1997 Oasis: D'You Know What I Mean?

Taster single from their then forthcoming 'Be Here Now' album, 'D'You Know What I Mean?' opens with the sound of a low flying bomber, a Morse code signal and a funky 'Shaft' lite wakka wakka guitar riff. Enigmatic-ish, it's an event setting build up that heralds something of substance, a grand statement of intent that you'll need to sit down and listen to is coming over the horizon. That's the promise anyway, but then it never makes good on it; in fact, that intro is as interesting as it gets. Because after the 'When The Levee Breaks' drums kick in, 'D'You Know What I Mean?' quickly settles down into a bloated, aimless drone of guitars and designer sneers that evaporate any interest like water from a puddle on a hot day.

Even at their most derivative, early Oasis at least had a glam spark and last gang in town mentality that let attitude take over and carry the load where the ideas ran out. By the time of 'D'You Know What I Mean?', this was clearly no longer enough and Oasis were going for that great leap forward to take their music to that ever elusive 'next level' like those Beatles boys were always doing. A fair aspiration I guess but some studio sound effects trickery, lyrical nods to The Beatles ("Fool on the hill, and I feel fine") Dylan ("There's blood on the tracks", "bring it all home to me" "Don't look back") and a seven plus minute running time does not a Sgt Pepper or a Blonde On Blonde make.

Such events only occur once and in any case, far from pushing any boundaries, I kind of get the feeling that the only reason 'D'You Know What I Mean?' doesn't sound like mid seventies Emerson, Lake and Palmer' is through lack of technical ability and imagination rather than shame; this is prog rock without the progression, a sideways step that mistakes length for substance, belligerence for attitude and repetition for having something to say - 'D'You Know What I Mean?' is the sound of egos out of control and a talent spread too thinly (Gallagher was even recycling his own lyrics - "Look into the wall of my mind's eye") within a medium lacking the vision or the guts to rein them in. The simple fact is that 'D'You Know What I Mean?' is a Boring song, capital B and its release marked the beginning of the end of the band. I honestly can't say I'm sorry about that.