Dig Out Your Soul: +DVD

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Though Oasis are forever fated to live in the shadow of their initial success, they remain capable of producing exciting and touching music, and Dig out Your Soul continues the upswing in their fortunes sparked by 2005's Don't Believe the Truth. Unashamedly an album of two halves, the first part is heavily loaded with Noel Gallagher's tunes, including the pounding single "The Shock of the Lightning", a taut and pacy rocker nearer to the light touch of the Smiths' "The Queen Is Dead" than their usual Pistols-inspired power plod. The rocking "Bag It Up" shares nothing but a title with Geri Halliwell's already forgotten 2000 hit, while "Waiting for the Rapture" takes Lennon's harrowing "Cold Turkey" as a template, with some success. Liam's crude, sparky "Ain't Got Nothin'" holds up his side and his sprawling ballad (the only such effort here) "I'm Outta Time" adds another anthem to their repertoire. Even Gem Archer's "To Be Where There's Life", a bracing slice of undercooked psychedelia, is naggingly catchy. Only Noel's "(Get off Your) High Horse Lady", a pointless rewrite of Tommy Tucker's mod-era favourite "Hi Heel Sneakers" and Andy Bell's ungainly "The Nature of Reality" are downright inessential. Those missteps aside, it's hard to imagine anyone feeling shortchanged by Dig out Your Soul. --Steve Jelbert

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Customer reviews

review by: retrospect date: 2008-11-30 rating:
It's the tunes that needed digging out...
After the undoubted return to form that was Don't Believe The Truth, Oasis have taken a step backwards here. What made DBTT such a good record was that Noel had rediscovered his ability to make catchy pop songs and was rewarded with a couple of number one hits. The problem here is that, quite simply, there aren't any good tunes. Whereas Oasis are often criticised for being too derivative - and with good reason in some instances: Shakermaker/Coca-Cola song - here they are actually resorting to ripping off their own back catalogue. Shock Of The Lightning sounds like Rock 'N' Roll Star; I'm Outta Time is just Little James with better lyrics (and a frankly awful video). The terrible, whining singing on Get Off Your High Horse is awkward to listen to. The cringeworthy, brainwashed, disciple-like worship from Gem Archer on the DVD (does he ever say anything which doesn't include effusively praising the Gallagher brothers? Perhaps it's not in the contract...) indicative of a band so disconnected from the real world that it doesn't matter if what they produce is good or bad anymore; it's always going to be the greatest thing since (in their own minds) Sergeant Pepper.

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review by: date: 2008-10-10 rating:
Welcome back Oasis!
I've been an Oasis fan since I was 11 - I'm now 24 - and agree with the previous reviewer re: people's expectations. Oasis are never going to suddenly completely change their style to try and please fickle magazine critics. They know what their fans like and they know what works for them. That's not to say Dig Out Your Soul is identical to previous albums, it does have plenty of new ideas and sounds - try listening for all the different sound effects they use in the songs. They're older, wiser and it shows in the lyrics. Liam in particular is really developing as a songwriter. I'm Outta Time is one of my favourites on the album, along with The Shock of the Lightning, the opener Bag It Up, (Get Off Your) High Horse Lady, Falling Down, Ain't Got Nothin' and To Be Where There's Life. The DVD is well worth having too, I really recommend you buy this 2-disc version of the album if you can. It's a real treat and a worthy addition to anyone's Oasis collection.

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review by: illuminated geek date: 2008-10-10 rating:
Faintly surprising
Ever since the time of (What's the Story) Morning Glory? every Oasis album has been hyped before release with the promise of it being a 'return to form', usually ending in a form of mild disappointment when the album turns out to be good, but lacking the urgent punch and rawness of Definitely Maybe. Don't Believe the Truth was the last such album to suffer from such comparisons. Is Dig Out Your Soul going to fare any better?

Probably not. But that's not because the album's no good. Far from it. Oasis today are not the same band they were in 1994 (in the case of Andy and Gem, quite literally). However, to cut off any sneering gainsayers, 14 years after this debut, they're still here and sound surprisingly energised and fresh. There's nothing in similar vein to the knowing Kinks-ness of The Importance of Being Idle, the highlight of DBTT, but plenty to like all the same.

The good news is that there's nothing embarrassing on this album, pretty much everything passes muster from a quality control point of view. And The Turning, a decent song with a nice Chemical Brothers-style drum break in the intro, is the album's longest song at a touch over 5 minutes. None of the overindulgences of Be Here Now then! A song by song rundown would probably be too dull so I'll pick out a few high spots as far as I am concerned.

First up is Bag It Up, a rollicking stomper, with a distinctly Oasis sound.
Waiting for the Rapture, with a nicely dirty riff to carry the song along, is my current favourite. The Shock Of The Lightning is also a good choice as an opening single as it is a strong effort.

I'm Outta Time is a rather sweet and wonderful thing, complete with John Lennon's voice in the outro, taken from the Andy Peebles interview days before his death.

To Be Where There's Life is even more 60's-vibed, with great swathes of Tomorrow Never Knows swirling and soundscape.

The other songs have yet to grow on me as much as the ones indicated, mainly because I've only had a day to listen to it so far. It is clear the Beatles fixation is still there, with lots of vocal and harmony tics nicked straight from them. However, the overall sound is much more woozy, muddy and generally late 60's psychedelic than at some times previously. It's actually a very nice vibe and makes the album hang together better as a whole than anything in this decade. In addition the compression has been ramped back a little and the sound is an improvement over some earlier albums. The ambiance actually reminds me of the track Liam did with Death In Vegas, Scorpio Rising (but not in a Quoasis way).

Obviously the fans will go and buy it, but it probably worth a look for casual listeners too, who might find some nice surprises.

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review by: SIMON B date: 2008-10-06 rating:
'A PSYCHEDELIC ROCK-MINDWARP!'
Dig Out Your Soul: +DVDTHIS ALBUM IS DIFFERENT.
I JUST LISTENED TO IT ON MY HEADPHONES...
..THE FIRST THING THAT SPRANG TO MIND WAS....'ARE THEY TRYING TO COMMIT COMMERSIAL SUICIDE??' BUT HEY!, THIS IS OASIS,
THEY COULDN'T IF THEY TRIED.
I THINK IT IS A GROWER, AND I ALSO THINK THAT A BIG SPLIFF WOULD BE HELPFULL BY LISTNING TO THIS ONE!
THE WHOLE ALBUM IS AN ABSOLUTE 'IN YOUR FACE-WALL OF NOISE' EXPERIENSE, BUT VERY PLEASANTLY SO.
THE SONG THAT DEFFENITLY JUMPS OUT IS I'M OUT OF TIME, MOST PROBABLY THEY'RE NEXT AND LAST SINGLE OF THIS ALBUM!

HOWEVER THIS ALBUM IS NOT AS GOOD AS FOR EXAMPLE 'HEATHEN CHEMISTRY', ALTHOUGH THAT GOT BASHED INTO THE GROUND BY THE MEDIA, PERSONALLY I THINK IT'S THEYRE MOST BEAUTIFUL ONE,

THE BEST THING IS TO GO AND FIND OUT YOUR-SELF,
COS THESE REVIEWS ARE ONLY PERSONAL OPPINIONS...
BUT HOPEFULLY THIS ONE HELPED YOU A BIT!

SO GO AND ENJOY THIS WIRLWIND OF SOUND!
CHEERS SIMON


review by: date: 2008-10-03 rating:
A distinguished classic
Yes there are Beatles references, as there are influences from the doors, rolling stones, stone roses and pink floyd. There aren't any periods of rapping, harp solos, country and western, heavy metal or gospel choirs. The band are Oasis. Their line up is simple - vocals, two guitars, bass and drums. And guess what? You get an album consisting of vocals, guitars, bass and drums. How shocking!!!!
Oasis fans will love this album. It is different, it is experimental and it is fresh sounding. Each track has something to offer. It will probably lead to divisions in opinion because I think everyone is going to have different favourite songs here (for the record mine is Soldier on, but that might just be because it was the last track I listened to). There will innevitably be criticisms of the album because too many people seem to have too much time to spend criticising Oasis. The criticisms are not worth listening to because I think they have either been made without actually listening to the album, or through people having already made their mind up before listening to it.
If you're a fan who have enjoyed listening to Oasis throughout the years then you will love this album and treasure it alongside your favourite Oasis material. If you have never liked Oasis or have spent the last 10 years saying "they should have stopped after what's the story morning glory" then please don't waste your time buying it because I repeat there are no harp solos, gospel choirs or rappers on this album so buzz off and listen to something else!!!!!

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