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Oh boy, Be Here Now, talk about a divisive album. I’ll cut to the chase and say that I am a lover of Be Here Now and consider it one of my favourite albums of all time. The cover of the album itself symbolises the bombastic nature of the record, and in narcissistic fashion, even displays the album’s release date. The title, on the other hand, represents the arrogant nature of Oasis at the time (whether or not that was intentional). It’s like Oasis is instructing that you are going to be here now! If the first two albums were about trying to achieve your dreams, then Be Here Now was about living those dreams. The sound of a band high on coke and on top of the world, a real powerhouse of an album in which everything is turned up to 11. Be Here Now is not Morning Glory. I don’t want Be Here Now to sound like Morning Glory, we had Morning Glory and now this is something different. Unlike the first two albums, the songs on Be Here Now don’t have as many hooks and are not instantly catchy; Be Here Now is a dirtier, meaner record. When I first listened to the album I didn’t instantly latch onto it and took me a few listens to grow on me, unlike the first two albums which were love on first listen.
The album’s opening track D’You What I Mean? Is 7 minutes and 42 seconds long. Before the vocals even begin we are treated to a minute comprised of helicopter and Morse Code sound effects with the final minute of the song just being guitar feedback; that’s the level of bombastic indulgence we’re talking about here. This song is not radio-friendly yet it was the album’s lead single and went to number 1 on the UK charts; only Oasis had the clout to get a song like this to be a single. Yet, they would even outdo D’You What I Mean? with All Around the World, an epic all-devouring song which lasts for a whopping 9 and a half minutes, and it too was a UK number 1; the longest song in length to ever do so. It’s such a monstrous, epic song; a real celebration of everything Oasis had achieved up until that point.
I disagree with the notion that the B-sides from the Be Here Now era should have been included on the album. They’re great songs but they’re more reminiscent of Morning Glory and don’t match the over-the-top nature of Be Here Now. But aside from the over-the-top arena rockers of celebration (God knows just how many layers of guitar tracks are on My Big Mouth and It’s Gettin’ Better Man!!), we do get two more downbeat, emotional songs in the form of Stand By Me and Don’t Go Away; the latter of which being one of Oasis’ biggest tearjerkers.
No band could make Be Here Now today, no one would have the clout to do so. But not Oasis back then; I can imagine a record label executive asking the band does All Around the World have to be 9 and a half minutes long, and them replying “Yes if f**king does!”. When was the last time a band made an album that had the same “we’re on top of the world” spirit as that of Be Here Now? I’ve never been a fan of the post-millennium music scene, and for me personally, 1997 is the last year in which there were several high-profile album releases which I loved. The final sound effect on the album of a door shutting on the All Around the World Reprise signals the end of the Brit-pop era and the end of Oasis’ golden age.
Critics praised Be Here Now on its initial release, only later to detract from their praises. The complete opposite of what happened to Morning Glory, which received mixed reviews on the initial release and later went on to receive acclaim. Are people just conformist drones who listened to Oasis because it was the “cool” thing to do and backlashed against the band when Be Here Now turned out not to be another Morning Glory; or perhaps I’m just in a minority opinion who think this album is amazing? Who knows? Regardless, for me Definitely Maybe, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? and Be Here Now will always be the holy trinity of Oasis albums. Be Here Now, I salute you!
Be Here Now Era B-Sides and Rarities
As I stated before, the B-sides for the Be Here Now were more reminiscent of the Morning Glory era. There were not as many B-sides during the Be Here Now era, but all of them were good. Throughout their entire 90’s output, there are only two Oasis songs I don’t like (Hey Now! and Be Here Now); the band almost literally had no filler. I wonder if the backlash Be Here Now received prevented the album’s fourth single Don’t Go Away (which ended up only getting released in Japan) from having any new songs. e is one of my absolute favourite Oasis songs; what a choon! While it’s not the most lyrically significant Oasis song, it’s one seriously uplifting jam. The band’s cover of David Bowie’s Heroes is also superb; you can’t top the original but this is a dam fine cover. Now when will the deluxe edition of Be Here Now be here now?
