Heathen Chemistry
Oasis
Big Brother / Epic
2002
A week ago, new Oasis controversies arose. And you know what that means. Time for me to pull out another Oasis album to review, thus allowing me to use this as a vehicle to speak about the news. So let’s get to it. First, Liam announced that he and the rest of the band are recording a new album, but it will come out under a different name – ending “Oasis” for good. But no, this wasn’t even the important news. On February 16, a week ago, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? received the Brit award for Best Album of the Past 30 Years. I must say, a pretty high honor. So, what do you think happened? That’s right Liam Gallagher alone accepted the award on behalf of his band. He thanked the members of his band and “the best fucking fans in the world” – leaving out the one member of the band who was the only other original member up until the end. That’s right, he conveniently left out his brother, Noel. But wait, it gets better. Liam decided to prove his dickishness even more – in what I have to admit is actually pretty badass – by tossing the microphone, and the award, into the audience. The award. He tossed the award into the audience. I’ll stop typing so you can think that over.
So, in honor (is there a word that means the opposite of honor that would fit in with my meaning?), of this new story, I will review the band’s 2002 album, Heathen Chemistry. One of their more forgotten albums. After the giant flop and subsequent huge catastrophe that was Be Here Now, Oasis suffered a withdrawal of popularity, that lasted until Don’t Believe the Truth. Of course, this lack of the public caring didn’t stop any controversies from happening during the era of Heathen Chemistry. This would prove to be drummer Alan White’s last album with the band, with Zak Starkey taking his place afterwards. Then, of course, sibling rivalry came in to play. The band recorded all musical parts, and Noel handed over the tracks for Liam to record vocals. The release date kept being pushed back because Liam refused to actually do this. According to Noel, he spent three and a half months “concent[trating] on his drinking habit.” Then, the album leaked onto the internet three months before the album’s official release. And after all this, the album was received well in the UK – but in the American market, peaked at number 23 in the charts. Continue reading
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