Oasis
Heathen Chemistry

THE REVIEW

It was 2002. Oasis had just recovered from the collapse that should have led them to a premature end. Yet "Be Here Now" wasn't bad at all, despite Noel Gallagher calling it horrible. So they decided to change direction and produced "Standing On The Shoulder of Giants", effectively a transitional album; because another equally bright path was opening for Oasis: The truth is that in the first ten years of the century, they released two masterpieces. This "Heathen Chemistry" is one step away from the band's ultimate masterpiece, "Don't Believe The Truth". The songs are very full-bodied, filled with robust guitars. What stands out in this album, even more so in "Don't Believe...", is the ability to "evoke". Oasis have always evoked: from shaving in front of the mirror in "Definitely Maybe" to the drunkenness of "(What's the Story) Morning Glory", to the walk along a graffiti-laden wall with a loved one in "Wonderwall". In "Heathen Chemistry" there is the evocation of old factories, a working-class world that is disappearing; It matters little if the album cheerfully begins with "The Hindu Times", there's "Stop Crying Your Heart Out" that brings it back on track. It seems to see graffiti-laden walls, dripping pipes, but also a desire for rebirth. This rebirth is called "Little By Little", the peak of the album, the best-constructed song of the album. It must be said that this album slightly falters, preventing it from being a masterpiece. It’s about a piece "Born On a Different Cloud" where Liam Gallagher imitates John Lennon... Oasis have nothing to do with the Beatles! It's evocative music that has nothing to do with the surrealism of the four from Liverpool. Liam should have avoided including that track, and the album would have been perfect. Never mind. In conclusion, we are facing an album that succeeds in combining the taste for great music with an evocative dimension consolidated in the subsequent album.