Be Here Now

彼らが敬愛するThe Beatlesに縁の深いアビーロード・スタジオ他、イギリスの名スタジオ各所で録音された、1997年リリースの3rdアルバム。1996年開催の伝説的ライヴ。「Knebworth 1996」でも演奏された(2)(11)、名バラード曲(4)、9分超の大作(10)収録など、2ndから更にサウンドとリリックを深く掘り下げた、モンスターバンドらしい重厚な楽曲が並ぶ。

NME - Ranked #25 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll. Melody Maker - Ranked #8 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year." NME - "...Mammoth. Probably. But without the large hairy bollocks....each song already resonates with the vast, communal spirit that has propelled them thus far....here are yet another 11 songs the slightly sozzled world will be bursting to sing..." Q - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997." Rolling Stone - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...'60s and '70s rock classicism writ large and loud, all broad strokes and bullish enthusiasm....[Noel Gallagher] fires up sing-along hooks with industrial-strength glam-rock licks..." Entertainment Weekly - "...They're still angling for the set-in-Stones title of the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band....a truly massive attack, a thick-as-Guinness crunch of guitars and drums all cranked to 11....each track [is crammed] with keyboards...sound effects, and layer upon layer of Noel's twisting, shimmering guitar overdubs..." - Rating: B Melody Maker - "...At their best Oasis is untouchable. Here they occasionally reach a best which is better than any best you might have previously imagined possible." Q (1/98, p.114) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997." Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #8 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year." NME (12/20-27/97, pp.78-79) - Ranked #25 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll. Rolling Stone (9/4/97, pp.65-66) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...'60s and '70s rock classicism writ large and loud, all broad strokes and bullish enthusiasm....[Noel Gallagher] fires up sing-along hooks with industrial-strength glam-rock licks..." Melody Maker (8/16/97, p.49) - "...At their best Oasis is untouchable. Here they occasionally reach a best which is better than any best you might have previously imagined possible." NME (8/16/97, pp.50-51) - "...Mammoth. Probably. But without the large hairy bollocks....each song already resonates with the vast, communal spirit that has propelled them thus far....here are yet another 11 songs the slightly sozzled world will be bursting to sing..." Entertainment Weekly (9/5/97, pp.72-73) - "...They're still angling for the set-in-Stones title of the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band....a truly massive attack, a thick-as-Guinness crunch of guitars and drums all cranked to 11....each track [is crammed] with keyboards...sound effects, and layer upon layer of Noel's twisting, shimmering guitar overdubs..." - Rating: B Clash - "It's a bombastic, overblown and perhaps over-produced album, but it's also what makes BE HERE NOW great. Tracks like 'I Hope I Think I Know' still sound timeless..." Spin - "[A]nother quality Oasis record. Truly, there is an art, or at least an impressive lack of self-regard, to the construction of such extravagant melodic spaces for such fatuous lyrics."

Shamelessly enamored of The Beatles, Oasis uses BE HERE NOW to serve up another heaping platter of larger-than-life rock and roll garnished with Fab Fourisms. Noel Gallagher's ambitious songwriting and production (which, not coincidentally, was done at Abbey Road) result in an average song length of almost six minutes and the full, gnarly guitar sound that's become Oasis' trademark. "Magic Pie" and "All Around The World" incorporate brassy orchestration reminiscent of "Let It Be", while the former's name seems a less-than-subtle nod to Macca's FLAMING PIE album released a few months prior.
Aside from the band's constant worship at the Beatles shrine, Gallagher occasionally draws from other sources, sharply addressing the uncertainty of fame with the slam-bang rock and roll of "I Hope, I Think, I Know" and the latter-day Stone Roses sound of "Fade In-Out" which prominently features guest Johnny Depp's slide guitar. With their nemesis Blur busy trolling the noisy depths of lo-fi, American indie rock, BE HERE NOW proves to be another jewel in the crown of Brit-pop, which is now perched more firmly than ever on the collective, if occasionally swollen, head of Oasis.|