Standing on the Shoulder of Giants

This article is about a music album. For the parable, see Dwarfs on the Shoulders of Giants .

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
Studio album from Oasis
Publication (s)	February 28, 2000
Label (s)	Epic / Sony BMG , Big Brother
Format (s)	CD , vinyl , cassette , DVD , MiniDisc
Genre (s)	Britpop
Title (number)	10
running time	46:41
occupation	Liam Gallagher : vocals Noel Gallagher : lead guitar , vocals Gem Archer : rhythm guitar Andy Bell : Bass Alan White : drums , percussion
production	Mark Stent, Noel Gallagher
Studio (s)	Chateau de la Colle Noire, France Olympic Studios , London Wheeler End Studios, London
chronology The master plan Standing on the Shoulder of Giants Familiar to Millions

Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Oasis . It was released worldwide on February 28, 2000 by Epic Records / Sony Music.

The album's title comes from a quote by Sir Isaac Newton : "If I can see Further than anyone else, it is only Because I am standing on the shoulders of giants " ( If I can see farther than everyone else, it is only because that I stand on the shoulders of giants. ). Noel Gallagher read this quote on a British £ 2 coin and immediately decided to name the next studio album that way. While drunk, he wrote the quote on the back of a pack of cigarettes. On the other hand, the next morning, sobered, he read “Standing on the Shoulder of Giants - A Bum Title” instead of “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants - Album Title” (Standing on the shoulders of giants - album title). The album plays a special role in the band's history, which at the time is marked by the departure of two founding members of the band, Paul “Bonehead” Arthurs and Paul “Guigsy” McGuigan, decreased popularity and a musical style change born of necessity.

Liam Gallagher celebrated a special premiere, contributing a song to an Oasis album for the first time. The trade press welcomed the courage to change, but overall the reviews were mixed. With around 2.5 million records sold, it is considered the commercially weakest Oasis album.

prehistory

With their last studio album, Be Here Now , Oasis were initially the darling of the media and the masses around the world, but in early 1998 the opposite trend developed as public opinion changed about the album and the behavior of the Gallagher brothers. The recurring tensions between the brothers, the physical strain of the extensive tours of the last few years, the years of drug and alcohol consumption and the negative criticism that had recently increased all left their mark. The motivation to keep the band going also waned when it became known that Creation Records, Oasis' record label since the early days, went bankrupt and was sold to Sony. Noel Gallagher knew the time had come for fundamental change. He renounced drugs and sought new inspiration for his music, for which he even traveled to Thailand. For the first time in his career he was confronted with the fact that he had no songs up his sleeve and had to rewrite an album including B-sides.

Recordings

The recordings took place in the Chateau De La Colle Noire in France as well as in the London Olympic Studios and in (Noel Gallagher's own) Wheeler End Studios between April and August 1999. The initial phase of recording in France is marked by the departure of founding members Paul Arthurs and Paul McGuigan. In England, the Gallagher brothers and drummer Alan White in the London studios with the help of guest and studio musicians as well as a new producer, Mark "Spike" Stent, re-recorded most of the arrangements of the songs - especially the instrumental contributions of the two migrated members.

style

This and Noel Gallagher's will to swap the guitar-dominated sound of the previous album for a new one resulted in a more experimental sound that comes up with electronica and psychedelic elements. The dark and melancholy sound of the album along with the introspective lyrics is a departure from the typical Britpop style of older Oasis recordings.

“Who Feels Love?”, For example, has Indian influences, the progressive “Gas Panic!” And “ Go Let It Out ” are provided with electronic effects such as drum loops , which make the rhythms of the songs very varied. Almost all of the songs feature keyboards that are strongly present, as in the case of “Little James”, e. T. take over the melody.

Reviews & aftermath

The reviews were also mixed. The new chimes and the lack of disproportionate guitar tracks were welcomed as a step in the right direction, but overly simple songwriting such as "I Can See a Liar" or "Little James", the use of old Wall-Of-Sound- Strategies like in "Gas Panic!", "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" when the elements of surprise were missing in the songs and the overall lack of modernity of the sound, which despite the electronic sounds is based too much on the psychedelic music of the 70s.

In the Q edition of April 2006, Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is the only Oasis album that appears in the list of the “50 worst albums of all time” (50 worst albums of all time). It ranks 46th and was called "the low point of their fallow years", although the album received a good review from the magazine at the time of its release and even in the list of the "50 Best Albums of 2000" (50 best albums of 2000 ) was represented. Noel Gallagher commented on the entry in the list of the worst albums: “Even though it wasn't our finest hour, it's a good album born through tough times. I worked harder on that album than anything before and anything since. "(" Although it is not one of our great moments, it is a good album, made in difficult times. I worked harder on this album than on all previous and later ones. " ) To this day, Noel Gallagher defends the lyrics of the songs, which he believes are among the best of his career.

The band boss is aware that the failure of Standing on the Shoulder of Giants is responsible for a further decline in supporters and general approval. The band was in danger of becoming a so-called rock dinosaur that fills the stadiums but no longer produces major albums. The press saw the end of the band again when Noel broke off the tour after a fight with his brother in Barcelona and only wanted to perform with Oasis on British territory. But these difficulties were also overcome, and after a few years Noel Gallagher regretted wanting to have changed too much at Oasis at once, which probably only contributed to the decline in the public's favor.

success

With over 310,000 copies in its first week, the album was awarded double platinum and is also the sixth fastest-selling in British chart history. Although it is the band's fourth number one album in the UK , it remains the commercially weakest studio album with just under three million records sold worldwide (as of August 2007).

Track list

All songs by Noel Gallagher , exceptions noted.

1. "Fuckin 'in the Bushes" - 3:18
2. "Go Let It Out" - 4:38
3. “Who Feels Love?” - 5:44
4. "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" - 4:27
5. "Little James" ( Liam Gallagher ) - 4:15
6. "Gas Panic!" - 6:08
7. "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" - 4:26
8. "Sunday Morning Call" - 5:12 am
9. "I Can See a Liar" - 3:12
10. "Roll It Over" - 6:31

various

• The first track, "Fuckin 'in the Bushes", can be heard in the soundtrack of the film Snatch - Pigs and Diamonds .
• "Little James" is the first song written by Liam Gallagher to be released.

Demos

A bootleg of the demos recorded in preparation for this album was launched in January 2000. Most of the songs were recorded by Noel Gallagher and a few friends in his home studios Supernova Heights and Wheeler End. In addition, all songs, with the exception of "Little James", are sung by Noel.

The bootleg contains demo recordings of:

1. "Carry Us All"
2. "Who Feels Love?"
3. "Fuckin 'in the Bushes"
4. "Little James"
5. "Gas Panic!"
6. "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is"
7. "Sunday Morning Call"
8. "I Can See a Liar"
9. "Go Let It Out"
10. "Roll It Over"
11. "Revolution Song"
12. "Where Did It All Go Wrong?"
13. "(As Long As They've Got) Cigarettes in Hell"
14. "Just Getting Older"
15. "Let There Be Love"

At the time of the leak, four songs ("Carry Us All", "Revolution Song", "Just Getting Older" and "Let There Be Love") were neither on the album nor as B-sides . Except for "Revolution Song", which was mentioned by the author Paolo Hewitt in his 1999 book Forever the People - Six Months on the Road with Oasis , the songs were completely unknown. Therefore, they were given hypothetical titles that were derived from frequently recurring passages in the song lyrics. While "Carry Us All" and "Just Getting Older" were guessed correctly, the titles of the other two were wrong with hindsight. "Revolution Song" has long been titled "Solve My Mystery" and "Let There Be Love" as "It's a Crime". "Let There Be Love" appeared on Don't Believe the Truth in a version that was heavily revised compared to the demo. In an interview with Melody Maker on February 23, 2000, Noel stated that “Revolution Song” was available as a demo, but was not released because Blur released a similar-sounding song at the same time. So “Revolution Song” can be recognized as a correct title. "Revolution Song" will appear as a bonus track on Noel Gallagher's second solo album "Chasing Yesterday".

swell

1. ↑ release date
2. ↑ Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
3. ↑ VH-1 Behind The Music documentary
4. ↑ Promo interview on British television from 2000 on youtube
5. ↑ laut.de biography
6. ↑ VH-1 Behind The Music documentary
7. ↑ ^{a b} Standing on the shoulder of giants ( Memento from March 14, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
8. ↑ plattentests.de Review
9. ↑ laut.de Review
10. ^ AllMusicGuide Review
11. ↑ Rock Profiles Interview
12. ↑ Rock Profiles Interview
13. ^ Interview on British television with Ant & Dec from December 2000 on youtube
14. ↑ Rock Profiles Interview on youtube