On This Day In Oasis History.....

Be Here Now is the third studio album by English rock band Oasis, first released on August 21st 1997.

It was Oasis' most eagerly-awaited album, and while it was commercially successful, it failed to live up to the expectations that preceded its release. Despite its mixed critical reception, in 1998 Q magazine readers voted it the 13th greatest album of all time (although it subsequently slipped to 459th place in a poll by the same magazine). Retrospectively, the album is criticised for being over-indulgent, bloated, and with the guitars having a slightly "acidy" sound. Be Here Now is, nonetheless, held in high regard amongst some Oasis fans.

When released in the UK, Oasis were at the height of their fame. It became the fastest selling album of all time — it sold 423,000 copies on the first day of release alone, moving 695,761 copies in the first week and over 1 million within two weeks. Be Here Now went on to sell 8 million copies worldwide. It also topped the charts in 28 different countries.

Tracklisting

01. D'You Know What I Mean? – 7:42
02. My Big Mouth – 5:02
03. Magic Pie – 7:19
04. Stand by Me – 5:56
05. I Hope, I Think, I Know – 4:23
06. The Girl in the Dirty Shirt – 5:49
07. Fade In-Out – 6:52
08. Don't Go Away – 4:48
09. Be Here Now – 5:13
10. All Around the World – 9:20
11. It's Gettin' Better (Man!!) – 7:00
12. All Around the World (Reprise) – 2:08

All tracks written by Noel Gallagher.

Singles From Album



D'You Know What I Mean?
Released: 7 July 1997
Writer: Noel Gallagher
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher
Chart Positions: #1 (UK) , #1 (FIN), #1 (IRE)



Stand By Me
Released: 22 September 1997
Writer: Noel Gallagher
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher
Chart Positions: #2 (UK)



All Around The World
Released: 12 January 1998
Writer: Noel Gallagher
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher
Chart Positions: #1 (UK), #1 (IRE)



Don't Go Away (Japan only)
Released: 13 May 1998
Writer: Noel Gallagher
Producers: Owen Morris and Noel Gallagher
Chart Position: — ?

Miscellanea

Noel Gallagher said that, in fact, he wanted to make a double album, but later reconsidered and scrapped some of the tracks intended for this release. Some, like "Stay Young" and "Going Nowhere", were released as B-sides. Nevertheless, the record is their longest so far: at over 70 minutes, it is about 25 minutes longer than the average length of their other records.

Be Here Now is the fastest selling album in UK chart history.

Famous actor Johnny Depp guests on slide guitar on "Fade In-Out". Reportedly, Noel was too inebriated to perform it himself.

"My Big Mouth" and "It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)" were premiered at the open air gig at Loch Lomond.

According to Noel Gallagher, the album name stems from a John Lennon quote. When asked what history was, during his bed-in demonstration, Lennon replied "to be here now" . Be Here Now is also the title of a song by George Harrison.

Be Here Now is also the name of an influential 1971 book by Richard Alpert (which likely inspired Harrison's song). The phrase describes the Vedic teaching that to dwell in the past or future is to be dead in the present. Thus, enlightenment lies in living continuously in the present.
The date on the calendar on the album cover varies depending upon the release date of Be Here Now in the relevant country. Therefore, it says August 21 on the British version, but August 26 in the American version.

The cover photo was taken at Stocks House in Aldbury, Hertfordshire, which used to be the rural base of Playboy UK.

At the beginning of "D'You Know What I Mean?", the Morse code in the background says "bugger all", "pork pies" and "Strawberry Fields Forever".

The car parked in the pool on the cover of the album has been widely assumed as a tribute to The Who drummer Keith Moon. The car in the pool refers to a myth that Moon parked a Cadillac in a Holiday Inn swimming pool during his 21st birthday party.

Liam and Noel's Opinions

The Gallagher brothers have different opinions about the record. While Noel is washing his hands of it, blaming it for over-production and high intake of "booze" and cocaine, it is interesting that Liam defends and likes the record:

Noel:

"Liam thinks it rocks."

"It's the sound of 5 men in a studio, on coke, not giving a fuck. There's no bass to it at all, don't know where that went. The songs are too long and the lyrics are shit and for every millisecond Liam is not singing, there's an air-guitar there in a 'Wayne's World' style."

"It's surprising how many people say to me it's their favourite Oasis album, but I don't like it because I'm giving it all this on the guitar all the time Our Kid's not singing."

He also claims that the album will not be remembered like Definitely Maybe or Morning Glory, but says the title explains what the album is all about: it was great at the time of release. It fitted the music of the day perfectly, but has not stood the test of time.

Liam:

"We thought it was great, and I still think it's great. People always talk about Definitely Maybe. Fuck Morning Glory, it's over! Fuck Definitely Maybe, it's over!"

Source: Wikipedia