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Heard Here

Oasis

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

After a lengthy hiatus from the studio following 1997's coke-binged sessions that spawned the commercial disappointment and, in the band's eyes, personal failure of Be Here Now, Oasis has returned with a somewhat different outlook, lineup and sound on Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. In a way, it would be hard for them not to attempt to redefine themselves after making two of the most influential rock albums in decades, which they promptly followed with one of the most public meltdowns in rock n' roll history. Now, in an effort to rebuild, the band has chosen to do so by forsaking the pop perfection of Definitely Maybe and the sensitivity of (What's The Story) Morning Glory in favor of a more brash, noise-ridden sound and a more liberal approach to songwriting.

Opening with the psych-tinged beat and sample-heavy instrumentals of "Fuckin' in the Bushes," the album bursts out of the gates with an intense urgency reminiscent of early British punk, yet sounding more like the Chemical Brothers. But when the vocals kick in on the second track, "Go Let It Out," Giants kicks into high gear. "Let It Out" is quite possibly the band's best single since "Wonderwall," and when Liam Gallagher sings, "Paint no illusion, try to click with what you got," it becomes apparent that he and his brother Noel are giving us something of a manifesto for their latest work. The Brothers Gallagher have tried to deflate their bloated rock-star images and become "ordinary people like you and me" on this release, and perhaps they have to some extent. Liam is back on the wagon, Noel's taking it easy with the drugs, and both brothers have become fathers since their last time out. They know that everyone's had enough of their arrogant posturing, and everyone's heard their share of Beatles comparisons by now. But they're not going to drop all of that entirely. Instead, the band lays it all out for the listener on Giants and basically says, "Take it or leave it."

That said, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is undoubtedly their most ambitious album to date. Certainly, it still has something of the old Oasis feel to it, but the band moves into uncharted territory with their heavy sampling and the eerie, ambient production on songs like the King Crimson-esque "Sunday Morning Call" and "Gas Panic!" On the latter, one of the album's best tracks, the band almost moves toward a sound that's not unlike that of the now-defunct Verve. The song's swirling noise and slow, driving beat combine with Noel's raucous guitar playing to create an almost unsettling masterpiece that, from a lyrical standpoint, may be a response to all the flack the band has taken from the British press. Some things haven't changed, though. Noel still wears his songwriting influences on his sleeve, which is most obvious on the album's triumphant closer, "Roll It Over," and on the dreamy "Who Feels Love?" Meanwhile, the band's sibling rivalry is still very much in evidence, as Noel saves the album's best ballad for himself, singing without Brother Liam on "Where Did It All Go Wrong?"

The problem with Giants lies in the fact that while five or six of its ten songs are brilliant, the album itself never really goes anywhere. It starts off with so much driving force, but then suffers from a serious drop in momentum and a noticeable lack of focus. The band meanders along in structures that sound like warmed-over AC/DC or Stone Roses with lyrics that are at times embarrassing. The worst part about these songs, though, is that they are still catchy enough that they get stuck in your head whether you like them or not. By the time the album's anthemic ending steps in, it's almost impossible for the Gallaghers to salvage the recording as a whole. The album is still, however, a vast improvement over Be Here Now and will in the long run most likely prove to be a valuable part of the band's catalogue.

- Jesse Woghin

AC/DC

Stiff Upper Lip

What can you possibly say about Stiff Upper Lip, the latest entry into an AC/DC catalogue that has been growing steadily ever since the release of the band's 1974 Australian debut High Voltage? As one might expect, it features more of the same heavy blues that the boys from Down Under have been producing for years, complete with bludgeoning power chords and soaring guitar solos. And it boasts a handful of catchy tunes, standard fare for the band that made its name with FM classics like "Highway to Hell," "Back in Black" and "Thunderstruck." But Stiff Upper Lip can hardly be considered a step forward for a band that has dedicated its entire career to producing the same riff-driven cock rock that once brought fame and fortune to equally high-minded American acts like KISS and Aerosmith. Instead, Lip is little more than an accessory, a slick excuse for a bunch of hard-rock dinosaurs to hit the road for a lucrative nostalgia tour.

But perhaps that's not such a bad thing. Since forming AC/DC in 1973, guitarist Malcolm Young and his younger brother Angus have survived the departure of lead singer Dave Evans, the death of his successor, Bon Scott, and the barbs and insults of critics from every corner of the globe. After watching their international popularity dwindle after the release of 1983's Flick of the Switch, the band even faced criminal charges when a group of outraged families filed a lawsuit claiming that "Night Prowler," a track from the seminal 1979 album Highway to Hell, inspired a series of grisly murders. But nothing has ever been able to stop AC/DC from recording and touring, not even death. Indeed, the Young brothers have dutifully overcome every obstacle that has crossed their paths, all the while producing formulaic, radio-friendly rock for the masses. Who cares if they have essentially spent the past three decades recording the same album? It's a good album, and it always features a healthy dose of fist-pumping anthems. And though the band was never blessed with enough creative spark to justify albums like Stiff Upper Lip and 1995's Ballbreaker, their overblown live shows never fail to send fans home with a smile.

Like any good AC/DC album, Lip is a standard collection of mid-tempo blues numbers with a few ferocious, ear-splitting anthems thrown in for good measure. The title track sounds suspiciously like an updated version of "Shoot to Thrill," a fast-paced rocker from the band's most successful release, Back in Black; meanwhile, "Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll" rages with the same arrogant swagger that inspired hits like "Back in Black" and "You Shook Me All Night Long." But the boys are at their best on "Hold Me Back," a song that channels all of the band's musical prowess and aggression into four minutes of vintage AC/DC gold.

So it doesn't really matter that Stiff Upper Lip finds AC/DC spinning its creative wheels, nor does it matter that lead singer Brian Johnson's menacing growl was replaced by a hoarse whisper sometime after the 1990 release of The Razor's Edge. Clearly, these boys are content to stick with the formula that has served them so well over the course of 15 studio productions and two live sets, and it's a formula that works. It may be tired and stale, but it's always good for a laugh or two.

- Rossiter Drake

Black Crowes

Live At the Greek

When the Black Crowes hit the big time with 1990's Shake Your Money Maker, it was immediately apparent that their combination of southern-blues rock and "legalize it" eulogizing would win the hearts of every classic rock beer-belly both north and south of the Mason-Dixon. Finding their way into the rotation of Top Forty and classic rock stations alike, the band catapulted to arena-sized success in a matter of months and, though the 15 minutes of popular fame would eventually fade, the Black Crowes would prove that they were anything but a flash in the pan. By building a fan base amongst the Ted-Nugent-for-President crowd with straight-faced guitar-jam rock and microwavable groovers like "Twice as Hard," the Crowes had the "new" classic rock down to an instant science.

In 1999, however, the Crowes finally put two and two together by adding guitar super-god Jimmy Page to their lineup for a portion of their shows after doing a brief stint with a reunited Led Zeppelin. And to be sure, the addition of Page to the Crowes' show was proof of the band's marketing genius. But drawing in thousands of mullets for one sold-out show after another wasn't enough, so the band did what any enterprising group of superstars would who were sitting on a gold mine: they made a 19-song live double-LP ultra-epic.
black crows



Live At the Greek, recorded at L.A.'s famous Greek Theater, is everything that classic rockers could hope for, providing an even mix of Zeppelin covers and electric blues standbys. Sadly predictable, the album does exactly what it is supposed to do by putting a 1999 chapter in the annals of a legacy started nearly 30 years ago by Peter "Comes Alive" Frampton. Clocking out at just under two full hours, the album features plenty of precious moments that would never have been possible in the studio, and aside from some of the mind-numbing, unadulterated wanking that Page offers on some of the blues numbers and a version of "Out on the Tiles/Whole Lotta Love" that would probably send Robert Plant to an early grave, Live At the Greek is sure to force open the purse strings of the staunchest of Zeppelin die-hards.

Lead singer Chris Robinson more than holds his own on most of covers, and, with the addition of Page, the six members of band are almost able to produce the colossal sound that the original Zeppelin captured on their 1976 live effort, Song Remains the Same. And it's true that many of the covers are performed with all the intensity that one could really expect from a band that probably spends half its waking hours stoned to the tits. But when the Black Crowes rock the hardest, it is more of a reminder of how much harder Led Zeppelin did back in the day. With "Shape of Things to Come" and "What Is and What Never Should Be," Roberts does an uncanny job of reproducing Plant's widely influential vocal stylings and the rest of the Black Crowes are a true testament to the spirit of the original tunes, but somehow it is always almost enough. "Your Time is Gonna Come," is, far and away, the most resonant track on the double disc. With the web-exclusive release that allows the Black Crowes to circumvent contractual restrictions placed on them by Columbia and allows customers to select individual tracks for purchase, "Your Time is Gonna Come," is absolutely a must-have.

While Live At the Greek is more often than not predictable, there is little doubt that Black Crowes and Zeppelin fans alike will cherish it as a classic rock moment to be remembered, and with it the Black Crowes give a much deserved - and fairly respectable - nod to the music that they owe such a great debt.

- Nate Cavalieri

Mouse On Mars

Niun Niggung

Industrial may have died with Dr.Goettel, but the Germans still like to play with their little machines. With neighbors like Neu and Can living in your town, it would be pretty hard for it not to rub off on someone, and Mouse on Mars are living proof. Their fourth album Niun Niggung is yet another marvel of impeccably polished synthetic atonal elegance. The album continues to battle against an agonizing plea for the danceable, and if that's what your looking for just sit right back down, turn on the Cartoon Network and drink a mean cup of Robotussin. Maybe then you can listen to the fragmented foolishness of "Yippie" while maintaining a straight face.

Niun Niggung may not be the hottest pick of the week, but it surely stands on its own in the innumerable rows of drivel in your local record store known as modern electronica. Indeed, it is the 1990's realization of Kraftwerk's stolid cybermench. However, if blind faith were to weigh it against the finer works of Mouse on Mars, namely Glam and Autoditacker, this is merely an entertaining and technically-accomplished diversion. On this, their sixth full-length album of their career, the tectonic Duo of Deutschland has finally established a distinct personality as abstract ambient electro-pop pranksters.

If anything, this new album takes pop beyond the valley of the dull to seek the brilliance of experimental kitschiness. The group has harnessed their trademark electromagnetic noxiousness and retooled the accustomed listener. Strangely melodic and bizarre, this collage of shattered elegance creates its own soundscape of heavily-processed circus music which is moving towards a horizon of infinite possibilities. And though these sidewinders are capable of forging a raft against the tides of the mundane and melancholy, it looks like for the time being they just wanna have some fun.

- Jason Woloz

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Copyright © 2000, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 128, Number 17, March 10, 2000

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