars, but includes a great bass line and a sitar. Not the best melody, but the groove is good, and the somewhat silly “To Be Where There’s Life”-line is highly addictive. When Liam screams “Dig Out Your Soul!!! Cos’ here we go!”, you know that you are listening to one of the best albums of the century. Arguably Gem’s best Oasis song.

Ain’t Got Nothin’ 9/10
written and sung by Liam
Well, this cousin of Meaning of Soul is a surprise. When we heard the demo of this song a couple of months ago, most Oasis fans hoped that this would not make it to the album, least to say. But it did, and it is saved by an extreme load of attitude and the fact that it is held quite short (clocking in at 2:14, it is the shorteskortt song of the album). Oasis noise at its best.

The Nature Of Reality 5/10
written by Andy Bell, sung by Liam
No, this doesn’t work very well, unfortunately. When Andy sent demoes of five new tunes to Noel before recording the album, he considered this the worst of the pack. Apparently, Noel thought that it wasn’t. Probably, Noel was wrong. The lyrics are weak and Liam’s voice isn’t very good either. But it still has the great groove that characterizes this album, and that makes it work OK as a tune on the album.

Soldier On 7/10
written and sung by Liam
An interesting piece ends the album. The melody is quite weak, but for some reason this tune grows on me all the time. This is not the swagger that usually ends off Oasis albums, but neither is it a crap song like Heathen Chemistry’s Better Man. Liam surprises again with great (albeit succinct) lyrics, and the melodica towards the end is ace.

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BONUS TRACKS

The Boy With The Blues 9/10
written and sung by Liam
Finally, this song appeared after years of rumours. A lovely little tune, The Boy With The Blues is Soldier On’s more majestic and less groovy big brother. The gospel-sounding ending is interesting, and would’ve closed off Dig Out Your Soul well.

I Believe An All 7/10
written and sung by Liam
The typical Liam-penned song, much in line with acoustic numbers like Pass Me Down The Wine and Won’t Let You Down. Not the greatest of tunes, but it’s OK and does its job on the bonus CD of Dig Out Your Soul.