Monday, January 21, 2013

Let It Go: Oasis That Is Not Essential For Americans “Go Let It Out”


The Good: Two decent songs, good vocals, good music
The Bad: Only three tracks! Third track is a real lemon
The Basics: With the majority already included in the American release of Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants, the single "Go Let It Out" is not worth the hassle of finding.

Oasis either learned from its early singles or the band is getting chintzy as it evolves. On early single by Oasis, the band essentially produced eps, with four to seven tracks, with the average early Oasis single having six (especially the Japanese ones!) songs. By Be Here Now, the band settled on four per disc and with Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants, Oasis singles went down to three tracks per. Gone are the lame live versions of classic Oasis songs, which is nice because it seemed like the singles only had live versions of tracks from Definitely Maybe or they'd resurrect "I Am The Walrus" again. So, instead of the title track, a live track and two other songs, Oasis singles, starting with "Go Let It Out," went to simply three tracks.

"Go Let It Out," features three Oasis songs, two which are only available on this disc. After "Go Let It Out," the disc has "Let's All Make Believe" and "(As Long As They've Got ) Cigarettes In Hell." This is a rather inconsistent single and before getting into the nitty gritty details, I'll just say that this is one of the more disposable Oasis singles, especially for Americans. When Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants was released in the U.S., it included a single version of "Go Let It Out" - which was indistinguishable from the album cut. Also on that second disc was "Let's All Make Believe." Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants is a strong enough album to recommend over the single "Go Let It Out" and those who do not get this single are only missing one of Oasis's weaker b-sides.

"Go Let It Out" was the 2000 single from Oasis that launched Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants. With its forthright guitars and decent lyrics, it makes for a decent first single to introduce the album. Like Oasis's opener to Definitely Maybe, ("Rock 'N' Roll Star"), "Go Let It Out" instantly establishes a strong rock presence. It is a declaration of who Oasis is and a call for the audience to emulate them. When Liam sings, "Paint no illusion try to click with what you've got / Taste every potion, 'cause if you like yourself a lot / Go let it out, go let it out!," it's easy for even those who are not fans to want to stand up and rock. The strong guitars keep the listener's head bobbing, especially when coupled with the harmonium. The thing is, this is a pretty generic rock and roll song that kicks when it is on, but is pretty forgettable when it is not.

Far more important a work for Oasis is "Let's All Make Believe." Acknowledged by print media critics at the time as one of Oasis's best b-sides, "Let's All Make Believe" has a feeling of an epic quality, much like Noel's song The Masterplan had years before. What both songs share is a sense that Noel has tapped into the larger world and the way he expresses what he sees becomes something that we see in a new way. As Liam sings, "Let's all make believe / That we're still friends and we like each other," it's difficult not to feel bothered by the disconnection we have from our fellow people.

While many Oasis songs tackle loneliness or loss, "Let's All Make Believe" finally wrestles with the way we live in our day to day lives dissociated from one another. It's a rare band that can plumb that depth and make a track that is listenable. But from Liam's first reverberating lines of "Is anyone here prepared to say / Just what they mean, or is it too late?" the listener is hooked. Using the guitar to keep time through several stanzas only adds to the dissonant sound of "Let's All Make Believe" and how clever the arrangement is makes it one of the essential Oasis tracks.

The thing is, Americans already get this if they have Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants. So, that just leaves "(As Long As They've Got) Cigarettes In Hell" to sell the single "Go Let It Out." It's not enough.

The final track on this single suffers from a writing problem that turns off enlightened - or, at least, unaddicted - listeners. The vocals and keyboards lead the listener gently through a murky scene of despair with lines like, "Spend your days just working and shopping / Depending on how much your luck is in / Spend your night life table hopping / Trying to keep that bag of bones in trim / I don't mind feeling immortal / 'Cause it's not all that as far as I can tell . . ." But then the refrain crashes with the witless, "I don't mind not going to heaven / As long as they've got cigarettes . . . in hell."

Like "Let's All Make Believe," "(As Long As They've Got) Cigarettes In Hell" is trying to explore the disconnect people feel from one another. It's a great theme. Noel's answer in this song; sit and smoke a cigarette in hell. C'mon. He could have done better.

So, this is a pretty short review. The lyrics to all three songs are generally good Noel Gallagher poems (save that witless last track), the music is venturing into the psychedelic rock haze, but with only three tracks on here - two of which already come on/with an album, it's too hard a sell. The best track is "Let's All Make Believe," the weak link is "(As Long As They've Got) Cigarettes In Hell."

For other Oasis works, please check out my reviews of:
Definitely Maybe
"Whatever" (Single)
(What's The Story?) Morning Glory
“Wonderwall” (single)
“Don’t Look Back In Anger” (single)
Be Here Now
"Stand By Me" (single)
"Don't Go Away" (Single)
The Masterplan
"Sunday Morning Call" (Single)
Familiar To Millions
Heathen Chemistry
Don't Believe The Truth
Stop The Clocks
Dig Out Your Soul

5/10

For other music reviews, please visit my Music Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013, 2007 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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