Heathen Chemistry

Editorial Reviews
Album Details
The Album Includes the Bonus Track "The Cage", as Well as the "Little by Little" Dvd Single as a Bonus Disc. The Bonus Dvd Includes the Third Part of the Fantastic Documentary "10 Minutes of Noise and Confusion Part 3", the Album Version and Demo of "Little by Little" (Audio Only), and Exclusive Pictures Taken of the Band on the Set of the Video Shoot for "Little by Little" and at their Triumphant Finsbury Park Gig Held in July 2002.

Tracks:

The Hindu Times
Force Of Nature
Hung In A Bad Place
Stop Crying Your Heart Out
Songbird
Little By Little
A Quick Peep
(Probably) All In The Mind
She Is Love
Born On A Different Cloud
Better Man

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At their career zenith, Oasis were lauded as the best band in the world. They were actually never the greatest rock & roll band at any time, but for a few years they were the biggest. While they offered the '90s two of its most defining albums, and a resurgence of '60s-influenced Manchester rock, Oasis tumbled off the top of the mountain in the last half of the decade. Heathen Chemistry is their first step back up the ascent, albeit a small step. The album opens with "The Hindu Times," which will certainly be listed among Oasis's best anthems, and it closes with "Better Man," a distorted-guitar-driven thrill that revs up to 60 mph in second gear. But between the strongest songs on the disc, Noel "Walrus" and Liam "Eggman" Gallagher exploit the Beatles references almost to the breaking point. It's no secret that the Gallaghers worship the Beatles (who doesn't?), but here they've gone beyond obvious influences and stepped right into infringement territory. On "Born on a Different Cloud," Noel's guitar weeps a little too gently, and Liam's signature rasp now sounds like a deliberate imitation of Lennon with a cold. Further, Liam shares the mic with Noel, who sings lead on several tracks, the best being "Force of Nature." Unlike on Beatles albums, however, the switch back and forth is jarring (Liam might be the biggest troublemaker, but he is also the better singer). Nonetheless, if a band is going to unapologetically rip off what was unquestionably the best band in the world, no one does it better than Oasis. --Beth Massa

Customer Reviews:

Defintion of average.......2007-04-02

Some good tracks including Gem Archers magnificant if unoriginal Hung In A Bad Place but some very tedious ones, born on a different cloud makes me want to shoot myself in the face it's that boring and repetitive.

Overall pretty good and I do feel the need to play it through over but hold no hesitation in skipping one or two tracks.

The MacDonalds of Rock Music.......2007-03-09

Oasis sound more and more like a Beatles tribute band who never heard anything past 1967. For people who like their music unchallanging, easy to digest, and predictable. "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" is a Big Mac.

Unfortunately underrated.......2006-04-19

For the most part, this is a rock-n-roll album with big guitars. In spots, it's a bit overproduced. Like all its predecessors, this Oasis album has that air of familiarity and gives you that, "I've heard this before" feeling. I think it's quite fresh, though. Oasis is a paradox: they beg, steal and borrow from the Who, the Beatles, the Stones, the Stone Roses, Slade, T. Rex, Bowie, etc, but still come out sounding like Oasis. With the exception of one or two songs that are blatant rip-offs, the worst that can be said for its originality is that it's "derivative" in places.

This is also the first Oasis album with songs written by the non-Gallagher members of the band, and the first album to feature more than one song by Liam (three, in fact).

"The Hindu Times" (Noel) - Neo-psychedelic. Big guitars with raga-sounding lead guitar licks and Liam's braying vocals. In the rhythm guitar you'll hear a smidgeon of "Jumpin' Jack Flash." This is a song (apparently) about nothing ("I get so I high I just can't feel it."). It's one of the better songs on the album and a good one to crank with the windows down.

"Force of Nature" (Noel) - This song floated around for a year or two before HC as Noel solo song (he's the singer.) Noel's vocals are great; he really screams it out. There's a healthy dose of anger and cynicism in this one, rare for Oasis. The best line: "I betcha knew right away/It's all over town that the sun's going down/on the days of your easy life." The ghost of Marc Bolan has certainly possessed this tune.

"Hung in a Bad Place" (Gem Archer) - Though not written by a Gallagher, "Hung" sounds like it would have fit right in on Definitely Maybe. It's another big guitar song with Liam's nasally snarl. The more I hear it the more I dig it! Lyrically, it's in the vein of "Free" by Jagger/Richards: "I can go where I wanna/be where I wanna be now . . ." This has the makings of a great live tune.

"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" (Noel) - When I hear this song all I can think of is "Dear Friend" off of Wings' Wild Life. After the slowly plodding piano intro, it turns into a power ballad. The lyrics are weak and cliche. Sample: "`Cuz all of the stars are fading away/just try not to worry/you'll see them someday . . ." This is one of the more disappointing songs on the album and, unfortunately, it ended up being a single.

"Songbird" (Liam) - Liam, with typical braggadocio, declared this one, "Better than anything on Revolver." The only Beatles song this tune might be better than is "Mister Moonlight" or "Revolution # 9," and even that would be a stretch. The guitar and rhythm sound like they're taken directly from "Lyin' Eyes" by the Eagles. It's a throw away and shouldn't be on the album.

"Little by Little" (Noel) - Noel sings this one and does a great job on vocals. The verses sound like many a Pink Floyd tune. The chorus makes this a good pop-rock tune. It has a nice guitar solo. It's basically about a relationship and inner searching ("Why am I really here?") There's nothing new in it, musically or lyrically, but it's a pretty good track, nonetheless.

"A Quick Peep" (Andy Bell) - Instrumental. I can't decide whether this is Pink Floyd doing The Pogues or The Pogues doing Pink Floyd. Either way, it should have been saved for an EP or a B-side.

"(Probably) All in the Mind" (Noel) - Perhaps a bit of a twist on the whole neo-psychedelic thing. Instead of dealing with personal exploration, it's about wanting to run away with someone else to another "life" that may only exist in his imagination. Not bad.

"She is Love" (Noel) - Has a folk-rock-pseudo-soul feel. Definitely pot-laced. I think the Black Crowes rubbed off on Noel when they toured together last year. It's Oasis doing a stripped-down version of "Soul Singing" on Lions. Very catchy.

"Born on a Different Cloud" (Liam) - A blatant Lennon rip off, this song is drenched in "I'm Losing You"from Double Fantasy. I swear Noel dug up George Harrison up and got him to replay the guitar solo from "How Do You Sleep?" The lyrics are even more of an obvious theft, ala "living on borrowed time" and "It's no surprise to me/that you're classless, clever and free." Yoko should sue have sued Liam for this one. There's a kind of clever . . . er . . . interesting line: "Talking to myself again/this time I think I'm getting through." If you like covers of John Lennon's solo work, you'll love this one.

"Better Man" (Liam) - The younger Gallagher takes his turn with a slightly Crowes-esque blues based rocker. Don't get me wrong, it's not a rip off. Very good song, certainly Liam's best. Positive lyrics from Liam who, by all accounts, is a drunken lout. Very, very subtly, it ends like "Nineteen Hundred Eighty Five" by Paul McCartney/Wings, which probably is no accident. This track is something like 38 minutes long. I thought something was wrong with my CD or the player because there was almost a ? hour of silence. Fast forward to minute 33 and there's a nice little surprise.

Heathen Chemistry falls squarely in the middle of the pack of Oasis albums. It's better than some but worse than others. It is a nice transition album between Standing on the Shoulders of Giants and Don't Believe the Truth. 3.5 stars would be a more than fair rating for it, but I'm rounding up rather than down, and giving it 4 stars.

Two stars is generous!.......2006-03-11

Perhaps its the fact that "Owen Morris" is not producing their albums anymore, or the fact that they need a producer, because Oasis produced this album themselves, and while thats all well and good. Noel Gallaghar (singer/songwriter/lead guitarist)said in a interview around the time of this release that the band should take responsibilty for their own records, its actually very dissapointing even compared to "Standing on the Shoulder of Giants" and "Be Here Now" both which got more flak than they deserved because they were by no means bad albums at all, they were just unfoccussed.

Heathen Chemistry is pretty watered down and weak, it does not stand up well as a entire listen and too much of the tracks sound more filler than anyhting else.
"The Hindu Times" "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" "Little By Little" would make you think that Oasis are back with a vengeance, to re claim their status, but they just don't cut it with their best songs, and in their own way lack alot of life.

Whats worse is that "Don't Beleive the Truth" is even worse, much worse, and unfortunatly saw Oasis previewing their entire album, miming to the album on TV, just before its release.

If Oasis want to pull out a stunner they need to get out the electric guitars, crank up the amps and get Owen Morris who produced their first three albums to make them sound "live" and "loud again." Oasis are a live band, thats the sound thats missing from this album.

Weak.......2006-01-30

Really 2.5 stars. People who have read my other reviews know I am a big Oasis fan. No other rock band of the past 15 years has put out such a huge volume of high quality music. Oasis' first two albums are straight up classics. I also think "Be Here Now" is one of the most underrated albums of the 90's and will be recognized as a classic in time. Oasis' newest, "Don't Believe the Truth," is great as well-- as good as anything they've ever done. I am sure they have a lot more in them as well.

That said, "Heathen Chemistry" is a really weak performance. It's slightly better than "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants," but that's not saying much. In all, there are really only three decent songs here-- "The Hindu Times," "Hung In a Bad Place," and "Better Man."

The production sucks too. The production on "Be Here Now" was big and loud, but so were the songs. The songs on "Heathen Chemistry" just can't stand up to all of this clutter. Noel was smart to hand over the production reigns to someone else for "Don't Believe the Truth."

Like "Standing on the Shoulders of Giants," "Heathen Chemistry" is an album that only hardcore fans will want. Still, the fact that Oasis put out two crappy albums doesn't mean they're not a great band. Out of their 7 major releases, 5 have been great. Look at how many awful albums the Stones and Bob Dylan have put out

Average customer rating:

Finally!

Heathen Chemistry
Oasis
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000067JOG
Release Date: 2002-07-01

Tracks:

The Hindu Times
Force Of Nature
Hung In A Bad Place
Stop Crying Your Heart Out
Songbird
Little By Little
A Quick Peep
(Probably) All In The Mind
She Is Love
Born On A Different Cloud
Better Man
You've Got The Heart Of A Star (Bonus)

Album Description

Japanese edition of their 2002 album includes one exclusive bonus track, 'You've Got The Heart Of A Star' which is not available on their first two singles, 'The Hindu Times' & 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out'. 12 tracks in all.

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Bonus Track: "Blank".

Customer Reviews:

Finally!.......2002-07-12

Oasis is definitely a band that should be putting out CD's every couple of years, and Heathen Chemistry proves that. This album is the version which contains You've Got the Heart of a Star as the final extra track (before the hidden instrumental). While it's fairly pricey ..., it's well worth it if you are a collector; this is the Japanese import.

It's a four-star album due to the fact that Liam has surprised us all with his songwriting ability; after Little James, most Oasis fans had little hope. Also, Noel continues his excellent songwriting ability w/ Little by Little and Hindu Times. While the album is slightly weak in terms of the length (40 some-odd minutes) and a couple of song structures doing the same thing on Be Here Now that Noel promised to get away from (Force of Nature has one verse repeated twice instead of two separate verses), bright spots abound, including Better Man and Hung in a Bad Place. Those two songs are the kind of Rolling Stones-esque style that lends itself well to Liam's voice and Noel's guitar playing, so hopefully more of this will follow (notice how neither was written by Noel). Andy and Gem contributing to take the pressure off Noel allowed Noel to write She Is Love and put it on the album; not a favorite of mine but a lot of fans clearly love it, and it will be part of a double-A side single with Little By Little later this year. Oasis are still alive and kickin' -- Enjoy!

Heathen Chemistry
Average customer rating:
Heathen Chemistry
Oasis
Manufacturer: Sony/Epic
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Britpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00007ES8X