New millennium; new Oasis…
Go Let It Out, by Oasis (their 5th of eight #1s)
1 week, from 13th – 20th February 2000
I mean ‘new’ in the sense that they had lost Bonehead, their rhythm guitarist, and bassist Paul ‘Guigsy’ McGuigan’, as well as forming their own record label, Big Brother. I don’t mean it in the sense that the Gallaghers had made many huge changes in sound for the year 2000. It’s largely business as usual.
There is a drum loop, but that’s as big a nod to the sounds of the new millennium as we get. The rest is pure Oasis: big, dumb chords; big, dumb lyrics; and some tricks nicked from the Beatles circa 1967. From this album, ‘Standing on the Shoulder of Giants’, onwards, every one of their lead singles will follow the same formula. To be as loud and as instantly recognisable as possible, announcing to everyone within earshot that the boys are back in town.
So ‘Go Let It Out’ is big, and loud, and Liam is on sneery form. It ticks all the boxes, demanding to be belted out by lads in pubs, with lyrics like We’re the builders of our destiny… But it never manages to rise above the faux-psychedelic sludge. There are some nice touches: the squealing guitars and whistle that introduce the final chorus, the wind-up riff in the fade-out, and the bit where Noel announces Feel the bass… (I have a soft spot for bands introducing their instruments and guitar solos). But overall, I’d say that this is my least favourite of Oasis’s eight chart-toppers.
Meanwhile, ‘Standing on the Shoulder of Giants’ is surely everyone’s least favourite Oasis album. (I have defended ‘Be Here Now’ in my earlier Oasis posts, and am prepared to do so again!) It has a couple of good tracks – ‘Gas Panic’ is a paranoid gem, while ‘Fuckin’ in the Bushes’ is perhaps their second best album opener after ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ – and a pretty decent single in ‘Sunday Morning Call’, which made #4 later in 2000. But it also has ‘Little James’, so…
Probably the most important thing about ‘Go Let It Out’ was it confirmed that the Oasis of 1994-1996, the biggest band in the land, were not coming back. This is the start of Oasis living on past glories. Noel Gallagher has gone on record as regretting how many good songs he used up as B-sides back in the mid-nineties, such as the three on ‘Some Might Say’ which I featured a couple of weeks back. The thing is, though… the B-side to this record, ‘Let’s All Make Believe’, is genuinely one of the best things Oasis ever recorded. Had it featured on ‘Standing…’ it would have been the best track by a mile. Let’s face it, Noel’s just loves being a contrarian.
The UK Number Ones Blog 
Neat song with a bit of a Beatles vibe. I still find it hard to believe that I somehow managed to completely ignore Oasis when they were hot, instead living happily in a bubble where I largely listened to ’60s and ’70s music. Anyhow, I guess the one advantage about ignoring Oasis was I also missed the tiresome rock & roll drama between the Gallagher brothers! 🙂
Haha that is true. I mean, both brothers have had their idiotic moments, but at least they kept things lively…
Just saw they’re playing New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium in late August. I’m somewhat tempted, though haven’t checked how much the tickets are! 🙂
I’ll bet it’s easier to get tickets for that than any of their UK shows next summer! I’d go if I were you 🙂
I think I’m going to check out ticket prices. I’ve definitely come to dig their music!
Oasis could no wrong in the 90s in my book. In the 2000s however, that’s a different story. Noel lost his ability to write consistently great albums and instead Oasis became a 3-4 good songs + filler album band.
However, I do really like this song (the album is okay, not the best thing in the world, but definitely not bad). I dunno, maybe it’s the Beatlesque flutes. Liam is his usual brilliant self. But coming in the 2000s, the band is no longer the biggest thing in the world. They’re just another popular rock band. And I know Noel hated that.
I always found it ironic that Oasis were accused of being Beatles copycats in the 90s but they didn’t really start sounding like The Beatles until the 2000s. Noel got really, really into psychedelia during the 2000s from what I remember from listening to Oasis’ 2000s albums a few years back.
They had had their Beatles moments in the 90s – ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ springs to mind – but in the 2000s they kept re-treading the same vaguely Sgt Peppers/Magical Mystery sound, over and over (like the flutes you point out in this one).
I think Noel was trapped in the mindset of always having to give the fans what they wanted in the 2000s (plus all the drugs and booze wouldn’t have helped, creatively). I really like their last album, ‘Dig Out Your Soul’, as it was a shift away to a (slightly) newer sound. It’s a shame they couldn’t stick it out and see where the next album would have taken them. Plus, his High Flying Birds stuff has been a bit more relaxed and experimental.
I’m torn as to whether or not I want them to record new music along with the comeback tour… If they’re just going to try to recreate the 90s then better they just stick to the hits…
This one sounds OK, but kind of amazed they were still topping charts at this point.
Oh they kept scoring number ones right through the 00s, usually with the lead single from a new album
It felt like the first three albums were huge in New Zealand (although maybe it took a while for Definitely Maybe to gather steam). Looks like Go Let It Out peaked at #31 here.
Let’s All Make Believe IS totally great. I love that song. I do like this hit here as well. The charts were odd to say the least.
Yeah Let’s All Make Believe is another of those great B-sides… I don’t know if it was sloppiness, or all the booze and drugs, or just bloody-mindedness, but why they ‘wasted’ so many great songs as B-sides is a mystery.
PS thanks for taking the time to catch up!
Yea he used too many of his good songs…you think they will keep coming.
The Beatles did as well on B-Sides…but they had Lennon and McCartney to write more. But y
Yes, I think Noel’s over confidence played a part too… It’s not always as easy to write hits once fame has taken its toll.
When you are in that zone you probably think…oh this will be forever…but that doesn’t happen. I think of John Fogerty…a hit writing machine but then he dried up.
not heard this in a while, it sounds fine actually albeit not one that springs to mind as either a number one or key Oasis single. The Beatles touches don’t hurt and neither does the shuffle beat. That’s a nice surprise, I was expecting it to be a bit meh!