Apr 132007
You may recall my earlier post on the growth that Oasis demonstrated while ripping off old songs for their 2005 album, Don’t Believe the Truth. Today, I bring you another example from that album, a little number called “Turn up the Sun”. Tell me if you don’t hear a widely expanded palette of stolen and hinted at musical ideas. Bravo, Oasis!
This song sounds like a Ride or a Stone Roses song. But I don’t know which song(s). I actually don’t own any of either of their stuff but from what I’ve heard, I hear in this song. Doesn’t a guy from Ride play in Oasis (bass?)
As for Stone Roses, I’m taking a wild guess that Sally Cinnamon might have some insight?
ed you’re not getting too many nibbles at this, but i’ll chime in.
yes. i agree with sammy that it does SOUND like a Ride song (its production values are of that ilk). i’m not familiar enough with their catalog to say if the songwriting itself is like Ride’s.
but i suspect ed is hearing something more vintage and more surprising than what we’re used to hearing from oasis (the phrase “widely expanded pallette” suggests this to me, ed).
The last song was clearly taking its cue from a proto-punk source, either Velvets or Stooges or some associated act. The swing tempo on this song is reminiscent of the latter, or of Bowie (suck baby suck), or t-rex (uh metal guru..isittrue?).
but on the whole, unless there’s an influence that should be hitting me over the head that i’m not hearing (entirely possible…huge gaps in my knowledge), i think this is a much more subtle exercise.
and it’s not a bad song, to boot.
ed, if you want to talk about “newfound skills”, THIS is the example you want to use, i think. learning which bands are the cool ones to rip off isn’t a skill. but learning which ones are the RIGHT ones to rip off given where you want your band to go IS a skill. another level beyond that is learning how to assimilate influences, learn how to write YOUR songs from them, instead of slavishly imitate them .
and that’s what oasis seems to be doing here.
i’m not even a huge fan, but this isn’t bad.
i like the shimmering effect at the beginning and the end (which by the way reminded me of “face to face / something else” era kinks). it works well with the descending chord progression, also nicely reworked, expanded, and refrained at the end of the song, where the guitar line sounds a little like solo on the Blues Magoos, “aint seen nothin yet”.
ed, what are YOU hearing in this song?
I’m curious to hear what he hears as well. I did get some vague T-Rex out of it, but that was about it. Do tell, Townsman Ed!
Do I need to tell you what to think? I hear new influences, an expanded palette. Yeah, I hear some T Rex underneath it all. I also hear some late-80s/early-90s influences, the sounds of their initial contemporaries. This one does not have as many obvious influences as the last song, but hey, the band’s moving forward.
can you be more specific?
Sammy sez:
ha ha, you got it, thanks sammy;)
Yes – that’s Andy Bell who replaced Guigsy on bass, former guitarist/vocalist/songwriter for Ride – and also of the fledgeling band Hurricane #1 who had a few okay singles and an album before they called it quits… I can hear Ride’s ’96 album “Tarantula” influence in this song a bit more than the ‘roses… but sure – maybe second coming more, like “breaking into heaven” maybe (when you get past the rain at least…;) Incidentally – I’m in love with Mark Gardener’s solo stuff (the other half of Ride) http://www.myspace.com/markgardener