Oasis (2) – Be Here Now

Saying that Be Here Now went sideways is an understatement, saying that it was a complete failure is an overstatement, as there were some delightful bits for the bombastic production that have stood the test of time and outlasting those cocaine fueled days and nights, followed by more years of days and nights filled white line fever.  It’s hard to say that the band had lost their mindset for inspirational conscience songs from their indy past, opting here for rock n’ roll swagger, with numbers that were more lengthy and expansive.

With that in mind, flashing forward form 1997 to 2016, all of the infighting and hoopla from the press slips beneath the waves into a distant past, and listening to Be Here Now comes off a bit easier, and really does sound like a proper Oasis album in every way.  If anything Be Here Now, was released too quickly on the heels of What’s The Story Morning Glory, where these two albums were bookends of themselves, far different from each other, yet nearly released at the same moment in time, meaning that fans did not have the time or attitude to process each release individually, nearly filtering them together as a double album.  Though having said that, it’s important to lay much of the blame onto the shoulders of the record industry, who simply wanted more while this band was hot.  Perhaps Oasis did try much too hard to turn the album into their own personal St. Pepper-ish grand career defining moment, though such musical events usually just happen, and can not be forced into existence.  Yes, great four minutes songs got bloated into seven minute opuses of ambition and excess … yet today, I find that I rather enjoy numbers such as “Fade In-Out,” “Be Here Now” and “All Around The World” with its astounding three key changes, and other tracks that were laced with Beatle reference, withering intoxication, and an over the top presentation that make for a super listen.

Be Her Now will no doubt remain one of the best albums to be hated of all time, though with a critical hear, all of the songs play to the strengths of Oasis, with it’s downfall being that fans wanted more of the same, more of what they already knew, unwilling to let Oasis take their next step, though in this case that seems to have been a critics step or push into oblivion.  Yet rest assured, if you do go back and listen to this gem with fresher ears, and manage to have forgotten all the hyped press, Be Here Now makes for a satisfying experience to say the very least.

*** Be Here Now was released in August 1997. The release date in each region was commemorated on the calendar pictured on the cover sleeve and on the back cover of the CD booklet. By dating the album the band felt it would encourage fans to believe that buying a copy on the day it appeared was to participate in some kind of historical event.

The first release date was the was Thursday, August 21, 1997.
The second release date was Tuesday, August 26, 1997.

The cover image was shot in April 1997 at Stocks House in Hertfordshire, the former home of Victor Lownes, the head of the Playboy Clubs in the UK until 1988. It features Oasis standing outside the hotel surrounded by assorted props. At the center of the image is a Rolls Royce floating in a swimming pool that pays hidden homage to The Beatles. Oasis as always has paid tribute to The Beatles.  Oasis paid tribute to their idols in a subtle way, with the license plate on the Rolls Royce in the pool reading SYO724F, being the same license plate as that on the van featured on the Abby Road cover.  The rest of the items were simply selected from the BBC stockroom for no other reason than that their placement looked cool.

As to the album’s title, that’s yet another nod to The Beatles and to the times from which they rose.  “ Be Here Now” was a book written by spiritual teacher Ram Dass, with the title coming from a statement made by his guide Bhagavan Das, during his journeys in India … “, Be Here Now.”  With the word “” being written on the cover of the book sitting at all four commas points, and the words “Be Here Now” being written interchangeably as “Beherenowherbenowbenowherenowbeherenowbeherenow …” in a circle, meaning that this phase was cyclical and could be forever repeated in varying ways until the end of time, though the mystic would have you consider the forever beginning.

Review by Jenell Kesler