Noel Gallagher, the former lead guitarist and songwriter of the legendary British rock band Oasis, has been vocal about why he hates the third studio album by Oasis "Be Here Now."
Released in 1997, "Be Here Now" was a commercial success. Debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart and selling over 8 million copies worldwide. However, it received mixed reviews from critics and has since been criticized for its bloated and indulgent nature.
In an interview in 2004 Noel said “It’s the sound of … a bunch of guys, on coke, in the studio, not giving a fuck.†He adds “There’s no bass to it at all; I don’t know what happened to that … And all the songs are really long, and all the lyrics are shit. For every millisecond Liam is not saying a word. There’s a fuckin’ guitar riff in there in a Wayne’s World stylieâ€.
However brother Liam Gallagher says “If he didn’t like the record that much, he shouldn’t have put the fucking record out in the first place.†Liam tells NME in 2006. “I don’t know what’s up with him. It’s a top record, man, and I’m proud of it—it’s just a little bit long.â€
Oasis Merchandise
In another interview with Telia Schlanger in 2018 Noel says “What we just talked about, with second-guessing, that’s what Be Here Now suffered from,†He said. “It was the first time I was ever required to write an album as the biggest songwriter in the world. So I wilted under that pressure, I think.â€
“I hate that album,†Noel admitted. “And for no other reason then I was there when I wrote it, and I shouldn’t have written it. Did I know at the time [that it was bad]? Genuinely, I wrote it on holiday. For a start, you shouldn’t write rock and roll records in shorts. And I remember going back to London with the demo tapes, and I thought it was alright. I put it to everybody. Honestly, it was like they’d heard the greatest record of all time, and I thought, ‘Oh, maybe it is really good then.'â€
“So everybody around – management, record company, the rest of the band – [were saying] ‘Ah, this is amazing. This is the best thing you’ve ever done.’ And I was thinking, ‘Oh, it really is!’ Of course, then you put it out there. I guess the best reviews of any record that Oasis had ever had. So I remember being on tour [with] the two albums we had to play, Morning Glory and Definitely Maybe. A lot of these new songs. It quickly became very apparent after about four weeks that these new songs were now way up to the standards of this other lot.â€
What do you think of the album? Is it one you love or hate?