John Lennon, make room. When the time comes, Noel Gallagher will sit at your right, after having definitively (perhaps) established the final link between two eras and two eternal glories of rock. This "Don't Believe The Truth" marks the return of the Manchester band after three years of silence following the solid "Heathen Chemistry", which rekindled old fans who grew up with the riff of "Supersonic" and attracted new ones who only recently discovered Oasis for obvious generational reasons.

"Don't Believe The Truth" already boasts something epic from its title and hypothetically links to the early great records of the English group, both in terms of the graphic design (returning to the historical logo, a non-coincidental detail) and especially in terms of the songs, most of which have already become classics just days after the album's release. Because this is a MILESTONE, people, a MILESTONE. A record destined for a vast audience and thus carrying an educational, formative, and I dare say therapeutic character. This is the rock of 2005, just as "Definitely Maybe" was in 1994, despite being an album made with few resources and a demo tape-like attitude.

After the cocaine-fueled grandeur of "Be Here Now", the profound metropolitan psychedelia of "Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants", and the rock ballads of "Heathen Chemistry", Noel Gallagher (a genius) likely felt the need for a return to no-frills rock, setting aside the inclination for "anthems" (an element of contention for early fans) and focusing on more sophisticated arrangements that are no less direct for being so, creating a kind of "capsule" for his band that makes them absolutely alien and distinct from the entire current music scene.
Oasis are still 1969: proof is in the single "Lyla", which will finally bring some healthy boogie rock à la Rolling Stones to the empty heads of TRL and Top Of The Pops. But the surprising thing is that the rest of the album is absolutely of a different caliber, and it's difficult to extract potential hits for the general public who still remember the legendary chord progression of "Wonderwall".

The beginning of this masterpiece is far from reassuring: "Turn Up The Sun" (written by Andy Bell) starts with a dramatic arpeggio that unfolds into a menacing and apocalyptic path, then fades into another intimate arpeggio that underscores the tension of the initial one... an edge-of-your-seat start, perhaps the best opening track in rock history. "Mucky Fingers" by Noel then bursts in, a hybrid between "Waiting For The Man", "Needle In The Camel's Eye", Jesus & Mary Chain, and Bob Dylan that leaves the listener stunned under a mountain of feedback, with Gem's harmonica taking center stage. 2-0, damn it. After "Lyla" comes "Love Is Like A Bomb" by Liam, which is the ideal follow-up to the beautiful "Songbird", to be imagined in a hypothetical film à la "Magical Mistery Tour" where Liam skips on a hill as McCartney did to the notes of "Fool On The Hill".
But truth be told (if you want to believe it), this is the "summer" album of the Oasis... not the kind of summer with Latin American hits and Copacabana beaches, but a city summer, or a summer present in the minds of anyone who imagines it different from the illusory mirages peddled by the media and our society. It's a desert summer, as it seems Noel preaches in the desert (of foolishness) when, guitar in hand with faithful Gem behind him, he impersonates Don Quixote in the martial "The Importance Of Being Idle", relying on Ray Davies' word, or when in "Part Of The Queue" (inspired by "Love Will Come Through" by Travis), he expresses a resigned cry of pain in the face of self-acceptance that leads man to a serene but mediocre anonymity.
The lyrics in particular are another point of merit: no more sterile invites to optimism at all costs (as happened in the beautiful times of "Acquiesce"), but an acquired awareness of the end of adolescence, a new way of facing the bitter reality of the world and the consequent refusal to identify with it (hence the album title).
Returning to the music, there is two-minute rock'n'roll with "The Meaning Of Soul" (a better figure would have been made with the b-side of "Lyla", "Eyeball Tickler"), which owes something to the not-yet-bourgeois Hives, but the two hidden gems of the album come from Liam, finally a composer who meets expectations in "Guess God Thinks I'm Abel", where "Our Kid's" voice moves between the acoustic guitars like a naked child in Eden, declaring how God appeared asking if he was Abel... the Barrett-like coda of the piece demonstrates that the "psychedelic" vein of the album is entirely Liam's credit, who often seems to belong and sing from another, highly personal dimension.
The second gem I was mentioning is the sunny "Keep The Dream Alive", a great summer song echoing the glorious Teenage Fanclub of "Bandwagonesque" and the unforgettable Dodgy of "Homegrown", where Zak Starkey, the artful drummer son (playing exactly like his father, with little snare but metronomic precision), who replaced Alan White, gives his best performance.
After such a feast, "A Bell Will Ring" takes everything to a more "human" level with honest pop rock but without particular peaks (a horizontal track, Stone Roses style), before the languid closure of "Let There Be Love", a ballad where the brothers' voices alternate amidst the echoes of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and Lennon's 70s ballads. A nostalgic ending that seems to whisper a goodbye to the fans, promising an even better next album (there would still be 40 tracks shelved during the sessions), but I believe a pact with the devil would be needed to have ten more albums of this value. The hidden track "I Can See It Now", a four-minute-plus chromatic/musical delirium, seems to be the prelude to a miracle.

The miracle is that Oasis were dead and buried, and after three albums, they have risen again. Celebrate Easter and don't be like Doubting Thomas: don't believe the truth.

Tracklist Lyrics and Videos

01   Turn Up the Sun (03:59)

I Carry Madness Everywhere I Go
Over The Border And Back To The Snow
So If You See Me And I Look Right Through
You Shouldn’T Take It As A Reflection On You

Come On, Turn Up The Sun
Turn It Up For Everyone
Love One Another, Love One Another

The Boys In The Bubble, They Wanna Be Free
They Got So Blind That They Cannot See
But I’m Not Your Keeper, I Don’T Have A Key
I Got A Piano, I Can't Find The 'c'

Come On, Turn Up The Sun
Turn It Up For Everyone
Love One Another, Love One Another

Come On, Turn Up The Sun
Turn It Up Foe Everyone
Love One Another, Love One Another

02   Mucky Fingers (03:56)

I Know You Think You Deserve
An Explanation On The Meanings Of Life
But What You Think That You Heard
Slipped Away Out The Back Of Your Mind!!

You'll Get Your Mucky Fingers Burned
You Get Your Truth From The Lies You Were Learned
When All Your Plastic Believers
Will Leave Us, They Won't Return (Walk On)

And When You Look In That Mirror
And You're Tying Up Your Buttons And Bows
And As You Face Your Disease
You Can Squeeze Into The Emporer's Clothes

You Found Your God In A Paperback
You Get Your History From The Union Jack
And All Your Brothers And Sisters
Have Gone And They Wont Come Back

I'm Fed Up With Life In This City
All The Phonies Have Blown My Mind
When I'm Gone, You Look Like You'd Miss Me
So Come Along With Me But Don't Ask Why

Cos It's All Mine!!
It's All Mine!!
It's All Mine!!
It's All Mine!!

03   Lyla (05:10)

Callin' All The Stars To Fall
And Catch The Silver Sunlight In Your Hands
Come For Me And Set Me Free
Lift Me Up And Take Me Where I Stand

She Believes In Everything
And Everyone, And You And Yours And Mine
I Waited For A Thousand Years
For You To Come And Blow Me Out My Mind

Hey Lyla, A Star's About To Fall
So What D'you Say Lyla?
The World Around Us Makes Me Feel So Small Lyla
If You Can't Hear Me Call Then I Can't Say Lyla
Heaven Help You Catch Me If I Fall

She's The Queen Of All I've Seen
And Every Song And City Far And Near
Heaven-Hell My Mademoiselle
She Ring The Bell For All The World To Hear

Hey Lyla, A Star's About To Fall
So What D'you Say Lyla?
The World Around Us Makes Me Feel So Small Lyla
If You Can't Hear Me Call Then I Can Say Lyla
Heaven'll Help You Catch Me If I Fall

Hey Lyla, A Star's About To Fall
So What D'you Say Lyla?
The World Around Us Makes Me Feel So Small Lyla
If You Can't Hear Me Call Then I Can Say Lyla
Heaven'll Help You Catch Me When I Fall

Hey Lyla
Hey Lyla

04   Love Like a Bomb (02:52)

05   The Importance of Being Idle (03:39)

I sold my soul for the second time
'Cos the man, he don't pay me
I begged my landlord for some more time
He said "Son, the bills' waiting"
My best friend called me the other night
He said "Man - are you crazy"
My girlfriend told me to get a life
She said "Boy - are you lazy"

But I don't mind
As long as there's a bed beneath the stars that shine
I'll be fine
If you give me a minute, a man's got a limit
I can't get a life if my heart's not in it
Hey hey

I don't mind
As long as there's a bed beneath the stars that shine
I'll be fine
If you give me a minute, a man's got a limit
I can't get a life if my heart's not in it
Hey hey

I lost my faith in the summer time
'Cos it don't stop raining
The sky all day is as black as night
But I'm not complaining
I begged my doctor for one more line
He said "Son - oh, words fail me"
It ain't no place to be killing time
I guess I'm just lazy

I don't mind
As long as there's a bed beneath the stars that shine
I'll be fine, if you give me a minute, a man's got a limit
I can't get a life if my heart's not in it
Hey hey

06   The Meaning of Soul (01:42)

07   Guess God Thinks I'm Abel (03:24)

I Could Be Your Lover
You Could Be All Mine
We'd Go On Forever
Til The End Of Time

You Could Be My Best Friend
Stay Up All Night Long
You Could Be My Railroad
We'd Go On And On

Lets Get Along, There’S Nothing Here To Do
Lets Go Find A Rainbow
I Could Be Wrong But What Am I To Do?
Guess God Thinks I’M Abel

You Could Be My Enemy
I Guess There's Still Time
I'd Get 'round To Loving You
Is That Such A Crime?

Lets Get Along, There’S Nothing Here To Do
Lets Go Find A Rainbow
I Could Be Wrong But What Am I To Do?
Guess God Thinks I’M Abel

No One Can Break Us
No One Could Take Us
If We Try

No One Can Break Us
No One Could Take Us
If We Try

No One Can Break Us
No One Could Take Us
If We've Tried

Come Along, Let’S Make It Tonight

08   Part of the Queue (03:47)

Suddenly I've Found That I've Lost My Way In This City
The Streets And The Thousands Of Colours All Bleed Into One
I Fall Down, Heaven Wont Help Me; I Call Out, No One Would Hear
All Of A Sudden I've Lost My Out Of The City

Stand Tall, Stand Proud
Every Beginning Is Breaking Its Promise
I’m Having Trouble Just Finding Some Soul In This Town

The Names On The Faces In Places They Mean Nothing To Me
It's All They Can Do To Be Part Of A Queue In This Town
I Fall Down, Heaven Wont Help Me; I Call Out, No One Will Hear
"There'll Be No Tomorrow" They Say, Well I Say "More's The Pity"

Stand Tall, Stand Proud
Every Beginning Has Broken Its Promise
I’m Having Trouble Just Finding My Soul In This Town

Stand Tall, Stand Proud
Every Beginning Has Broken Its Promise
I’m Having Trouble Just Finding My Soul In This Town

Finding My Soul In This Town
But I'll Keep On Trying...
I Keep On Trying

09   Keep the Dream Alive (05:45)

Four Seasons, Seconds Flicker And Flash, I'm Alone
A Lonely Scream Provides The Scene, It's No Home
Every Night I Hear You Scream But You Don't Say What You Mean
This Was My Dream But Now My Dream Has Flown

I'm At The Crossroads Waiting For A Sign
My Life Is Standing Still But I'm Still Alive
Every Night I Think I Know -- In The Morning -- Where Did It Go?
The Answers Disappear When I Open My Eyes

I'm No Stranger To This Place
Where Real Life And Dreams Collide
And Even Though I Fall From Grace
I Will Keep The Dream Alive

Four Seasons, Seconds Flicker And Flash, I'm Alone
A Lonely Scream Provides The Scene, It's No Home
Every Night I Hear You Scream But You Don't Say What You Mean
This Was My Dream But Now My Dream Has Flown

I'm No Stranger To This Place
Where Real Life And Dreams Collide
And Even Though I Fall From Grace
I Will Keep The Dream Alive

I'm No Stranger To This Place
Where Real Life And Dreams Collide
And Even Though I Fall From Grace
I Will Keep The Dream Alive

Nah Nah Nah
Nah Nah Nah

10   A Bell Will Ring (03:07)

A Little Space, A Little Time
See What It Can Do
A Little Faith, A Peace Of Mind
See What Passes Through

The Sun Will Shine On You Again
A Bell Will Ring Inside Your Head
And All Will Be Brand New

Come Alive, Come On In
Here's Something That You Know
The World's As Wide As Your Life Is Thin
So Entertain Your Goals

The Sun Will Shine On You Again
A Bell Will Ring Inside Your Head
And All Will Be Brand New

All Will Be Brand New

I Can Tell You What You Wanna Hear
I’Ve Been There Once Before
You Pulled Me Through My Empty Nights
Sleepless On Your Floor

The Sun Will Shine On You Again
A Bell Will Ring Inside Your Head
And All Will Be Brand New

And All Will Be Brand New
And All Will Be Brand New

11   Let There Be Love (05:36)

12   Can You See It Now? (I Can See It Now!) (04:19)

13   Sittin' Here in Silence (On My Own) (01:59)

Sittin' in silence on my own
Wait 'til everybody's gone
And only I can see
What it means to be
Sittin' here in silence on my own

And only I can see
What it means to be
Sittin' here in silence on my own
Sittin' here in silence on my own

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Other reviews

By charles

 The hopes of those (almost) everyone can safely be said to have been repaid in the best way.

 'Turn Up The Sun'—a jewel of the album, showing the band’s change and harder, engaging sound.


By ste84

 Oasis hit the mark by producing an album that contains just one thing: ROCK!

 ‘Let There Be Love’ ... The alternating voices of the brothers make it all more magical.


By George gordon

 "The tracks are more 'stripped down' compared to the good old days, but still always direct and sincere."

 "Don't Believe... represents hope for the future with all four band members writing songs."


By Abel

 "I think 'don’t believe...' is a beautiful album that recalls the carefree spirit of 'Definitely Maybe' while innovating with original songs."

 ‘‘It’s unacceptable to dismiss with quick insults a band that has contributed so much to rock music over two decades.’


By rockanto

 Don’t Believe The Truth is a great album, probably the best English rock CD released this year.

 'The Importance Of Being Idle' is probably the most refined song Oasis have ever made.