Noel G: "Oasis should never have made SOTSOG

HC is the lowest part of their career, and this includes dwayne a solo records

plus trailgunner!

Plus proud Mary!

And the burn!

Also Brexit!

Rocky V!

And Eddie Murphy!

HC is a weird one for me. I'd probably rank it as the worst Oasis album but I have very fond memories of it, and the time it came out.

I remember being incredibly excited for it. I was 17 and working in a call centre. I made some weird friends in that job.  One of the most normal people was this fella called Peter who used to give me lifts home in his Mini Metro, which was an absolute state and barely road worthy, but, it was better than getting the bus home.  He had loads of Oasis tapes in his car and it turned out he loved them. 

We got to talking about the new album and he told me he knew someone who was getting a copy before it came out.  This was a few years before I ever really used torrents or knew that albums leaked.  I wasn't sure I believed him but I asked if he could get me a copy anyway.  He said if I got him a blank CD, he would see what he could do.  I went in to work a couple of days later and right there on my desk in a plastic wallet was the CD I gave him with the words "OASIS HEATHEN" scribbled on it.  Could it be? Peter assured me that it was legit and that the album was amazing.  He said he had it on tape in his car.

The call centre I worked in was like a 10-minute drive.  Peter put the album on for the drive and we listened The Hindu Times (which I'd already heard) Force of Nature and a bit of Hung In A Bad Place.  Back then, it all sounded fucking incredible to me.  I just couldn't believe that I was finally listening to new Oasis.  It was so exciting.

One of my mates was having a BBQ for his birthday about a day or 2 after I got the album.  I still don't think the album had been properly released.  Weather wise, it was amazing, absolutely scorching.  The beer was flowing, the tunes were blasting and it was just so fucking good.  I was hesitant about mentioning having the new Oasis album because Peter made a big deal of not telling anyone about it- he made out like we could get into some sort of trouble for having it.  Of course, after 5 cans of Fosters and some cheap vodka, I didn't care.  I told a few people I had a copy at home but nobody believed me.  Luckily, home was only a 5 minute walk away so I hopped on my mates biked and zoomed home to get it.  I remember everyone absolutely loving Hung In A Bad Place   but of course, it was about Stop Crying Your Heart Out & Songbird, they were the ones that floored everyone and by about 7pm there were mass singalongs to Stop Crying Your Heart Out.  Huge times.

That album soundtracked perhaps one of the greatest summers I've ever had.  Listening back to it now, I can't help but smile and feel a bit giddy because it reminds of such a great time in life.

I have similar fond memories of that era, but I enjoyed more reading yours than if I was writing mine It is a very decent album anyway

Beautiful, Tux.

Great story Tux.

I'll never forget coming back from some community centre in Welling that was full of youngsters with electronic tags and shit, I'd been told by the job centre as I'd hit six months I'd have to join them in painting some school fence to continue receiving my doll money as part of the labour "new deal" that they'd created. I came home and popped on MSN and ROLLINICE told me to quickly get onto MIRC. He started to send over Stop Crying Your Heart Out, it took about 40 minutes to send the one track. Whilst that track was downloading I got a call from Royal Mail telling me I'd been accepted and could start the following week. I phoned up the job centre to tell them to find some other cunt to paint a church fence then went back to my bedroom to see the file was ready. On went Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Liam's voice kicked in... sounded like the greatest noise I'd ever heard Spent the next about 5 hours getting the rest of the tracks from Rollinice. Incredible times.

Aye ditto

That summer I was incredibly mad fer it, going down to TCOTU just turned 18 for all 3 nights at Finsbury Park was incredible. Was so care free and innocent back then I don't even think I drank much, just enjoyed the vibez.

Then two nights back at home in Manchester later on in the summer with two gals I met at the old forum party and Mahoney & Balldog staying over at my parents house on alternative nights was similarly incredible. 

Heathen chemistry off Norwegian radio on the cassette in my car being repeated again and again and again.

Generally a bit of a shitty album but great teems. 

I went back to Finsbury Park last summer for the first time properly since those Oasis gigs & it was the same setup as back then. I don't know why but all them years later it felt really special getting in through the gates, turning left & seeing the great big stage looking pretty much the same as in 2002. Of course cynical mid 30s Mahoney just moaned all day about the shit sound & bar queues but still, them Oasis gigs were a magical time.

Oasis, Charlatans, BRMC, The Coral, Proud Mary!

Finsbury Park was basically the woodstock of our age

Being 16 when HC was released is a huge part of why I still have a lot time for it as an album. There was a wave of excitement around the band around that time, in a way there wasn’t for DFTT.

Oasis headlined T in the Park shortly after playing Finsbury Park and it was properly epic, the kind of enjoyment you can only get from a gig when you’re young and watching your favourite band.

By the time the DFTT came out I was Officially Indie and enjoying Alternative Music so I was a lot more sceptical of what Oasis were putting out. To me that album sounds totally lifeless, it lacks any of the essential components that made Oasis exciting.

Saying that, I do have a happy memory of working late shift in Tesco when Brian Kickin Up A Storm McBride text me to say Lyla had leaked. I asked him if it was any good and he replied it was ‘absolutely incredible’ But we’ve all got carried away at times.

This is a genuinely beautiful anecdote. If I read that when hungover I’d probably start greeting.

I remember listening to that whole show on xfm (?) in my basement that day and just being mad I wasn't there. I had seen BRMC a month prior in a small club in Ottawa and spent 10 minutes talking to Robert about Bob Dylan and how they got the support slot for the oasis shows at the albert hall and this, secretly hoping they'd make me a roadie for the show. (Turns out Noel had actually tried to sign them to sour mash before they signed with virgin). The atmosphere when oasis went into hello and hindu times just sounded nuts. One of my great regrets, not getting to that show.

HC (officially) came out the day I got my driver's license. Similar to Mahoney, I remember the night I downloaded the leak off mIRC and distinctly remember thinking Little by little was the greatest thing I'd ever heard (that opinion has been somewhat revised. Cough.) I'd heard they'd "remixed" a few of the songs on the official version, and so I popped the CD in my car stereo as the 1st album I listened to as a fit and proper driver, and when the first 5 songs were pretty much identical, I started to get disappointed. Then little by little came on, and it just wanted to make me drive into a tree. I can't even pinpoint the difference between the two, but I just found the official version to be utterly dull and plodding. Produced by the band. FUCK YOU, the band.

Also, Finsbury Park was £32.50 a ticket. Could you imagine if they reformed tomorrow, it'd be near £100 a pop.

btw, anyone who fancies reminiscing about the glory days of albums leaking this book is a fantastic read. I'll never forget the joy of spending nearly an hour downloading my first MP3, Noel singing you've got to hide your love away from Napster. I literally couldn't believe the song was coming out my speakers, magical times.

Yeah I’ve read that, it is very good, if a bit dated now. It’s an accurate portrait of the days of early 2000s file sharing forums and the excitement of when albums leaked.

Hey, we all killed the music industry in the process, and now we’re left with robo pop stars and ageing nostalgia rock bands. But what a ride it was!

That Space Monkeys album was probably worth it though

Acid House Killed Rock & Roll... plus Rollinice.

The album was basically pretty shit, barring The Hindu Times, Songbird, Little By Little SCYHO and BOADC, the rest is pretty much a pile of wank....She Is Love? Deffo worst Oasis album.

But I to was 17 at the time of release and have great memories of listening to it that summer with the weather and the world cup,initially i thought it was great but it soon became a pretty boring listen, great times non the less.

Lyla is the better version of THT (and TSOTL). SCYHO is so dull it sounds like it was written for Leona Lewis.

(And I thought I was the only person in the world that liked (P)AITN! I will give the album that one.)

While SOngbird is great, the other two Liam songs are really bad.

DBTT was the comeback - the band were revitalised, Noel knocking out classics like TIOBI and POTQ (and singing better than in ages), Liam's three efforts among his best, a great short opener, and bar KTDA, an A-grade tracklist.

Swap KTDA for (P)AITM and DBTT would be rock solid.

(And yeah; I prefer Oasis' "Heroes" to Bowie's - I don't like Bowie. I'm sad he died when he did only because if he 'd lived a little longer he'd have been caught up in #metoo and he'd be getting the Michael Jackson treatment now.)