The Oasis album Noel Gallagher considered “some of my best lyrics”
No one needs to think all that hard when it comes to Oasis lyrics. Throughout their career, Noel Gallagher has said that half of what he wrote in his prime didn’t necessarily mean anything, and if they actually did, we would have to sort out whatever it is for ourselves. In terms of raw vulnerability, though, Gallagher didn’t think he got any better than what he created on Standing on the Shoulder of Giants.
Which is an odd complement to give to an album that Noel supposedly doesn’t like. Despite having a handful of decent tunes, Noel has slagged off most of the track-listing numerous times, saying that the songs weren’t there then and that certain tunes like ‘Sunday Morning Call’ are absolute rubbish compared to where they were in the Definitely Maybe era.
But to understand the lyrical depth of the record, you have to take into consideration where Noel was at the time. Oasis seemed dead in the water for a while after Be Here Now became a massive crater, and despite The Masterplan stopping the skid, Noel wasn’t nearly ready to tackle a whole new batch of songs for a new record.
After cleaning up his act with drugs, he started to have panic attacks behind the scenes as well. The cocaine-addled haze that had coated the back half of the 1990s had begun to catch up with him, and after having to sack Bonehead and Guigsy for not abiding by his clean-living schedule in the studio, this could easily be called a Gallagher brothers album since Alan White only provided percussion on most of the record.
Despite operating at half capacity, Noel thought that half of the lyrics to the album were among the finest that he ever wrote, saying, “I was writing on instinct and from the heart. It was only when, I guess, around the time of Standing on the Shoulder of Giants, which actually, even if the tunes aren’t great, they’re some of my best lyrics, because they’ve come out of drug addiction, and I was on the way to getting divorced. And I was writing about that.”
While the words aren’t nearly the kind of juicy gossip that quote probably implies, it does sound like the wind has been knocked out of Noel on a few tracks. ‘Gas Panic!’ is the most revealing tune he ever wrote about his struggles with being in control of his own head, and ‘Roll It Over’ could very well have been written about his dissolving marriage from around that time as well.
Then again, probably the most telling lyric that Noel ever penned for the album is ‘Where Did It All Go Wrong’. The massive backlash from Be Here Now hadn’t quite sunken in yet, but he was already wondering about where all the fun went now that they were wealthy rockstars and they didn’t have anything to rebel against anymore.
‘Go Let It Out’ seems to be one of the few tracks that achieved immortal status since Standing on the Shoulder of Giants was released, but the entire album is a sobering look at Noel’s state of mind. The second phase of the group hadn’t fully kicked in yet, but this was him lost and in need of some sort of lifeline.
