Be Here Now

Arrived as described, shipped fast... this is a great album, additional B sides and demos are nice also, cant go wrong if you are a fan... critisims the run times are long, fair enough, but i dont care, I just hit repeat before the long instrumentals and solos near the end of some of the songs

Super

Très belle édition

Great Album; shame they ever broke up. End of a Dynasty

BE HERE NOW seems to have garnered the most opposing views out of Oasis' great lexicon of music. The end result is really that we all have Oasis to thank for keeping rock 'n roll "Still Alive and Well" as Johnny Winter sang so long ago & Neil Young's lyrics of "Hey, Hey, My, My" (Rock 'n Roll Will Never Die; which Noel happened to do a great job with at Wembley Stadium in 2000) through the extremely "lean" years of the 90's. Give 'em credit!! On both sides of the Atlantic the 90's could have seen the death of real rock. This seems like a good point to interject my viewpoint regarding the "so-called" Oasis "Phenomenon". Yes, they were a great rock band...but "phenomenon"? Let's be real! It was the 90's: We're not talking 60's or 70's. There was no competition! But, while some others also kept the dream alive, nobody else in the 90's had the catalog & talent that Oasis did. I don't think any other bands toured as much as Oasis seems to have done either. Oasis might've gotten a huge break early on in their career, that they didn't have to "put in some hard time" like so many other bands, but that didn't mean these guys just sat back & only indulged in the usual rock 'n roll excesses. They, too succumbed but they worked their behinds off, too! So, they partied hard & maybe worked even harder.BE HERE NOW is the Gallagher brothers at their most super-overinflated opinions of themselves! So what? In retrospect, they were young & shot out of a cannon with the overwhelming popularity of "Definitely, Maybe" and "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?". As a result, it makes a sort of sense that BE HERE NOW would have such egotistical lyrics following that enormous instant success. Oasis wouldn't have gotten those ego's without the help of all their fans & the media. So, cut 'em some slack...It still comes down to the music & Oasis' BE HERE NOW is fantastic, too!!! (It just may take a few more 'listens' to arrive at that conclusion than the first two did.)As far as all the fuss about Johnny Depp's slide guitar...he's alright. But, if you really want to know what slide is "all about", listen to Bonnie Raitt. She is to slide guitar what Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher & Johnny Marr are to guitar.By the 90's, the reality of just how much of a melting pot America is really came into play in music...hip hop was mainstream in the 80's; rap in the 90's, the "Lilith Fair" female singer-songwriters, r & b diva's in the 90's, the "boy" bands (of which there were both in the UK and US), grunge (I admit to liking and owning Garbage, The Offspring & Social Distortion, but I don't consider them to truly be grunge & Soc. D started in the '80's). And, I think only true grunge fans would consider grunge to be real rock 'n roll music. Also, by then 'metal' had started to have its' own sub-divisions! Depeche Mode kept music going but I don't know that I'd classify it as "rock". (Aside: I only got "into" Depeche Mode recently. "Soothe My Soul" off their new Delta Machine (all great!) got me hooked!) The Smithereens (a local NJ band, who hit, but not as big as Bon Jovi) and Lenny Kravitz did their parts, too, to keep rock going. But, my personal opinion is that none of the bands mentioned posed any real rock 'n roll competition for Oasis and for possibly even greater creativity if there had been any.Back to BE HERE NOW. No...It's not another "MORNING GLORY" or "DEFINITELY, MAYBE", but it DOES have GREAT tunes with one of the best voices in rock & roll history. I may not like that Liam said that Americans didn't "get" Oasis. I have to admit he may have been right (at the time). I, myself, got into Oasis "bass ackwards" as my dear old Dad would've said. By "getting into" Beady Eye first & then backtracking. Of course, I was AWARE of Oasis in the 90's...I wasn't dead!; but, I agree that I don't think they got the radio airplay they should've gotten & deserved in the States; because we were wrapped up in so many other musical genre's at that time. And, believe me, rockers really didn't know where to turn. I myself did a lot of listening to The Black Crowes and The Smithereens, and got into blues...Kenny Wayne Shepard, Robert Cray, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Susan Tedeschi and Indigenous. Also, a phase of non-"lilith fair" female singer- songwriters (Sheryl Crow, Joan Osborne & Lucinda Williams and the lesser known but so talented Tift Merritt, Toni Price, Annie McCue, and Thea Gilmore). But, then, I've never "gone with the pack" when it comes to music. I always try to seek out new.In the early 2000's, I found myself backtracking to one of my favorite decades: the 80's & becoming immersed in INXS. So, I also had to get past how Noel Gallagher insulted Michael Hutchence at the 1996 Brit Awards. But, they're soooooo good, I had to!! And, now I've already built an Oasis collection in just about 7 months that far surpasses my INXS one, in CD's & DVD's. For anyone starting to become an Oasis fan....there's PLENTY to choose from to start. There seem to be 2 "camps" of a fanbase...the early years with Bonehead and the later years with Gem & Andy. I'm more familiar with the later years & Gem & Andy only because I've watched "Familiar to Millions" Wembley Stadium concert DVD dozens of times & listened to that CD dozens of times already, too. (Aside to anyone starting: you MUST have at least one live CD & DVD...Oasis is DEFINITELY a band to hear live. There's a whole "underground" of "off-label" releases, too. It's tricky; best to, hopefully, find someone who is helpful & will kind of "mentor" you in the finer points. I didn't set out with some 'diabolical' scheme to find a mentor; I was just very fortunate that I made purchases from very friendly & knowledgeable UK people who seemed happy to share information with me, to keep me from getting "burned"). It must've been SO fabulous to've been "THERE AND THEN" (another great DVD, which some reviewers prefer over "FAMILIAR TO MILLIONS"; again, the 2 different fanbases of early years vs. later years). I'm lovin' ALL the years!!!BE HERE NOW may take several listens before you realize just how great this particular Oasis CD really is. I knew more than half the songs on it & liked them a lot; but as I come to play it more & more, I'm loving all of the songs more & more. I've surprised myself that one of my favorites on BE HERE NOW is "Don't Go Away"; a ballad (of all things!) I think that's why I maybe didn't 'get' Oasis in the 90's...for me, they were a little mellow for how I liked my rock. And, I realize, too, they sometimes use "string" instruments (like violins; woodwinds...instruments I never before associated with rock 'n roll). I had always liked big, head bangin' hard rock (AC/DC and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts had been favorites of mine for many years; so you have a reference point). I didn't "go for" CD's, or albums, that had a little of this, a little of that. But, the flip side of that coin is there's something for everyone! I've always had an open mind with music, though; which I'm so glad for; that I've found my way back to Oasis, even though they are no longer together. (But, I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Beady Eye's 2nd, BE & they are 3/4's of Oasis; however, I would be THRILLED if Oasis does reunite. Gem's a decent backup vocalist, but I do miss how Liam & Noel's voices harmonized & complemented each others' so well, even if the brothers' themselves didn't! I LOVE their version of "My Generation" better than the Who original!)"Stop Crying Your Heart Out" from HEATHEN CHEMISTRY is still my favorite Oasis ballad, but now "Don't Go Away" is giving it a run for it's money, I've got to say! I'm repeating myself, with this review, but again, all the songs ARE GREAT!; there are no "fillers". "Don't Go Away" is just SO exceptional. I'm always surprised at how fab Liam does ballads; that he's made me a lover of ballads (which I never went for!) when he does such a great job on the rockin' numbers. Other particular favs. here are definitely the opener "D'You Know What I Mean?", "My Big Mouth", "Stand By Me" and "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!) I guess back in the 90's probably the song I remember Oasis for most was "(What's The Story) Morning Glory?" and, I'm sure, that's because, for me, that was & always will be Oasis' most ROCKING tune. I do wish they, or, maybe, now Beady Eye, would've done at least a few more like Shakermaker, which was their most "blues-y" sounding track & they CAN do it all & DO IT WELL (a very early quote of Liam's); & SO TRUE....I would LOVE to hear more "blues" from them; but I don't think that'll happen, and that's just fine, too.BE HERE NOW...another winner of "NICE ONE" award! And, a big THANK YOU for keeping rock going for those of us who've practically been weaned on it & for those who were tots & teens in the 90's, the generation who right now may be finding their way to you & the generations to come!!!!!!!! CHEERS LIAM, NOEL, BONEHEAD, ANDY, GEM, CHRIS, The 'Shroud' (keyboards) & everyone else who ever lent "backing" vocals, guitar, percussion, etc...