Oasis. Standing On the Shoulder Of Giants.
Nostalgia isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The first two Oasis albums were extraordinary, but their fourth – re-released today on silver vinyl – is at best so-so. It opens gloriously with the rowdy F****** In The Bushes, a combative instrumental driven by a snarling Zeppelin-like riff, adorned with quickfire samples from the Isle Of Wight festival. As hooligans tear down fences, we hear a promoter rant, “We worked for one year for you pigs…” The track feels simultaneously dangerous and uplifting. But nothing else comes close to it. The Gallaghers famously channelled the Beatles on earlier releases – hence the title. There are nods to the Fab Four here too, but largely the band sound more like their own tribute act. Go Let It Out is Oasis-by-numbers. Gas Panic! aims to recapture the potency of festival anthems like Live Forever but collapses under the weight of its own 6-minute-plus pomposity.
Along the way we get a self-indulgent slice of trippy sub-Kula-Shaker psychedelic tripe (Who Feels Love?) and Little James, Liam’s banal ballad for his stepson, with basic sub-Imagine piano chords and lyrical doggerel.
David Bowie. Young Americans.
Rock chameleon Bowie pulled off his greatest twist by embracing Philly soul on this re-issued 1975 album which gave him his first US chart-topper with Fame, co-written with John Lennon and guitarist Carlos Alomar. Bowie called his RnB phase “thoroughly plastic” but James Brown was so impressed with Fame he famously filched the riff.
The title track, with Luther Vandross on backing vocals, still sounds terrific and the lyrics sparkle: ‘She took his ring, took his babies/It took him minutes, took her nowhere…’ Highs include the dreamy Win with David Sanborn’s sax and the funkier Fascination. Lows? Too much negativity, not enough tunes. The weakest track is Bowie’s take on Lennon’s Across The Universe.
Jethro Tull. Curious Ruminant.
Prog rock veterans Tull sound remarkably sprightly on their 24th album, mining their own classic sound as Ian Anderson’s flute interacts with acoustic guitars on the opening track, Puppet And The Puppet Master. Dunsinane Hill knits Celtic folk with Macbeth for political observations. Jack Clark’s melodic guitar adds to the thoughtful, jaunty mix throughout. Over Jerusalem’s musical mid-passage is magical.
PP Arnold. Soul Survivor: A Life In Song.
She started as an Ikette, sang with the Small Faces and had a solo hit with the original version of Cat Stevens’s The First Cut Is The Deepest before working with KLF. Los Angeles born PP – Pat to her pals – is an under-sung soul great. This stylish, career-spanning 57-song 3CD set packs in singles, LP tracks, demos, and unreleased songs.
Bradley Simpson. The Panic Years.
The Vamps singer opens his heart on his first solo album drawing on personal heartache. Cry At The Moon shows what Brad’s capable of, pairing honesty and heartfelt emotion with a sweeping alt-rock chorus. Carpet Burn builds from revelatory lyrics to an irresistible refrain. Breezy charmer Daisies shows he does upbeat too.