Oasis – Be Here Now [2× 180g Vinyl LP]

Oasis – Be Here Now [2× 180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: 2× Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Gatefold, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: RKIDLP85
• Barcode: 5051961085013
• Genre: Britpop / Rock / Alternative Rock
• Label: Big Brother Recordings
• Originally Released: 21 August 1997
• Reissue Released: 14 October 2016
• Pressing: 180 Gram Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Be Here Now is the third studio album by Oasis — Liam Gallagher (vocals), Noel Gallagher (guitar, vocals), Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs (guitar), Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan (bass) and Alan White (drums) — released on 21 August 1997 on Creation Records, and the most anticipated British album release of the decade. Oasis had achieved global superstardom with Definitely Maybe (1994) and (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995), headlined Knebworth to 250,000 people across two nights in August 1996, and generated a level of public fervour around Be Here Now that transformed its release into a national event. On its first day of release alone it sold over 424,000 copies — becoming at the time the fastest-selling album in British chart history — and debuted at number one in 16 countries simultaneously. It has sold over eight million copies worldwide and is certified 3× Platinum in the UK and double Platinum in the United States.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey and Air Studios in London between October 1996 and May 1997, and produced by Owen Morris — who had produced (What's the Story) Morning Glory? and engineered its mastering, famously clipping the signal until the meters broke — the album is the largest-sounding record in the Oasis catalogue: guitar layers upon guitar layers, stadium-scale production, tracks averaging over five minutes, and arrangements that drew from John Lennon's solo work, the Beatles' White Album and T. Rex in equal measure. Critics at the time of release and since have divided sharply on whether the record's maximalism is a flaw or its defining quality; what is not in dispute is the songwriting quality of its three singles. "D'You Know What I Mean?" — released 7 July 1997 and entering the UK Singles Chart at number one with 162,000 copies sold on its first day — remains one of the most viscerally satisfying rock singles of the 1990s, eight minutes of layered guitars and Liam's fully committed delivery. "Stand By Me" (number two UK) and "All Around the World" (number one UK at over nine minutes, featuring orchestral arrangements by Nick Ingman) complete a single run of consistent achievement. The album also features a memorable cameo from Johnny Depp on slide guitar on "Fade In-Out" — an appearance arranged after Depp attended a session — and harmonica from Mark Feltham (Nine Below Zero).

This 2016 reissue is the third release in the Chasing The Sun: 1993–1997 series on Big Brother Recordings, and is the definitive vinyl edition of the album — remastered from the original tapes by Mike Marsh — pressed on 2× 180 gram black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve. It includes a digital download code with the album itself plus rarities, B-sides and the previously unreleased Mustique Demos — the recording sessions Noel Gallagher undertook in Mustique in early 1996 that yielded many of the album's songs in their earliest form.

Tracklist

Side A

1. D'You Know What I Mean?
2. My Big Mouth
3. Magic Pie

Side B

1. Stand By Me
2. I Hope, I Think, I Know
3. The Girl in the Dirty Shirt

Side C

1. Fade In-Out
2. Don't Go Away
3. Be Here Now

Side D

1. All Around the World
2. It's Gettin' Better (Man!!)
3. All Around the World (Reprise)

Credits

• Liam Gallagher – Vocals
• Noel Gallagher – Guitar, Vocals, Producer
• Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs – Guitar
• Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan – Bass
• Alan White – Drums, Percussion
• Owen Morris – Producer
• Mike Marsh – Mastering
• Nick Ingman – String Arrangements
• Johnny Depp – Slide Guitar (Fade In-Out)
• Mark Feltham – Harmonica
• Label – Big Brother Recordings